First & foremost, put your sabers away.
This isn't about Sen. Obama measuring the Oval Office for new carpeting.
This isn't about Sen. Obama being questioned for his party loyalty.
This is about Barack Obama, the man.
I'd say this is a great peek into the character of a man quickly stirring this community into a hornets nest. What could possibly be apolitical and still require a public apology, aired on NPR, from a sitting Senator?
Did I mention you'll laugh?
I did a search for this and didn't find any previous diary, so if this is a duplicate lemme know & it'll be gone.
Again, I'd like to mention this is not a political diary, so put aside every thought you bring to the table about the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois. The links this came do have an opinion, but I'll leave that up to other people (and other diaries, please). So a hat tip to Cosmic Variance who tipped orkut for posting something I'm surprised noone diaried here.
The short version: Senator Obama judged a man solely upon his appearance, and it required a public apology. At a press conference, reporter Nick Lovelady wanted to ask a question. But Sen. Obama didn't think he was allowed to:
When Lovelady stood to ask a question, he was immediately shot down by the Senator. The conference was only open to professional journalists, he said, not students of the university.
Lovelady argued that he had indeed graduated college and was there on behalf of the Daily Herald. Obama, explained that he assumed the reporter was a student, as he had such a baby face.
Why does this require a public apology from the Senator? Mr. Lovelady was accompanied by an intern he was hoping to impress. Sen. Obama was the worst wingman possible, and completely killed Mr. Lovelady's chances with the intern. When word of this got back to Sen. Obama, he couldn't let it end like that. So, from one man to another, Sen. Obama called to apologize... and recorded it for NPR.
Here's the meat of the conversation, from a true gentleman of the modern age:
Man, I am calling to publicly apologize for messin' up your game. I felt terrible. I didn't know there were any ladies around. I just wanted to let you know that I'm deeply sorry. But if she was that superficial, then she wasn't for you.
Leave the politics aside... when you hear Sen. Obama apologize for messing up a young reporter's romantic hopes and calls to apologize, there is an old-fashioned class of character I can respect. But I'd never let him tag along when out looking for ladies... (yeah, right)
I'm off for a movie, so I won't be here to comment. Hope y'all enjoy!