Jerry Brown Gets Bill Clinton's Endorsement After Apology

Jerry Brown, who hopes to be California's next governor, has received the endorsement of Bill Clinton, a day after apologizing to the the former president for questioning his truthfulness and making a Monica Lewinsky crack on the campaign trail.

In a statement to The Los Angeles Times, Clinton gave Brown his unqualified backing, saying any residual conflict from their 1992 presidential primary battle was in the past.

"I strongly support Jerry Brown for governor because I believe he was a fine mayor of Oakland, he's been a very good attorney general, and he would be an excellent governor at a time when California needs his creativity and fiscal prudence," Clinton said.

The former president's name was dragged into the Golden State's gubernatorial race by Republican Meg Whitman, who is using an 18-year-old Clinton soundbite in an ad accusing Brown of raising taxes when he served as governor from 1975 to 1983.

"CNN -- not me, CNN -- says his assertion about his tax record was, quote, 'just plain wrong,' " Clinton says in the footage from 1992.

The Times reported the CNN story was wrong. Clinton told the newspaper Tuesday that Whitman's spot is misleading.

Over the weekend, Brown reacted to the ad by accusing Clinton of lying, and then by mocking him over the Lewinsky affair. Brown apologized on Monday.

Clinton did not mention Brown's slight in his statement to the Times, but said "the tough campaign we fought 18 years ago is not relevant to the choice facing Californians today."