In an August 25 post on his Political Punch blog, titled "Hillary's Ringing Endorsement," ABC News senior national correspondent Jake Tapper cropped a quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton explaining her efforts to persuade her supporters to back Sen. Barack Obama, and cited the words he singled out to suggest Clinton's efforts were insincere. Tapper wrote:

Why are so many supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, convinced that she doesn't actually want Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, to win?

Might it have something to do with comments such as the following, which Clinton made today in Denver?

“Eighteen million people voted for me,” she said. “18 million people give or take voted for Barack.”

Give or take?

But Tapper distorted Clinton's comments by noting only a small part of her response. During an August 25 press conference, Clinton was asked about her supporters who say they will not vote for Obama: “What can you do, beyond what you're doing, to turn it around?” Clinton responded: “I don't know. I'm doing everything I possibly can do, and I think we have made a strong case to a lot of the people who voted for me. Remember, 18 million people voted for me. Eighteen million people, give or take, voted for Barack -- 36 million people altogether. A hundred million people are going to vote in this election, at least. ... So, I think that it is imperative that I keep doing what I've been doing. And I believe, as the election goes on, as the contrasts are drawn more starkly, as people understand what the difference would be between an Obama administration and a McCain administration, we will see a continuing movement toward Senator Obama.”

From Clinton's August 25 press conference:

REPORTER: What can you do, beyond what you're doing, to turn it around?

CLINTON: I don't know. I'm doing everything I possibly can do, and I think we have made a strong case to a lot of the people who voted for me. Remember, 18 million people voted for me. Eighteen million people, give or take, voted for Barack -- 36 million people altogether. A hundred million people are going to vote in this election, at least, and we may drive the numbers up because of the high level of interest in the election.

So, I think that it is imperative that I keep doing what I've been doing. And I believe, as the election goes on, as the contrasts are drawn more starkly, as people understand what the difference would be between an Obama administration and a McCain administration, we will see a continuing movement toward Senator Obama.

And, you know, people who vote in elections make up their minds in all kinds of ways. There's no set pattern for how you decide who you're going to vote for. Part of the reason that you have what are called swing voters is because they swing back and forth and they're not as easily categorized, and be put into one camp or the other. And for people who voted for me -- as I have said and will repeat until the last votes are counted -- if you voted for me, you have much more in common with Senator Obama on every issue I campaigned on, on every cause that I have stood for, than you do with Senator McCain.