peewee's lovechild
07-09-2008, 05:42 PM
Jackson apologizes for 'crude' Obama remarks
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for "crude and hurtful" remarks he made against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama after finishing an interview with a Fox News correspondent.
Jackson told CNN's "Situation Room" that a "hot" microphone caught a part of conversation he was having with a fellow guest at the studio.
He said he made a comment about Obama "speaking down black people" followed by a crude remark.
"It was very private" he said, adding later, if "any hurt or harm has been caused to his campaign, I apologize."
The Obama campaign had no immediate comment.
Jackson's apology came a few hours before Fox News planned to air the remarks.
"I feel very distressed because I'm supportive of this campaign and with the senator," Jackson told CNN. "I was in a conversation with a fellow guest on Sunday. He asked about Barack's speeches lately at the black churches. I said he comes down as speaking down to black people."
He said Obama's message to black voters must be broader and serve as more than a "moral challenge."
The black community is faced with high levels of unemployment, home foreclosures and violence, "so we have some real serious issues -- not just moral issues," he said.
However, Jackson said after finding out about the open microphone, he immediately contacted the Obama campaign to apologize.
Jackson, whose Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is based in Chicago, Illinois, has publicly endorsed Obama, most recently in a piece published Tuesday in the Chicago Sun-Times, and says he enjoys a close relationship with the Obama family.
His son, Jesse Jackson Jr., is co-chair of Obama's presidential campaign.
The incident is the latest of several in which the issue of Obama's relationship with the African-American community has become a part of the campaign, raised either by opponents or by Obama's allies.
Nearly two weeks ago, Ralph Nader -- who's running his own presidential campaign as an independent -- accused Obama of attempting to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt" in his quest for the White House.
"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader told Colorado's Rocky Mountain News in a June 26 story.
Obama is still bouncing back from the weeks-long controversy over his former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose fiery sermons at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ drew unwanted attention for the campaign. In the sermons, Wright suggested the U.S. government may be responsible for the spread of AIDS in the black community and equated some American wartime activities to terrorism.
Wright's sermons and his eccentric behavior at later public appearances became a major political headache for the Obama campaign, especially since Wright officiated the senator's wedding, baptized both of his children and was a spiritual adviser to his presidential campaign until he was asked to step down in March.
This week's remarks by Jackson were not the first time he criticized Obama. Last fall, he was critical of Obama's reaction to the severe charges filed against six black students in the beating of a white student in Jena, Louisiana, a racially charged case that sparked a national outcry.
Jackson accused Obama of "acting like he's white," according to a South Carolina newspaper that cited a speech by Jackson at the historically black Benedict College in Columbia.
"If I were a candidate, I'd be all over Jena," Jackson said, according to the The State newspaper. "Jena is a defining moment, just like Selma [Alabama] was a defining moment."
The newspaper reported Jackson later said he did not recall saying Obama is "acting like he's white," but he continued to criticize Obama and other presidential candidates for not bringing more attention to this issue.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/09/jesse.jackson.comment/index.html
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for "crude and hurtful" remarks he made against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama after finishing an interview with a Fox News correspondent.
Jackson told CNN's "Situation Room" that a "hot" microphone caught a part of conversation he was having with a fellow guest at the studio.
He said he made a comment about Obama "speaking down black people" followed by a crude remark.
"It was very private" he said, adding later, if "any hurt or harm has been caused to his campaign, I apologize."
The Obama campaign had no immediate comment.
Jackson's apology came a few hours before Fox News planned to air the remarks.
"I feel very distressed because I'm supportive of this campaign and with the senator," Jackson told CNN. "I was in a conversation with a fellow guest on Sunday. He asked about Barack's speeches lately at the black churches. I said he comes down as speaking down to black people."
He said Obama's message to black voters must be broader and serve as more than a "moral challenge."
The black community is faced with high levels of unemployment, home foreclosures and violence, "so we have some real serious issues -- not just moral issues," he said.
However, Jackson said after finding out about the open microphone, he immediately contacted the Obama campaign to apologize.
Jackson, whose Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is based in Chicago, Illinois, has publicly endorsed Obama, most recently in a piece published Tuesday in the Chicago Sun-Times, and says he enjoys a close relationship with the Obama family.
His son, Jesse Jackson Jr., is co-chair of Obama's presidential campaign.
The incident is the latest of several in which the issue of Obama's relationship with the African-American community has become a part of the campaign, raised either by opponents or by Obama's allies.
Nearly two weeks ago, Ralph Nader -- who's running his own presidential campaign as an independent -- accused Obama of attempting to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt" in his quest for the White House.
"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader told Colorado's Rocky Mountain News in a June 26 story.
Obama is still bouncing back from the weeks-long controversy over his former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose fiery sermons at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ drew unwanted attention for the campaign. In the sermons, Wright suggested the U.S. government may be responsible for the spread of AIDS in the black community and equated some American wartime activities to terrorism.
Wright's sermons and his eccentric behavior at later public appearances became a major political headache for the Obama campaign, especially since Wright officiated the senator's wedding, baptized both of his children and was a spiritual adviser to his presidential campaign until he was asked to step down in March.
This week's remarks by Jackson were not the first time he criticized Obama. Last fall, he was critical of Obama's reaction to the severe charges filed against six black students in the beating of a white student in Jena, Louisiana, a racially charged case that sparked a national outcry.
Jackson accused Obama of "acting like he's white," according to a South Carolina newspaper that cited a speech by Jackson at the historically black Benedict College in Columbia.
"If I were a candidate, I'd be all over Jena," Jackson said, according to the The State newspaper. "Jena is a defining moment, just like Selma [Alabama] was a defining moment."
The newspaper reported Jackson later said he did not recall saying Obama is "acting like he's white," but he continued to criticize Obama and other presidential candidates for not bringing more attention to this issue.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/09/jesse.jackson.comment/index.html