Op-Ed: Obama Apologizes for 'Sweetie' Remark

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For those of you who think I'm sitting here laughing and salivating at yet another chance to say something negative about Obama, be ready for a shock: I'm not.

Not over something as mundane and, really, silly as this.

Let's set the stage before I continue:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has apologized to WXYZ reporter Peggy Agar for calling her "sweetie" during a campaign stop Wednesday in Sterling Heights.

Obama apologized in a voicemail he left on Agar's cell phone at 3:16 p.m:

"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."

Now the chuckle.

It all stemmed from an incident in which between Obama and Agar at a Sterling Heights Chrysler plant Wednesday, when she asked, "Senator, how are you going to help the American autoworkers?" to which he replied, "Hold on one second, sweetie."

Perhaps that's the Chicago equivalent of "darlin" that we use down here in the south? Mind you, both male AND female use it down here.

I'm sure that he meant nothing by it, really. I'm sure that it was just a harmless little "thing" that caused a misunderstanding, like his reported use of "sweetie" at other times as reported by people who heard him use the term recently while campaigning in Pennsylvania.

No, I think personally, no harm, no foul.

If I wanted to paint Obama as being someone to get a little carried away with flirting with the ladies, I'd include something like a video of Obama in jeans on a jet with mostly female reporters...