Embattled

Harry Reid's Apology Tour

On defensive after “Negro” gaffe.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid engaged in some serious damage control Saturday, after a leaked passage in an upcoming book said he called Barack Obama a "light-skinned" African American who lacked a "Negro dialect." Reid first called Obama directly to apologize for his comments and issued a statement apologizing to all Americans. The president publicly accepted the apology. “I've seen the passionate leadership he's shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart. As far as I am concerned, the book is closed," he said. But Reid next called fellow Democrats to say sorry, according to Politico, and then began reaching out to African-American leaders in general. According to a Nevada Mason-Dixon poll, Reid has the highest unfavorables of the election cycle, with 52 percent of Nevadans expressing a negative opinion of him. “This is definitely not a fight that we want to be having,” a Reid backer told Politico. The source said he was “stunned that [Reid] could have said something so stupid to a reporter. It’s just kind of mind-boggling.”