Obama: Harry Reid's "Inartful" Words Don't Matter

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: In The News

President Obama said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid chose inappropriate language in one incident years ago when he spoke about Mr. Obama's chances as a presidential candidate. Yet the president said there was nothing mean-spirited about Reid's words.

"For him to have used some inartful language in trying to praise me, and for people to try to make hay out of that, makes absolutely no sense," Mr. Obama said today in an interview for "Washington Watch with Roland Martin," which will air on the Martin Luther King holiday on TV One. "This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history."

In the new book "Game Change," it was revealed that during the 2008 presidential campaign, Reid privately stated that he believed Mr. Obama was a good candidate because he is a "light-skinned" African American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

Reid quickly apologized, and the president responded that he accepted the apology without question. Reid said today he was "not going to dwell" on the issue and instead get back to work on health care legislation.

"He's spending a lot of his political capital in the middle of an election to provide health care to every American," Mr. Obama said of Reid, "and that's going to have a great impact on African Americans, Latinos, around the country."

He added, "I guarantee you the average person, white or black, is less concerned in what Harry Reid said in a quote in a book a couple years ago than they are about how we are going to move the country forward."

More on CBSNews.com:

Washington Unplugged: Are Bill Clinton Race Comments "More Objectionable" Than Reid's?
Obama: Harry Reid's "Inartful" Words Don't Matter
Harry Reid: I'm "Not Going to Dwell" on Race Comments
Unpacking Harry Reid's "Racist" Comments
Jan Crawford: Racism Doesn't Always have a Southern Drawl
Bob Schieffer: Reid Will Survive ... 'til Election Day
Harry Reid Gets Support from Eric Holder
Dianne Feinstein: Reid Comments a "Closed" Matter
Republicans Keep the Heat on Harry Reid
Reid Apologizes for "Negro Dialect" Remark
60 Minutes: More Revelations from "Game Change"
Watch the Full "60 Minutes" Report

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by iirishamerican January 12, 2010 5:38 PM EST: for awhile people would cry if you called somebody black whah! whah! he's not black he is African American he looks black to me or brown or whatever all the while it was perfectly fine to call me white, not Irish American not American just white or my favorite whiteboy I don't cry about it until I see BS like this. say it like it is say it like you see it. since when did Americans get to be such crybaby P.C. pansies. All this P.C. stuff is tearing our country apart, we can't even properly defend ourselves anymore because of the P.C. and some crybaby will say its inhumane or its racist. If someone goes to the airport and they have a rag on their head they should be checked out not racist or mean it's the truth, if a black guy speaks like Snoop Dog and looks like Flava Flave he probably won't be getting that lawyer job he went for an interview for, if a white guy has long hair, ripped up jeans covered in grease, looking like he just walked out of the trailer park he probably won't get that job at the bank, if a brown guy can't speak any english and has no permenent residence well then it's probaly very limited on his/her job opps non of these thing are racist, mean, or P.C. but they are all true. I would rather have the truth then have smoke blown up my a** for the rest of my life.; Reply to this comment


by iirishamerican January 12, 2010 5:14 PM EST: definition of negro - A member of race of humankind native to Africa and classified according to physical features such as dark skin pigmentation. so I say again why is using the word negro racist at all? I would call it the truth would you not. everybody gets all excited when they think they get to call somebody racist like they won something. Shut-up I am so tired of hearing people cry about this to an extent that they flip it around and they are the people being racist or give special treatment to black people in fear of being called racist. I have experienced and witnessed far more racism from black or brown people then I have ever seen in my day from white people and it seems to be ok as long as it is a one-way street most of them don't even realize it until you say the same thing back to them in reverse order then all of a sudden your being racist. Quit crying and being so damn politically correct and speak the truth.; Reply to this comment

by bts321 January 12, 2010 2:28 PM EST

Senator Reid,

You were among the most vocal in calling for Trent Lott to resign. Do the rules of good conduct not apply to you as well? Apologizing for the remarks that you made, because had you not meant them you would not have said thme.

Resign now Senator. Show our country and our state Nevada, that you accept responsibilty for your words and willing to accept the same punishment that you forced upon Trent Lott.

The rules should apply equally and fairly to every Senator and every Representative.

Do the right thing Senator, Resign today.

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by steeepe January 12, 2010 2:42 PM EST: Reid's comments were not the same as Lott's, which were truly racist. Reid was making a statement about how black Americans are perceived, which were about the same as Colin Powell's statements. Lott said that if Thurmond, a lifelong racist and hypocrite, had won, we'd be better off because of his segregationist desires. No need for resignation unless you are a rabid Republican and want to force all Democrats out.


by bts321 January 12, 2010 2:28 PM EST: Senator Reid,

You were among the most vocal in calling for Trent Lott to resign. Do the rules of good conduct not apply to you as well? Apologizing for the remarks that you made, because had you not meant them you would not have said thme.

Resign now Senator. Show our country and our state Nevada, that you accept responsibilty for your words and willing to accept the same punishment that you forced upon Trent Lott.

The rules should apply equally and fairly to every Senator and every Representative.

Do the right thing Senator, Resign today.; Reply to this comment


by steeepe January 12, 2010 12:52 PM EST: I still don't get it. While not everything you think should be said, didn't Colin Powell say about the same thing that Reid did? Was Powell being racist, too?; Reply to this comment


by jchamburg January 12, 2010 11:13 AM EST: If a republican said what Harry Reid said all democrats would be up in arms to get the republican out. Because Harry Reid is a democrat all is well. Not right, what's going on?; Reply to this comment


by jgg000101 January 12, 2010 10:36 AM EST: reid could have called obama the antichrist and obama would have forgiven him.; Reply to this comment


by SocietysNightmare January 11, 2010 8:53 PM EST: Obama: Harry Reid's "Inartful" Words Don't Matter

This from a man who called part of the American population "Gun toting, bible clutching xenophobes" ?! President Obama had the press ALL OVER Hillary and Bill Clinton for comments that were construed as RACIST during the campaign season, and now Harry Reid gets a pass?! I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering President Obama gave an acceptance speech defending our war effort while accepting the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE (I still wonder how this honor was bestowed on him. I can see NOTHING he's done to deserve it). The President is becoming a living, breathing contradiction.; Reply to this comment

by verycold January 11, 2010 8:32 PM EST

I don't think Harry meant it to be mean. He is just showing us how ignorant he is by using the word "negro" that nobody has used since the 60s. Good grief. I agree that if a republican had said the same thing the media would have stoned him to death. The media and the democrat party are all hypocrites. That is o.k. because the general public is wising up to this nonsense and realizes that there is a double standard regarding race by the democrats.

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by AOCGUY January 12, 2010 10:47 AM EST: United Negro College Fund
Negro Baseball League


by AOCGUY January 12, 2010 10:56 AM EST: And this made up controversy over the word negro is ridiculous.

I am not white, nor am I a Europen-American. What I am is an American whose primary racial chracteristic is Caucasoid (Caucasian). President Obama's father's primary racial characteristic was Negroid (Negro). Black and White are colors not ethnic names. African-American is geographical reference to the area of the world ones ancestors originated from. I have no problem with one calling themselves, white, black, caucasian, or negro, or for that matter Joe if it makes them happy but none of those words are in and of themselves racist. Those that are trying to make it so are doing it for purely political reasons.

by CBSisCommunist2 January 11, 2010 7:19 PM EST

Dont matter because he is a LIBERAL DEM. If any Republican had said that-Sharpton, ACLU, Jackson... would have started riots. Its nice to see how the LIBERAL media spins it in favor of DEMS.

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by AOCGUY January 12, 2010 11:34 AM EST: Your statement doesn't hold up. Fact of the matter is that both liberal and conservative pundits made this same observation during the primaries and the campaign and no one complained then.

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