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Jesse Jr. Scolds Dad for 'Ugly Rhetoric'
Jackson's son rejects his father's 'divisive' Obama comments
By John Johnson
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Posted Jul 9, 08 6:45 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Jesse Jackson is taking heat for his admittedly "crude and hurtful" comments about Barack Obama, and his own son is leading the charge. "I'm deeply outraged and disappointed," said Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill. Jackson called his father's remarks—in which he said he wanted to cut Obama's "n*** out" for "talking down to black people"—"divisive and demeaning" and said they undercut the elder Jackson's long fight for civil rights, the Washington Post reports.
A contrite Jackson has apologized for the comments, unintentionally caught by a microphone, and the Obama camp issued a statement accepting the apology but defending the senator's right to address "parental responsibility" in the black community. "Reverend Jackson is my dad and I'll always love him," said Jackson's son, a national co-chair of Obama's campaign. But "I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric."