Harry Reid and trouble are words that go hand in hand, and the comments he made about Obama during the 2008 Presidential Campaign have now come back to haunt him.
Reid has been in trouble numerous times before due to his self-enriching tactics. He was accused of pushing the construction of a bridge between Nevada and Arizona, purely because he owned 160 acres of land located close to the construction site. The land value was expected to appreciate due to the construction of the bridge. He has also been accused of receiving “more than $50,000 from four tribes with gaming interests between 2001 and 2004” and of using campaign money amounting to $3,300, to buy Christmas gifts.
The latest scandal has been brought to light thanks to a book titled, “Game Change”, written by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, which chronicles the 2008 Presidential Campaign. The book claims that Reid thought Obama would win the presidential race because he was “light-skinned” and did not use a “Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
Reid conveyed his apologies to the President on Saturday, which was fully accepted. Obama released a statement thereafter, in support, “I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I have known him for years, I have seen the passionate leadership he has shown on issues of social justice, and I know what is in his heart,” Obama said in his statement. “As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.”
As forgiving as he may be, the matter is probably being played down as Reid is in charge of getting Obama’s healthcare bill, among other items, through Congress.