"I never said Democrats made a mistake [worrying too much about the South]. I never said that at all. I was asked a question about the mathematics of election, and I answered a question about the mathematics with respect to Al Gore's election."
Well, there's no wiggle room over what he actually said, and the press hates nothing more than someone wiggling out of getting nailed:
"Everybody always makes the mistake of looking South. Al Gore proved he could have been president of the United States without winning one Southern state, including his own."
Southerners aren't going to need a translator.