 "I'd be happy to but, you know, I don't have the phone number," he
told reporters outside his Chicago home.In the February issue of
Esquire magazine, the ousted governor, semiprofessional Elvis
impersonator and reality TV contestant refers to Obama as "this guy"
who was elected based simply on hope, implying that the president
isn't genuine.
"What the (expletive)? Everything he's saying's on the
teleprompter," Blagojevich told the magazine. The story hits
newsstands on Jan. 19.
"I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a
five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black
community not far from where we lived," Blagojevich said. "I saw it
all growing up."
On Monday, Blagojevich said the comment was "stupid, stupid,
stupid."
He said it was meant as a metaphor for his disappointment with
Obama, whom he accused of doing more to help Wall Street than Main
Street.
The White House declined to comment.
The response -- or lack of response -- is in contrast to the
reaction Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has received after it was
disclosed that he once discussed Obama's presidential prospects in
terms of his skin color and whether he had a "Negro dialect." Reid
immediately apologized and Obama accepted, though some Republicans
are calling for him to step down.
There was no way Obama could avoid acknowledging the statements
from Reid, an important Democratic leader and legislative ally, but
the president has far more leeway to ignore Blagojevich's latest
strange behavior.
The twice-elected Democrat was impeached and removed from office
last year after federal prosecutors arrested him on corruption
charges that included trying to sell Obama's old U.S. Senate seat.
He has pleaded not guilty.
[to top of second column] |
Ahead of his trial, which is expected to start in June, Blagojevich
is appearing on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."
He also continues to accuse prosecutors of persecuting him for
routine political deals.
One of those deals, he said, was the possibility of naming
Attorney General Lisa Madigan to Obama's Senate seat in exchange for
cooperation on important programs from her powerful father, Illinois
House Speaker Michael Madigan.
He used an infamously coarse word to refer to the attorney
general.
"If I can get this, how much do I love the people of Illinois to
make that (expletive) senator?"‘ Blagojevich said in the interview.
But on Monday, Blagojevich said, "I don't think I said that."
[Associated Press;
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
