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Friday, Apr 5, 2013 7:00 PM UTC

Obama apologizes to Kamala Harris

The White House says he called her to apologize for his "best looking" comments

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Topics: kamala harris, Barack Obama, Sexism, women,

Obama apologizes to Kamala HarrisFILE -- in this Feb. 16, 2012 file photo President Barack Obama walks with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, center, and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. Obama praised California's attorney general for more than her smarts and toughness at a Democratic Party event Thursday, April 4, 2013. The president also commended Harris for being "the best-looking attorney general" during a Democratic fundraising lunch in the Silicon Valley. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)(Credit: AP)

After a rough 24 hours for President Obama in which he took heat from his own political allies on two big fronts, he called California Attorney General Kamala Harris to apologize for calling her “the best-looking attorney general in the country” at a fundraiser in Northern California yesterday.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said today that Obama called Harris and apologized for the comment and the distraction that it caused, saying he “did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general’s professional accomplishments and her capabilities.”

“He fully recognizes the challenges women continue to face in the workplace and that they should not be judged based on appearance,” Carney said.

As Irin Carmon wrote this morning, even though Obama calls plenty of men good looking, it will never be the same because, “There is simply no comparison between how women’s looks and men’s looks count toward how society values them as humans.”

The furor may actually be a good wakeup call for Obama, who has been disturbingly cavalier about tossing out casually chauvinistic “compliments” in the past, whether it’s to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York legislator, or a Michigan reporter.

Alex Seitz-Wald

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.

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