Obama disavows comment; Jones issues quasi-apology

DENVER -- Barack Obama on Monday disavowed a racially charged dispute involving his political mentor, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, as Jones issued a quasi-apology to the Hillary Clinton supporter he allegedly called an "Uncle Tom."

"We don't have time for that kind of stuff," Obama told a reporter who asked him about the flap at the Quad Cities Airport in Moline, Ill. "What we need to do is focus on unifying the party to win in November, and that's what I intend to do."

Just hours before Jones received a last-minute, pre-prime-time speaking role at the Democratic National Convention, he expressed regret to Chicago political consultant Delmarie Cobb for insulting her -- after insisting earlier in the day he had no reason to apologize to her.

The Obama camp and Jones worked feverishly to minimize fallout from the racial flap that threatened to further alienate Clinton supporters and raise questions about why Jones was awarded a coveted convention speaking role while immersed in such an incendiary controversy.

The Chicago Sun-Times was the first to report on the political tempest, which began with a hotel lobby meeting between Jones and Cobb Saturday night. And it escalated during what had been intended as a celebratory opening of the convention, which included an unprecedented lineup of Illinois speakers.

Cobb said Jones finally apologized during a Monday event.

"He came over, sat down. A couple of people obviously had something to do with it," Cobb said, without elaborating. "He sat down at the table with me. He said, 'I apologize and let's move forward.' I accepted his apology and said, 'OK, we will.' It was never my intention to continue things that would hurt Barack Obama."

Jones, however, offered a much less apologetic version of his Monday conversation with Cobb.

"I said 'If that's what you think I said, I don't want to have no hard feelings, so I apologize. We've known each other too long.'"

Describing the latest encounter to a Sun-Times reporter on the convention floor Monday evening, Jones still insisted he never called Cobb an "Uncle Tom," saying "But that's not what I said"

"That's all over," he said.

Jones started the day out Monday defiantly claiming he never hurled the slur at Cobb, instead insisting he had characterized her as a "Doubting Thomas" for not being fully aboard the Obama bandwagon.

"She walked away, and I said, 'All you doubting Thomases got to get on board.'"

Jones said Cobb turned around and demanded to know what he called her.

"I said, 'No, that's not so.' And I thought, you know, it was all over with, you know? She caught the last word of what I said. You know, people make mistakes," Jones said.

Cobb's allegation, which was supported by two aldermen who said they heard Jones say the slur "in jest," infuriated feminists aligned with Clinton, including the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for Women.

"That was a pretty horrible comment," said Illinois NOW president Bonnie Grabenhofer, who called for Jones' immediate resignation.

"I've never heard anything as awful or as sexist or as racist as to call her that for supporting Hillary," said Clinton delegate Gay Bruhn, another NOW member in Illinois who called for a public apology from Jones.

At a Monday morning meeting of Illinois delegates, Jones made clear to reporters he had no intention of stepping down before his January retirement from the state Senate or of apologizing to Cobb or the Clinton delegates.

"I cannot apologize for one misinterpreting what I said. That's all I can say," Jones said.

As the embarrassing episode rippled through the Illinois delegation here, Mayor Daley weighed in and suggested Jones simply misspoke.

"I think it's a misuse of words. There's no 'Uncle Toms,' anybody supporting Hillary, Obama. It's just a mischoice of words," the mayor said.