Edited sentence: " By alienating the black voters who once overwhelmingly supported the Clintons, many felt that Clinton had "tarnished his legacy" of being the so-called "first black president" by "pulling the race card" against Barack Obama, who is half-black.Clinton attracted further controversy in his participation of his wife's campaign after a series of attacks made on his part against competing Democratic candidate Barack Obama, which many independent and former Clinton supporters felt to be unfair.Following his wife's disappointing defeat in South Carolina, Clinton again made headlines when he appeared to undermine and racialize Obama's victory by comparing it to Jesse Jackson's failed 1984 bid for the Presidency.In particular, Rep.In the course of the 2008 Presidential Election, Clinton vigorously advocated on behalf of his wife, Hillary Clinton, leading some pundits and party members to question the appropriateness of that role given his status as a former President.James Clyburn (D-SC) suggested that Clinton's vocal attacks on Presidential rival Barack Obama could damage the former President's legacy.Obama for the Presidency.Rahm Emmanuel, asked Clinton to tone down his attacks on Obama following the bitterly contested Nevada caucus, suggesting that Clinton could be damaging his political capital and global stature.Some commentators even accused the former President of playing racial politics by suggesting he would understand if South Carolina's African Americans naturally would vote for the black candidate, but rejected suggestions that America was not ready for a black President.Some feel that Bill Clinton overshadowed his wife in the campaign, with Obama complaining that he does not know "which Clinton he is running against.Some pundits suggested that the controversial comments fueled Sen.Ted Kennedy's decision to endorse Sen.Top Democratic Party officials, including Rep.While some felt the attacks against Obama may eventually pay off, others felt it would damage his wife, Hillary Clinton's presidential prospects and alienate Democratic voters in the general election