Las Vegas NowCongresswoman Berkley Says McCain Using Race
A Nevada congresswoman and surrogate for Barack Obama accused John McCain's campaign on Thursday of using veiled language to paint the Democratic presidential candidate as an "uppity black man."
On a conference call with reporters, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley of Las Vegas said the Republican's attempts to portray his rival as out of touch with average Americans carried racial undertones.
"When I hear the word 'elitist' linked with Barack Obama, to me, that is a code word for 'uppity,"' Berkley said on a call organized by the Obama campaign to announce a new television ad. "I find it extremely offensive, and John McCain should know better. And until this election, he handled himself in a far more enlightened way. ... They're not using the word 'elitist' by
accident, that's a code word for 'uppity black man."'
Berkley's analysis was not echoed by Obama's campaign.
"That is not a characterization the campaign agrees with," said Obama spokeswoman Kirsten Searer. "That is our only comment."
The McCain campaign did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
Berkley's comments interjected the issue of race on a day the two presidential candidates, both millionaires, traded accusations of elitism.
While campaigning in Virginia, Obama pounced on the Arizona senator's admission that he did not know how many homes he owned.
McCain's campaign tried to deflect attention from the gaffe by issuing a statement noting that the Illinois senator sought advice from Chicago businessman Tony Rezko when he bought his home in Chicago for $1.65 million in 2005. Rezko has since been convicted on corruption charges.
Berkley, a popular five-term lawmaker, was asked on the conference call to discuss an unrelated new campaign commercial. The ad, called "Dangerous," is the second attacking McCain for supporting the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
