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Reid apologizes for 'no Negro dialect' comment

texmaster

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WASHINGTON – The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate apologized on Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid and are quoted in a yet-to-be-released book about the campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described in private then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Obama is the nation's first African-American president.

"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments," Reid said in a statement released after the excerpts were first reported on the Web site of The Atlantic.

"I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama's legislative agenda."

Reid remained neutral during the bitter Democratic primary that became a marathon contest between Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom Obama tapped as the United States' top diplomat after the election.

Reid's comments are included in the book, obtained Saturday by The Associated Press and set to be published on Monday. "Game Change" was written by Time Magazine's Mark Halperin and New York magazine's John Heilemann.

The book also says Reid urged Obama to run, perceiving the first-term senator's impatience.

"You're not going to go anyplace here," Reid told Obama of the Senate. "I know that you don't like it, doing what you're doing."


Reid apologizes for 'no Negro dialect' comment - Yahoo! News
 
WASHINGTON – The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate apologized on Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid and are quoted in a yet-to-be-released book about the campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described in private then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Obama is the nation's first African-American president.

"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments," Reid said in a statement released after the excerpts were first reported on the Web site of The Atlantic.

"I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama's legislative agenda."

Reid remained neutral during the bitter Democratic primary that became a marathon contest between Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom Obama tapped as the United States' top diplomat after the election.

Reid's comments are included in the book, obtained Saturday by The Associated Press and set to be published on Monday. "Game Change" was written by Time Magazine's Mark Halperin and New York magazine's John Heilemann.

The book also says Reid urged Obama to run, perceiving the first-term senator's impatience.

"You're not going to go anyplace here," Reid told Obama of the Senate. "I know that you don't like it, doing what you're doing."


Reid apologizes for 'no Negro dialect' comment - Yahoo! News

Unbelievable. What a phony.
 
Wow. That's just really, really bad.
 
Maybe if he was the senator of Texas or Alabama he would have got away with it.....but not Nevada. :lol:
 
I'd demand his resignation but the election will beat me to it.

I just can't believe he'd say something so utterly moronic. That sounds like something a plantation owner would say about his house servant.
 
Since when is it wrong to speak the truth?....:confused:
 
Since when is it wrong to speak the truth?....:confused:

He didn't have to say "negro dialect". That's just plain ignorant.

He could have simply said Obama is articulate, or he could've abstained from the presumption that black people all talk with a "negro dialect" and that Obama was an exotic exception to that stereotype.

No matter how you slice it, it's a profoundly idiotic statement.
 
I just can't believe he'd say something so utterly moronic. That sounds like something a plantation owner would say about his house servant.

Think Biden and Indian accent who work at 7-11.

This seems to be generational.
 
What a stupid thing to say!

I didn't remember him having said it, but he has apologized now.

Does that make it all better?

Or does it make Reid sound like an idiot still?

link

WASHINGTON – The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate apologized on Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid and are quoted in a yet-to-be-released book about the campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described in private then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."
 
One would expect Biden to make a gaffe like that, but not Reid.


Oh wait, Biden did make a gaffe like that :lol:
 
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If he had said Ebonics, at least I could have gotten a laugh out of it. His comment was just to stupid for words.
 
I just can't believe he'd say something so utterly moronic. That sounds like something a plantation owner would say about his house servant.

This book has tons of crazy scoops:

Game Change: Even More Juicy Stuff - The Atlantic Politics Channel

Teddy's anger - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

[A]s Hillary bungled Caroline, Bill’s handling of Ted was even worse. The day after Iowa, he phoned Kennedy and pressed for an endorsement, making the case for his wife. But Bill then went on, belittling Ob
ama in a manner that deeply offended Kennedy. Recounting the conversation later to a friend, Teddy fumed that Clinton had said, A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.

Clinton senior strategist Mark Penn boasted to his staff how many times he managed to say "cocaine" on that famous Hardball segment. (Page 163.)

Hillary Clinton was initially pleased when her New Hampshire campaign chairman, Billy Shaheen, mentioned Obama's previous use of drugs: (Page 161):

"Hillary's reaction to Shaheen's remarks was, "Good for him!" Followed by "Let's push it out." Her aides violently disagreed, seeing what Shaheen had said as a PR disaster. Grudgingly, Clinton acquiesced to disowning Shaheen's comments. But she wasn't going to cut him loose. Why should Billy have to fall on his sword for invoking something that had been fair game in every recent election?"


Elizabeth Edwards tried to lobby Roger Altman (who was secretly planning Hillary Clinton's presidential transition) to force the National Enquirer not to run one of the Hunter stories. (Altman was chairman of an investment group that had a stake in the company that published the Enquirer.) Page 140. Altman called Enquirer editor David Pecker and made sure that the story was accurate.

McCain aides confront Cindy McCain over reports that she had an extramarital affair. (Page 281):

"The man was said to be her long-term boyfriend; the pair had been sighted all over town in the last few years. Members of McCain's senior staff discussed the unsettling news, and their growing concerns that Cindy's behavior had been increasingly erratic of late. [John] Weaver and others suspected that the Cindy rumor was rooted in truth. It was upsetting, Weaver believed, but not a threat."

Damn.
 
One would expect Biden to make a gaffe like that, but not Reid.


Oh wait, Biden did make a gaffe like that :lol:

haha

Well if we were talking about Biden's gaffs we'd be on page 9 by now :D
 
No problem, I'm sure Harry Reid is quite proud of that colored boy now.
 
No problem, I'm sure Harry Reid is quite proud of that colored boy now.

LOL! No doubt. He also needs that "colored boy" to get reelected. Maybe that's why he made the apology in the first place.

From the article:

Reid, facing a tough 2010 re-election bid, needs the White House's help if he wants to keep his seat. Obama's administration has dispatched officials on dozens of trips to buoy his bid and Obama has raised money for his campaign.
 
What's the big deal about talkin about the Negro dialect, people will not get upset in the South when the people in the north say "oh you talk so funny, you have a southern dialect"or when people from other states make remarks about the way people from Maine speak. I think it's a joke when the blacks like to be called Afro-Americans, if your skin is black, it's black, could it be that the blacks born in the United States feel superior to blacks born in other countries that Africa. Are they racists
 
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What's the big deal about talkin about the Negro dialect, people will not get upset in the South when the people in the north say "oh you talk so funny, you have a southern dialect"or when people from other states make remarks about the way people from Maine speak. I think it's a joke when the blacks like to be called Afro-Americans, if your skin is black, it's black, could it be that the blacks born in the United States feel superior to blacks born in other countries that Africa. Are they racists

"southern" is not offensive. "negro" is.
 
Not that I had any respect for Reid, but I didn't expect him to quite this stupid. Maybe Sharpton will go after him, that would be quite entertaining.
 
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A ignorant racist remark from a prominent Democrat. Right-wing pundits will keep this one alive for as long as possible.

Maybe if Harry Reid put it on a CD or a mass email the GOP would be more understanding.
 
What a stupid thing to say!

I didn't remember him having said it, but he has apologized now.

Does that make it all better?

Or does it make Reid sound like an idiot still?

link

Of course, the only honorable thing for him to do would be to resign immediately. Since Harry Reid has no honor, he will simply apologize and remain in power.
 
A ignorant racist remark from a prominent Democrat. Right-wing pundits will keep this one alive for as long as possible.

And left wing partisan drones will try to dismiss it as quickly as possible.

Irony much?

Maybe if Harry Reid put it on a CD or a mass email the GOP would be more understanding.

:confused:

Why?
 
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