Bob Johnson: Ferraro was right

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television says Barack Obama would not be a leading presidential candidate if he were white and that the Illinois senator's campaign has ''a hair-trigger on anything racial.''

The Charlotte Observer reported on its Web site Monday that Bob Johnson, a top Hillary Clinton supporter, was commenting on remarks by Geraldine Ferraro.

''What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called 'Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?'' Johnson said. ''And the answer is, probably not.''

''Geraldine Ferraro said it right,'' he added. ''The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white. This campaign has such a hair-trigger on anything racial it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything.''

Obama spokesman Dan Leistikow called Johnson's remarks ''just one in a long line of absurd comments by Bob Johnson.'' AP