Reid Apologizes Again for 'Choice of Words'

Harry Reid apologized again this afternoon for comments he made about Barack Obama in the early days of the presidential campaign, acknowledging that he "could have used a better choice of words" in evaluating Obama's prospects. "I've apologized to the president. I've apologized to everyone that, within the sound of my voice—that I could have used a better choice of words," Reid said at a Nevada news conference.

The new book Game Change reports that Reid described Obama as "light-skinned" and lacking a "Negro dialect"—and therefore electable. Reid says his "heart has been warmed" by expressions of support from numerous minority leaders: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, for example, said that in Reid's case, though the comments are regrettable, "actions speak louder than words," the Washington Post reports.
(More Harry Reid stories.)