Eric Gay/AP

Clinton defends Obama Afghanistan apology

Secretary of State says it was right for the president to apologize for what military officials have called the accidental burning of a number of Korans.

While Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney have all criticized President Obama's Afghanistan apology in recent days, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an interview on Sunday that such rhetoric was "troubling" and could potentially exacerbate the conflict.

"I find it somewhat troubling that our politics would enflame such a dangerous situation in Afghanistan," she said in an interview with CNN.

Clinton said that "it was the right thing to do" for Obama to apologize for what military officials have called the accidental burning of a number of Korans on a U.S. military base, which led to widespread protests and the killing of several Americans.

Clinton also said that her statement yesterday in Tunisia that Obama would be re-elected wasn’t inappropriate, though she did say that, "my enthusiasm for the president got a little out of hand."

"I know what happens in campaigns,” she said. “I've been there, done that, and I know that things are said that are not going to be put into practice or policy…I did think I needed to point that out to the audience."