Jesse Jackson

[MartinJackson]

He thought he was off mike. Jackson's true colors are shining through.

Jesse Jackson Apologizes for Remarks on Obama

By JEFF ZELENY
Published: July 10, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized on Wednesday for critical and crude comments he made about Senator Barack Obama, remarks in which he accused Mr. Obama of “talking down to black people.”
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Mr. Jackson, before an interview with a Fox News anchor on a different topic, sharply criticized Mr. Obama for how he has been referring to African-Americans. He specifically took issue with how Mr. Obama had singled out black men in recent speeches for failing to uphold their responsibility as fathers.

Mr. Jackson’s words, which included a vulgar reference, were recorded by a live microphone on Sunday. His apology came after Fox News said it would broadcast the remarks on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Wednesday night.
“I don’t want harm nor hurt to come to this campaign,” Mr. Jackson said in an afternoon news conference in Chicago, after his comments were referred to throughout the day on cable television. He called his words “hurtful and wrong.”

Mr. Jackson, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, has been a supporter of Mr. Obama. He has played no formal role in the campaign, but tensions have occasionally flared behind the scenes with Mr. Jackson, who is known for his outspokenness and his penchant for drawing attention to himself.
Mr. Obama’s candidacy has served as an example of a generational and stylistic shift in black political leadership in America. The remarks drew an unusually stern rebuke from Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., Democrat of Illinois, who also serves as a national co-chairman of Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign.

“Reverend Jackson is my dad, and I’ll always love him,” the congressman said Wednesday evening in a statement. He added, “I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.”
In a statement issued by the campaign, Mr. Obama accepted the apology from Mr. Jackson. But a spokesman said Mr. Obama would not refrain from calling upon fathers to take greater responsibility and participate in their children’s lives.
“As someone who grew up without a father in the home, Senator Obama has spoken and written for many years about the issue of parental responsibility, including the importance of fathers participating in their children’s lives,” said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.

Mr. Jackson made his remarks before an interview on “Fox & Friends” on Sunday during a segment about health care. The comments, which came when Mr. Jackson thought he was speaking privately, were brought to light on Wednesday when Bill O’Reilly, the host of “The O’Reilly Factor,” announced his intention to play the exchange. At least one of the words had to be blocked out.

Mr. Jackson’s comments apparently were a reaction to a speech Mr. Obama delivered on Father’s Day, when he told a Chicago church congregation that “we need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn’t just end at conception.” Mr. Obama often tells his audiences that absentee fathers are, in part, to blame for some of the problems afflicting black Americans.

That message prompted Mr. Jackson to accuse Mr. Obama of “talking down to black people.” Mr. Jackson said other issues should be highlighted, including unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison.

In a statement, Mr. Jackson said, “My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy which would be a corrective action for the lack of good choices that often led to their irresponsibility.”

[albiealert]

Jackson is a loudmouth race-baiting manipulator who uses the race card for his personal gain, ie contributions and franchises from soft drink players, a war chest of $$ for his "Rainbow coalition" some of which was used to buy a townhouse and pay expenses for a mistress, all promised to be used for charity, but diverted for his personal gain.

IMO Jackson is a fraud and charlatan who shamefully masquerades behind his "Reverend" title. Although my political leanings are sometimes liberal, I think all liberals should be ahamed at Jackson's pandering and manipulations. He gives black people and the struggles for progress a bad name. He taints perceptions of what it takes to get ahead in America today.

[fishinmission78]

Jackson is a political *****. I highly doubt he represents the interests of most black people. Same with Sharpton.