KEEP TALKING NOBAMA. FLIP FLOP, CHOKE, CHOKE.

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama put himself on the opposite side of his party's leadership in the Senate yesterday by reversing course to support a compromise intelligence surveillance bill. His vote was the most dramatic in a series of moves toward the middle that have focused new attention on where he stands and where he would take the country.

Obama's vote was not unexpected, as he had signaled earlier that he would back the compromise legislation. But the senator from Illinois found himself at odds with Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), as well as three of his opponents for the Democratic nomination, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

Just the day before, Obama had denied suggestions that "I am flip-flopping." But in recent weeks, he has softened his once-harsh rhetoric about the North American Free Trade Agreement, embraced the Supreme Court decision overturning a District of Columbia ban on handguns and criticized the high court for rejecting the death penalty for child rape.

Que? Obama says nation's kids should be bilingual

In an under-covered moment I only caught by streaming the event online, Sen. Barack Obama told voters today in Powder Springs, Georgia, they should not be worried about making the United States an "English-only" country.

He said he agrees immigrants should learn English, but felt the concern should be more about global competitiveness.

"Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English, because they will learn English, you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish," he said. "We should have every child speaking more than one language."

For comic effect, he added, "It's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is 'Merci beaucoup.'"

He said a foreign language is a "powerful tool" to becoming more employable in the global economy and said children learn languages easier than adults.

"We should be emphasizing foreign languages in our schools from an early age, because children will actually learn a foreign language easier when they're 5, or 6, or 7 than when they're 46, like me," he said.

Go get 'im Jesse.

CHICAGO - Barack Obama found himself amid yet another firestorm ignited by a Chicago pastor as the Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for crude comments made about the Democratic presidential candidate's speeches at black churches.

   Jackson said the ``hurtful and wrong'' comments made Sunday were part of a private conversation with a fellow guest on ``Fox & Friends'' during a break from taping. The guest asked him about speeches on morality that Obama has given at black churches.

   The reverend told reporters at a Chicago news conference Wednesday evening that he had said Obama's speeches can come off as speaking down to black people and that there were other important issues to be addressed in the black community, such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison.

   The remarks apparently include a reference to male genitalia.

   Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page, who has been booked on the Fox program ``The O'Reilly Factor'' to respond to Jackson's comments, reported that Jackson recalled his remark as, ``The senator is cutting off his you-know-what with black people.''

   Jackson, who declined to repeat the comments, told The Associated Press that he doesn't remember ``exactly'' what he said Sunday but that he was ``very sorry.''

   ``It was not a public speech or a declaration,'' Jackson said, adding the comments ``will not be helpful.''

   ``For any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have caused, I apologize,'' Jackson said earlier in a written statement. ``My support for Senator Obama's campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal.''

   Jackson said he has called Obama's campaign to apologize.

   ``My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy...,'' Jackson's statement said of his comments.

   ``That was the context of my private conversation and it does not reflect any disparagement on my part ... or my pride in Senator Barack Obama,'' he said.

   Jackson said he decided to apologize publicly after he heard from Fox that they would air the comments.

   Obama ``of course accepts Reverend Jackson's apology,'' campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.

Ned....I couldn't believe this story when I heard it reported until I actually heard the audio.   Am assuming it's really Obama and not just a really good impersonator, although it's hard to believe he would actually make such a statement.  Teach our kids Spanish?  Fine, as an elective, but certainly not as a parental or societal responsibility.  Better perhaps that those moving here legally are immersed in English??

I think that this guy is going the "Hilary" route....a sure bet who's talking himself out of a position of power.