Rick Sanchez Calls Obama 'Cotton Picking President,' Apologizes

Oh boy. So apparently Rick Sanchez referred to Barack Obama as the "cotton picking president" on in a discussion with CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin.

This ought to be good.

Check it:

(via The Huffington Post)

"He is the cotton picking president of the United States! If the president of the United States doesn't have enough of a bully pulpit to convince people that...a lie is a lie...what the hell is going on here?"

After a commercial break, Sanchez immediately apologized. He said that soon after he had used the phrase, people had started contacting him on Twitter, pointing out that he had just used it when referring to a black man — an insensitive reference, given the phrase's connections to slavery.

"You know I didn't even realize it?" he said. "I was just saying 'cotton picking' because it's a term that I've used because I grew up in the South...however, I apologize for using it, in case it was taken by anyone as an act of disrespect."

Insensitive? Sure. Stupid? You betcha. Racist? Nah. In my opinion, this is a whole lot of hoopla about nothing. But you can decide for yourselves.

Let's go to the tape: