Sen. Harry Reid says sorry to President Obama for 'no Negro dialect' remark

Saturday, January 9th 2010, 5:24 PM

 NY DailyNews

Brandon/AP

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for his "no Negro dialect" comments.

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid.

And Obama accepted.

Reid's remarks were reported in a book about the campaign to be released this week. The Nevada Democrat described Obama as "light-skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words," Reid said in a statement. "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments."

Obama said Reid called him and apologized personally.

"I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he has shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart," he said. "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed."

Reid was neutral during the Democratic primary contest between Obama and Hillary Clinton. But the book, "Game Change," says he urged Obama to run.

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