Harsh words in US race

Some comments that have roiled the waters in the presidential campaign:

- March 12: Clinton fundraiser Geraldine Ferraro steps down from her honorary post on the campaign's finance committee after saying Barack Obama would not have come this far if he were a white man or a woman of any colour. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she disagrees with Ferraro's remarks.

- March 7: Samantha Power, an unpaid adviser to Obama, resigns after calling Clinton "a monster" in a Scottish newspaper interview.

- March 6: Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson compares Obama's taking aim at Clinton to former special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, whose investigation led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. "I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president," Wolfson says.

- February 26: Republican John McCain denounces the comments of a radio talk show host who, while warming up a McCain campaign crowd, referred repeatedly to Barack Hussein Obama and called him a "hack, Chicago-style" politician. Hussein is Obama's middle name, which the host used to imply that Obama had a kinship with terrorists.

- February 25: A photograph circulates on the internet of Obama dressed in traditional African garments, including a turban, during a visit to Kenya in 2006. The Drudge Report posted the photograph and said it was being circulated by "Clinton staffers" and quoted an e-mail from an unidentified campaign aide. Obama calls the photo "straight out of the Republican playbook." Clinton says she is not aware of anyone on her staff distributing the photo.

- February 21: Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter, says some whites in his state are likely to vote against Obama because he is black. "You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate," Rendell says. Rendell's spokesperson later says the governor did not mean to offend anyone.

February 18: Michelle Obama says in Milwaukee: "Let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country." McCain's wife Cindy calls attention to the remark, and the Obamas explain that she meant to say she is proud of US politics for the first time and has always been proud of her country.

- February 7: MSNBC's David Shuster suggests Clinton's campaign had "pimped out" daughter Chelsea by having her make political phone calls. He is suspended for two weeks. This is after MSNBC's Chris Matthews apologises in January for suggesting Clinton's political prominence was due to her husband's infidelities.

- January 17: Clinton supporter Bob Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, apologises for comments hinting at Obama's drug use as a teenager. "In my zeal to support Senator Clinton, I made some very inappropriate remarks for which I am truly sorry."

- December 13, 2007: Bill Shaheen, top Clinton campaign adviser, resigns after suggesting Democrats should be wary of nominating Obama because his teenage drug use could make it hard for him to win the presidency. Clinton apologised to Obama as they waited to fly to Iowa for a debate.

- AP