Johnson Denies Obama Smear

At a Jan. 13 rally in South Carolina, Robert L. Johnson, billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television and a Hillary Clinton supporter, made reference to the days when Barack Obama was "doing something in the neighborhood." Johnson declined to elaborate but added pointedly that Obama "said it in his book."

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In his 1995 autobiography, Dreams From My Father, Obama wrote that during his teenage years, "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it." Obama's candor has since been applauded in the press. Johnson's remarks were criticized for reviving the issue of Obama's admitted drug use, and the Clinton campaign quickly issued a statement (below) that Johnson had merely been speaking about Obama's days as a "community organizer." An Obama campaign spokesperson commented, "His tortured explanation doesn't hold up against his original statement."

In honor of Martin Luther King's birthday today, both the Clinton campaign and Obama are now backing away from the controversy.

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