Thank god he apologized or we'd have to endure another month of how Obama's a sexist pig and talks down to women over what was a simple flap at the 100 millionth campaign stop..

I'm sure he'd like to say the same thing to Hillary. "Just a second sweetie, me first." I guess that way he can't be busted checking out her backside again.

"Hi Peggy. This is Barack Obama. I'm calling to apologize on two fronts. One was you didn't get your question answered and I apologize. I thought that we had set up interviews with all the local stations. I guess we got it with your station but you weren't the reporter that got the interview. And so, I broke my word. I apologize for that and I will make up for it.

Second apology is for using the word 'sweetie.' That's a bad habit of mine. I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front. Feel free to call me back. I expect that my press team will be happy to try to make it up to you whenever we are in Detroit next."

If that's the worst Barack ever calls a woman in public, you should be glad (a little thoughtless, a little too familiar, but at least it was friendly).

Ref: John McCain (aka "Grampa McInsane") calling his trophy wife a "cunt".

But I guess, since your candidate is losing/has lost the nomination (and her loss is primarily due to HER ineptitude-- sorry, but it's true), you will now spend every waking moment parsing Barack's every utterance, scripted or not, for sexism.

Is playing "Gotcha!" making your Murano glass-fragile ego feel any better? IS IT ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING?

How about stopping this nonsense and getting on with the important work at hand: Making sure McCain's only way to get into the White House is at the invitation of the Democratic occupant?

This is right up there with "he doesn't wear a flag pin."

I'm a woman. I'm not outraged. I'm so over it. He made a verbal gaffe. Whoop-de-do.

I wish people would get more worked up about the fact that Hillary is running her campaign like Bush is running the Iraq war. You know: going into mountains of debt for a lost cause, "staying the course" regardless of logic (or lack thereof), that kinda thing. This lack of judgment, in my view, is far more telling than someone using a harmless term of endearment a little too loosely.

Please.

Clinton has still been let off the hook for implying that non-whites are not "hard working."

Hey now that Edwards is back, are we going to get any orc stories?

This is another Rev. Wright episode. The reaction of the reporter is a complete over reaction. "Sweetie" is used as a term of endearment, not as a misogynistic insult, which I'm sure is how Obama intended it. And she doesn't know why he brushed her off. He's a busy man who is running for president and trying to win this nomination.

Clinton is a rash on the democratic voting process who has been playing the race card as well as the gender card, spuriously manipulating the minds of the voters and the press. She's making her female supporters overly sensitive, which defies her "I am woman, hear me roar" thing that she's putting out there. She's giving women a bad name and they are falling for it - this will end up biting them on the ass. She's hinted at controversies where there are none. She has a voracious appetite for pathological lying. She's desperate and will say or do anything to ensure that she's the nominee. That's a ridiculous concept, as there is no viable way that will cause that to be true.

Once people stop paying attention to this attention-seeker, the quicker she will go away.

Hillary who?

The woman is a professional. She should have been treated like one. He would not have called a male reporter "Sweetie."

he would of called a male reporter pale or buddy or chum or something....

and very typical of the way he's run his campaign. appealing to black bigots who run around calling their women "ho" and white wine-sipping supposedly liberated "liberals" seething with resentment.

Chris Matthews, Rush, O'Really, et al: think once, then twice, before you use this to bash Senator Obama. Seriously.

Wish he'd call me sweetie.

As to why this is newsworthy...

called me "sweetie" yesterday. Of course, I forgot all about it until f'n Salon decides once again to search the world over for more evidence that the Obama is actually a secret member of the he-man woman haters club.

'

And, "ignores her question?" was he answering the male reporters questions? Didn't see that happening in the video. And, hey, just maybe she was being obnoxious and repeatedly following him and shouting questions at him while he was trying to talk to the folks who were hosting the event?

And, no, it wasn't a latte.

And women of all stripes call me "sweetie" and "dear".

But hey, let's vote for John McCain and see abortions outlawed in most states by 2010, war with Iran, a continued roll back of worker protections (including protections from harrassment), and a continuation of the Bush economic policies that have been super good for single mothers. At least we won't have a president who isn't polite in the way Gloria S. has prescibed.

Forest for trees people, forest for trees.

As a child of the 70s, thank goodness I won't be around in a hundred years to read about the issues on which this election was "decided." It doesn't make any sense, even living through it like we are.

You will find shit everywhere. Even your mother will not survive such analysis.

We say we want presidents that are "the real deal", but the truth is we don't. Our constant tearing them apart for being human guarantees we only get sociapaths who can create the illusion of perfection. We can't handle the reality that someone could be both a great president, and maybe dumb enough to call a reporter "sweetie".

Even Jesus himself couldn't survive the scrutiny we give them. Don't blame just the press either - these would die on the vine if we didn't all just hop on and tear them limb for limb.