by Damozel | As I said when I first addressed this topic, he was right to apologize. When one unintentionally causes another pain --- in this case because of overzealous volunteers --- 'I'm sorry' is the correct response.
Here's Obama's statement via Ben Smith:
I reached out to Ms. Aref and Ms. Abdelfadeel this afternoon. I spoke with Ms. Abdelfadeel, and expressed my deepest apologies for the incident that occurred with volunteers at the event in Detroit. The actions of these volunteers were unacceptable and in no way reflect any policy of my campaign. I take deepest offense to and will continue to fight against discrimination against people of any religious group or background. Our campaign is about bringing people together, and I'm grateful that Ms. Abdelfadeel accepted our apology and I hope Ms. Aref and any who were offended accept my apology as well. (read more at The Politico)
The women also released a statement. In pertinent part, they said:
This incident was unfortunate and extremely disappointing. Senator Obama has called us each to personally convey his deepest apologies and acknowledge that this was inexcusable. We both immensely appreciate the Senator's phone call and his commitment to remedy this issue. We commend him for displaying qualities befitting an effective President. ( read more at The Politico)
RECENT RELATED BN-POLITICS POSTINGS
Recipe-gate Part 2: A Teapot in a Tempest
Muslim Women Barred by Obama Campaign from Photograph
If you think this campaign button is funny...
Unity? Not for Most of the Crowd on This Video
Obama Endorses White Conservative over Black Liberal
***“It is offensive and counter to Obama’s commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run,” Burton [a campaign official] was quoted as saying. “We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers.”
Of course, it’s the VOLUNTEER’S fault!! Probably a kid donating his/her time to help out and, WHAM! under the bus. Nothin’ but fumes."***
Posted by: danny | June 20, 2008 at 01:02 AM