NEW YORK, NY January 12, 2008 —As the presidential hopefuls court the black vote ahead of the South Carolina primary, Bill Clinton is working to undo some of the damage he's done to Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign with his comment that seemed to suggest that the campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama is a "fairy tale." The former president called the Reverend Al Sharpton's syndicated radio program on Friday to say that his words have been misrepresented. Marc Garber reports.

REPORTER: Sharpton asked Clinton what he would say to black voters thinking about voting for Obama.

CLINTON: You have a hard choice, and if you decide to vote for senator Obama, I respect you. Because it is a source of enormous pride in the African-American community and it should be. He is an impressive man.

REPORTER: Clinton said black voters should support his wife, though, because of her policies and record in the senate.

CLINTON: I would argue that she is better for your life and your future and right now we have to pick the person who is most ready to be president.

REPORTER: Clinton told Sharpton the “fairy tale'' remark was only intended to describe Obama's claim to have exercised better judgment about the war, and was not intended as a sign of “personal disrespect.'' The illinois senator claims that he's the only candidate who has consistently opposed the Iraq war. But Clinton says Obama has moderated his anti-war stance since his 2004 campaign for the US senate.

For WNYC, I’m Marc Garber