Earlier today when asked about recent comments by Bill & Hillary Clinton that some saw as racially motivated Senator Barack Obama said to ABC News “I don’t think it was in any way a racial comment. That’s something that has played out in the press. That’s not my view.”

Obama also called reporters together to say he did not want to see the campaign “degenerate into so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth that we lose sight of why all of us are doing this” and “Bill and Hillary Clinton have historically and consistently been on the right side of the civil rights movement.”

Meanwhile Senator Hillary Clinton released the following statement:

“Over this past week, there has been a lot of discussion and back and forth - much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts.

“And at this moment, I believe we must seek common ground.

“Our party and our nation is bigger than this. Our party has been on the front line of every civil rights movement, women’s rights movement, workers’ rights movement, and other movements for justice in America.

“We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes - President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King – Senator Obama and I are on the same side.

“And in that spirit, let’s come together, because I want more than anything else to ensure that our family stays together on the front lines of the struggle to expand rights for all Americans.”

After a weekend of both campaigns hitting each other and surrogates going out of their way to both help and hurt their candidates, I am sure both sides wouldn’t mind a cooling off period.