[NEW: One-stop shop for SAJAforum coverage and resources about the 2008 U.S. Presidential Race]
[UPDATE: Aziz Haniffa of Rediff/India Abroad has this interview with Obama, who said he was "furious" when he heard about the document, and spoke of how much he values Indian/South Asian support. It appears that Haniffa is the first desi journalist that Obama himself has spoken to - please correct us if that's not the case.]
As the Des Moines Register reports (and as Ultrabrown-ie Manish Vij and Ram Narayanan have brought to our attention) Senator Barack Obama apologized for a campaign memo that maligned Senator Hillary Clinton - calling her Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab) - based on the fact that she and her husband had invested in Indian companies (see our earlier posting) and thus represented outsourcing interests. Obama blamed aides who hadn't checked with him or their supervisors.
"I thought it was stupid and caustic and not only didn't reflect my view of the complicated issue of outsourcing ... it also didn't reflect the fact that I have longstanding support and friendships within the Indian-American community."
Obama said, "I take responsibility for it, as does our campaign. and we quickly apologized and are communicating that in various circles around the country."
But as Josh Gerstein notes in The New York Sun's Latest Politics blog, damage has been done. He said Indian-American supporters are "fuming" and points to a posting on the website of South Asians for Obama:
In addition to being offended by the clear anti-Indian sentiment in the memo, we were particularly disturbed because the memo flies in the face of what we respect most about Senator Obama -- his inclusive message and his ability to relate to people of all backgrounds.
The page includes several comments, some of which express disillusionment with Obama's slow response, and one person wondering how the campaign would've responded to variations on the supposed joke:
What really bothers me is that a (D-Israel), (R-Vatican) or (D-Mexico) would have triggered an immediate apology. We deserve the same connsideration.
