Hillary Clinton said something foolish the other day, and has spent the time since trying to extricate herself.

BRANDON, South Dakota (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton said Friday that she regretted comments that evoked the June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy as part of her explanation for why she was staying in the presidential race late into the primary season.

Earlier Friday afternoon, she told the editorial board of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus Leader that “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. I don’t understand it,” she said.

As devoted readers will know, the dangers to Obama in a gun-crazy culture have been on my mind too. But I’m not running for the nomination. What’s unacceptable is that Clinton appeared to be using the possibility of Obama’s assassination as a reason for staying in the Democratic race ‘just in case…’.

Dave Winer posted an MP3 of Keith Olbermann’s rant on the subject. It would have been just as effective at a quarter of the length. Olbermann hasn’t heard that brevity is the soul of wit.