Emanuel sorry for using the dreaded ‘R’ word
President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, took to the phones to apologize for calling the ideas of Democratic activists “f*cking retarded” in August.
Emanuel, whose known to be a bit crass, uttered the ‘R’ word during a strategy meeting. From the Wall Street Journal:
The friction was laid bare in August when Mr. Emanuel showed up at a weekly strategy session featuring liberal groups and White House aides. Some attendees said they were planning to air ads attacking conservative Democrats who were balking at Mr. Obama’s health-care overhaul.
“F—ing retarded,” Mr. Emanuel scolded the group, according to several participants. He warned them not to alienate lawmakers whose votes would be needed on health care and other top legislative items.
Politico’s Ben Smith reports that Emanuel has apologized:
A White House official emails that Rahm Emanuel has acknowledged calling liberal Democrats “retarded” and apologized for the remark.
“Rahm called Tim Shriver Wednesday to apologize and the apology was accepted,” the official said.
Shriver is the Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, which has launched a campaign against what it calls “the R word.”
Not only did he apologize to the Special Olympics, but he also promised to look into striking the word “retarded” from federal laws:
Emanuel met Wednesday with six disability advocates. He “sincerely apologized,” again, for using the word, promising to sign an online pledge to end the use of the word, the advocates said in a joint statement.
Emanuel also promised to “examine” Congressional legislation that would remove the word from federal law.
This isn’t the administration’s first run-in with the Special Olympics. The president famously compared his bowling game to those played by the organization on “The Tonight Show” in March 2009.
Sources:
The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 26, 2010
Chief of Staff Draws Fire From Left as Obama Falters
Politico, Feb. 2, 2010
Emanuel apologized for ‘retarded’ remark
Politico, Feb. 3, 2010
