Murtha apologizes for calling western Pa. racist
WASHINGTON - Democratic Rep. John Murtha is apologizing for saying his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist.
He says in a statement issued by his office that while race is a factor in the election, “we’ve been able to look beyond race” in recent months. He says voters are concerned with policy differences of the presidential candidates. He also says he thinks Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has shown sound judgment and will win the presidency.
The 17-term congressman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that there’s no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area, but that Obama would likely win Pennsylvania.