Blagojevich: I'm Not Blacker Than Obama

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says it was stupid and wrong for him to tell Esquire magazine in an interview that he is "blacker than Barack Obama."

"It's a stupid metaphor to say I'm blacker than Barack Obama, that I apologize for," Blagojevich told WLS Radio in Chicago this morning, according to the Associated Press. "It's not appropriate for me, a white person, to stand out somehow and claim to be a black person, that's just wrong."

He said much the same to Susan Carlson of CBS 2 in Chicago outside his house Monday morning. "It was a very stupid thing to say," said Blagojevich. "Obviously, I'm not blacker than President Obama."

The former governor, a Democrat who was impeached in part for allegedly trying to effectively sell Mr. Obama's former Senate seat, said he was attempting to express "frustration that the policies of this new administration still haven't really been focusing on the great deal of inequities we have in our society."

In the Esquire interview, Blagojevich reportedly says he is "blacker than Obama" because he "shined shoes" and "grew up in a five-room apartment."

"My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived," he said. "I saw it all growing up."

He also complained that the president – who he called "this guy" – says "everything" on a teleprompter, adding, "what the (expletive)?"

Blagojevich, who says he is being prosecuted unfairly, is expected to face trial this year on corruption charges. He will be appearing on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" in the spring.

Local Video from CBS 2 in Chicago

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More: Blago: I'm the Anti-Nixon

[joesacramento]

Oops. Looks like it is too late for Blago. The YouTubers are already all over him like vultures. This one is hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW-M8ambsxg

[winchesterla]

Very stupid, racist and unintelligent comment indeed. If you shine shoes you are black. That is institutionalised, considering a guy whose parents came to america lately when the parents of the people he is deriding had built america without pay. Silly ass.

[Freedomforever88]

Blago, Harry Reid, Bill Clinton, Trent Lott and Strom Thurman are all racist. Maybe the African American population should form their own party, since neither the Rep or Dem can respect the individuals of this country.

[ajvw]

while I agree that neither the Rep or Dem respect the individual of this county I doubt an African American Party would either. Two of the biggest racists out there are the Reverends Sharpton and Jackson. They would certainly bully their way to the top.

[theskeptical1]

Hmm, "stupid and wrong".

Sounds like the story of Blago's life in a nutshell