Russell Simmons Issues Apology to Obama, Clarifies Kucinich 'Endorsement'

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has publicly apologized to Sen. Barack Obama whom he referred to as a 'mouse' in a recent New York Times interview. Simmons says his comment was taken out of context and was not meant to downplay Obama's viability as a presidential candidate.

"I'd like to publicly apologize to Senator Obama for any hurt it has caused," Simmons said in a statement. "There has, I believe, been more made of my statement that "all of the Democratic candidates are controlled" than I would have expected. The full statement, I believe, was clear in its intention. The statement in its proper context was meant to make a point about all of the candidates and American politics, in general. In the future, I will be more careful in how I express my views. For the record, I believe Senator Obama is a strong, solid candidate and I wish him the best in his run for the Presidency."

Rush also clarified his recent statement expressing support for Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Contrary to earlier reports, Simmons stresses that he's yet to pick a candidate and will make an official announcement when he does.

"I stated that I would like to hear more from Dennis Kucinich in the debate because I believe he has very relevant, important and useful ideas to add to a discussion," said Simmons. "When I appeared on “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” on April 25, I was asked about the Democratic Primaries and I said that I had not yet picked a candidate. Donny then asked if a change had to be made right now, what would it be. At that point I said I would put Dennis Kucinich in office. I believe that all of the democratic candidates have good qualities and any one of them has the ability to start a process of changing our relationship with the world and improving the lives of the poor in this country."

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