Blagojevich admits error in saying he’s “blacker than Obama”

Disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has expressed remorse for poorly received comments he made about being “blacker” than President Barack Obama in Esquire magazine.

Blagojevich, who was removed from office last year following corruption charges related to the “sale” of President Obama’s vacated Senate seat, originally knocked the president’s street cred in the Esquire interview:

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up.”

The White House has not commented on Blagojevich’s controversial remarks, but as quotes from the interview began to leak to press, Blagojevich began rapidly backpedalling on the poorly thought out comment:

“It’s a stupid metaphor to say I’m blacker than Barack Obama, that I apologize for,” he said. “It’s not appropriate for me, a white person, to stand out somehow and claim to be a black person, that’s just wrong … I was expressing frustration that the policies of this new administration still haven’t really been focusing on the great deal of inequities we have in our society.”

In addition to his upcoming stint on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, Blago’s trial for the corruption charges is slated for later this year. The issue of Esquire with Blagojevich’s interview hits newsstands on January 19th.

[Yahoo]