for the record

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

“Would people who said they were close to the Clintons and not invited feel bad? Sure,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a political consultant who worked on Mr. Clinton’s presidential re-election in 1996 (and who, for the record, was not invited).

for the record = embrace a position publicly

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[emsr2d2]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

“Would people who said they were close to the Clintons and not invited feel bad? Sure,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a political consultant who worked on Mr. Clinton’s presidential re-election in 1996 (and who, for the record, was not invited).

for the record = embrace a position publicly

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

It simply means "I would like it to be noted". We say it when we simply want to draw someone's attention to something, to make it "public record".

Examples:

I thought John Major was a good Prime Minister. For the record, I didn't actually vote Conservative in that election, but I thought he did a good job in the end.

Paedophilia is a mental illness and sufferers should be treated. I am not, for the record, condoning paedophilia but I believe it should be treated like any other mental illness.


***Please note that the above two paragraphs do not reflect my own personal viewpoint!