Democratic presidential contender Bill Clinton apologized to Mario Cuomo for remarks in a taped conversation that the New York governor described as derogatory toward Italian-Americans.
Cuomo said Tuesday he did not consider Clinton's apology "much of an explanation," and New York Democratic Chairman John Marino said the incident could cost the Arkansas governor support in his race for the nomination."He's got a lot of work to do with me at this point in time," Marino said. "It's not good for Clinton in this state."
Gennifer Flowers, a part-time cabaret singer and Arkansas state employee, played an audio tape of a telephone conversation between herself and someone she identified as Clinton at a Monday news conference. She offered the tape as evidence to back her claim that she had a love affair with Clinton.
On the tape, there was talk of Clinton's presidential campaign and a possible challenge from Cuomo. Clinton said at one point that Cuomo "acts like" a Mafia figure and called the New York governor "a mean son of a b----."
Clinton, who has clashed with Cuomo in the past, issued a statement Tuesday saying he was trying to reach the New York governor to apologize.
"If the remarks on the tape left anyone with the impression that I was disrespectful to either Governor Cuomo or Italian-Americans, then I deeply regret it," the statement said.
After hearing the statement, Cuomo indicated he was unimpressed but added, "At least he has issued what he called an apology, and we can put the whole thing behind us. . . . The important thing is getting back to the issues."