From Politico
We here at USDemocrazy know what it’s like to say stupid things. Fortunately for us, we can always rely on our elected representatives in Washington to outshine us in the “stupid” department.
This week’s foot-in-mouth champion is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.(Thanks for helping us out, Harry!)
Reid’s blatantly bad blooper comes from a book set to come out this week, Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by political journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann.
Here’s his quote, provided by the Atlantic,:
He was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama — a “light-skinned” African American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,” as he said privately.
This isn’t even the first “oh darnit” moment Reid has had, but the GOP’s Michael Steele is taking advantage of the situation to call upon Reid to resign.
Steele was pretty adamant about his feelings on the situation, remarking on “Meet the Press”:
whether [Reid] steps down today — or I retire him in November, either way, he will not be the leader in 2011.
It should be noted that Reid did apologize to Obama, who promptly accepted, saying:
I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years, I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart. [...] As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.
Though much of the other things in the book are quite scandalous (Clinton in-fighting, details of the Edwards’ relationship pitfalls, and, well, something not as news-worthy about Palin and McCain and stuff), Reid’s comments are the ones hitting the fan the hardest. (Aside: to read more visit Politico [writing on "the freak show"] andNew York Magazine [which has a juicy excerpt!].
Other commentators are chiming in, like former Vice President Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney, criticizing racist comments no matter in private or public:
How is Reid holding up? Well, he won’t be resigning any time soon. Instead, he and his staff are adamant about pointing out the GOP’s attack. As his spokesman Jim Manley put it,
Unlike others who advocate moving our nation backwards, and viewing this moment for political gain, he’s working, today, tomorrow and the next day to move our country forward.
Because Reid will face an election this year, many are wondering if Game Change could live up to its name. What do you think?
