Shocker: John Murtha APOLOGIZES for Calling Western Pennsylvania Voters RACIST

Pennsylvania Congressman has sort of apologized for his comments he made yesterday:

Democratic Rep. John Murtha said Wednesday his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama’s victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.

The 17-term Democratic congressman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site: “There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area.”

Murtha said it has taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to embracing a black presidential candidate, but that Obama should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Web site, Murtha said Obama has a problem with voters’ racial attitudes in western Pennsylvania that could trim his winning margin on Nov. 4.

The apology:

In a statement released by his offices today, the long-serving
Democratic lawmaker apologizes for making the comment yesterday to a
Pittsburgh newspaper that West PA was a “racist area”, but not for the
overall description of Western Pennsylvania.

Statement from Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)

“I apologize for making the comment that ‘Western Pennsylvania is a racist area.’

“While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe
we’ve been able to look beyond race these past few months, and that
voters today are concerned with the policy differences of our two
candidates and their vision for the future of our great country.

“Senator Obama has shown sound judgment and has presented us with a
change from the failed policies of George Bush and John McCain. I
believe he will win both Pennsylvania and the White House.”