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Haley Barbour Apologizes for Obama 'Hot Poker' Dig

Sorry, but I wasn't talking about branding prez, he says

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 5, 2012 2:44 AM CDT | Updated Sep 5, 2012 2:53 AM CDT

(Newser) – Haley Barbour has apologized for a rude, crude—and some would say racist—suggestion about what to do to President Obama. "While I would love" for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to "put a hot poker to Obama’s butt, I thought he did what he was supposed to do," the former Mississippi governor said at a fundraiser last week, referring to Christie's speech at the GOP National Convention.

Barbour was quickly ripped for what sounded like encouragement to "brand" the nation's first black president. “I apologize to anyone who feels my comment had connotations that I did not intend,” Barbour tells Politico. He says he was simply trying to praise Christie, but added: "It's critical that we all keep our comments free of extremes or anything that could be misinterpreted.”

FILE - This Jan. 13, 2012, file photo shows former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour during an interview in Ridgeland, Miss. Asked about the political evolution of the southern states Barbour, a Republican, former national party chairman and two-term governor, said the demographics are important but can be overemphasized. He acknowledged...
FILE - This Jan. 13, 2012, file photo shows former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour during an interview in Ridgeland, Miss. Asked about the political evolution of the southern states Barbour, a Republican,...   (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 28 comments
1942
Sep 5, 2012 5:02 PM CDT
He couldn't help the Bigot that is inside of him.
trailmix
Sep 5, 2012 1:12 PM CDT
You can only imagine the reaction of the GOP / Teabaggers, had a former Democratic Gov. made the same statement in regards to Romney.
olearyweb
Sep 5, 2012 12:20 PM CDT
Racists don't think they are racists, so when they say racist things and people say the words are racists, they think they have been misunderstood. But, of course, they haven't. Putting a poker to someone's butt is branding that person. And it is a statement indicating the speaker is racist.
 

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