Clinton says sorry over Bobby Kennedy blunder

Hillary Clinton was forced to apologise last night after evoking the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy in California during the 1968 presidential primaries as a reason for staying in this year's race even though her chances of prevailing have become minimal.

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever," the former first lady said in a hastily released statement.

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Mrs Clinton put her foot into the deeply sensitive territory during an interview with a newspaper in South Dakota, which will be one the last states to cast votes in the primary match-up between her and Barack Obama on 3 June along with Montana. For months, there have been barely discussed fears of whether Mr Obama has been sufficiently protected from potential assassination attempts on the trail. A spokesman for the Obama campaign also reacted quickly saying her remark was "unfortunate and has no place in this campaign".

Speaking to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Mrs Clinton rejected a suggestion that it was time to give up her fight. "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know I just, I don't understand it," she responded.

After her campaign issued an initial statement downplaying the remark, Mrs Clinton concluded she had better say something personally.

"I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns of both my husband and Senator Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968 and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June. That's a historic fact," she said.

However, it is a gaffe that may haunt her during the last moments of the nomination campaign when she can afford no missteps.