Mic catches Jackson hammering Obama
CHICAGO (AP) - July 09, 2008 Jackson told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that his comments
made Sunday were in response to a question from a Fox News reporter
about speeches on morality the Democratic presidential candidate
has given at black churches.
The civil rights leader said Wednesday he felt there were other
important issues to be addressed in the black community, such as
unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in
prison.
Jackson told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he doesn't
remember exactly what he said Sunday but that he was "very sorry"
for his comments about Obama. He called his comments "a side light
in a broader conversation about urban disparities."
"My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only
deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but
to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and
the public policy which would be a corrective action for the lack
of good choices that often led to their irresponsibility," Jackson
said in a written statement.
Jackson said he has called Obama's campaign to apologize and
that he supports the candidate unequivocally.
Messages seeking from Obama's campaign and a Fox News
spokeswoman were not immediately returned.