Obama apologises

Sen. Barack Obama has come forward to say that it was a mistake for his presidential campaign to issue documents that raise questions about Sen. Hillary Clinton's ties to India and Indian Americans. Obama has now issued a personal apology to Indian supporters.

VT
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With his ratings in opinion polls rising day by day it seemed like Senator Barack Obama could do no wrong.

Until now.

In the face of mounting criticism from Indian Americans to a memo circulated by his campaign office that links rival Hillary Clinton's alleged support for outsourcing to the campaign funding she has received from the community, the Presidential hopeful has swung into damage control mode.

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The senator issued a statement saying
“Our campaign made a mistake. Although I was not aware of the contents of the memo prior to its distribution, I consider the entire campaign – and in particular myself – responsible for the mistake. We have taken appropriate action to prevent errors like this from happening in the future.”

But some damage has already been done.

(TAKE SAFO SHOTS FROM MY STORY April 14:Indian Americans gear up for polls. Shots of dinner and drinking) Last month, spirits were high at the launch of the South Asians for Obama NY chapter. Today, the mood amongst the organizers was markedly different

BITE: Udai Tambar- Co founder, South Asians for Obama (SAFO) “I am so disappointed and shocked that some one would write something like that and he is affiliated with a candidate that we know can do much better than that”

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As the son of a Kenyan immigrant, Obama has run his campaign portraying himself as a representative of immigrant communities of all origins, including Indian Americans. As the only African American member of the U.S. Senate, and the first African American presidential candidate with a serious chance of winning He is also considered a role model for minorities in American politics.

But this latest incident could be a costly “mistake”.

BITE: Rahul Manchanda, United States India Political Action Committee “As we saw with George Allen an apology is not enough. If you are running for the office of the president of the United States then every word you say is on the record and you should be aware of that. The reality is that there are no second chances if you are going to disparage an entire race and community of people you should be held accountable for that”

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Whether the apology will be accepted by the Indian American community is uncertain but the quick response of Indian American lobby groups to the Obama campaign memo and the Senator’s prompt personal apology is perhaps testimony that the support of America’s wealthiest community cannot be taken for granted any more.

SARAH JACOB