JUST IN: Joe Biden apologizes for remarks on segregationists but defends his civil rights record.
Mike Memoli and Marianna Sotomayor
"I will take his judgment of my record, my character, and my ability to handle the job over anyone else’s,” Biden said to applause. “Now was I wrong a few weeks ago, to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed, time and again? Yes, I was,” he said."I regret it and I am sorry for any of the pain or misconception that may have caused anybody.”
The ensuing back-and-forth has shadowed Biden, particularly this week as both he and Harris campaigned in Iowa. The choice now of South Carolina as the place to try and put the issue to rest — and to do so by invoking Obama’s name so explicitly — was notable in a state where African American voters will likely make up a majority of the voters in next February’s first-in-the-South primary.
“Every candidate's record will be scrutinized in this race. It's a competition to become President of the United States. There are no free passes,” he wrote. The infighting among Democrats – especially directed at him – was counterproductive, Biden suggested, when the focus should be on defeating President Trump.
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