Sunday morning, while discussing the media uproar surrounding Senator Clinton's latest invocation of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, Liz Trotta, former New York bureau chief of the Washington Times, unsubtly confused U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama with Saudi jihadist and purported 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden... and perhaps placed similar value on their lives on live television.

"For years, the media has told us that Hillary Clinton is the smartest person in the world," Trotta said, "and that's up for grabs now. And the media's catching on to that, as well. The 'vast right-wing conspiracy' blame has been undermined by her evasions, by her outright lies, if I may say; by her pandering, by her race-baiting--and now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Os--Osama--um, uh--Obama. Well, both, if we could..."

On Monday, Trotta apologized for what she called a "lame attempt at humor." She and anchor Bill Hemmer were discussing an essay Clinton wrote in the New York Daily News explaining her determination to remain the the Democratic race and dismissing the uproar over her reference to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination as a reason she's staying in the race.

The reference was simply meant to point out that Democratic primaries have extended into June before, she said, and Clinton has apologized to the Kennedy family -- although not to Obama.

Clinton's campaign says she shouldn't have to apologize to her Democratic primary opponent, and Clinton advisers have blamed Obama's camp for stoking the controversy over her ill-phrased reference.