The Hindu : International : Republican leader's remark on crime rate raises furore

The Hindu : International : Republican leader's remark on crime rate raises furore: "Remarks condemned

The comments brought condemnation from all sides. The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, said: ``The President believes the comments were not appropriate.''

Democrats called for Mr. Bennett to withdraw his comments. 'Republicans, Democrats and all Americans of goodwill should denounce this statement, should distance themselves from Mr. Bennett,'' said Rev. Jesse Jackson. ``And the private sector should not support Mr. Bennett's radio show or his comments on the air.''

Mr. Bennett subsequently defended his words, saying that it should not be taboo to talk about race and crime. ``There was a lot of discussion about race and crime in New Orleans,'' he told ABC news. ``There was discussion — a lot of it wrong — but nevertheless, media jumping on stories about looting and shooting, and roving gangs and so on. There's no question this is on our minds,'' he added.

``What I do on our show is talk about things that people are thinking ... we don't hesitate to talk about things that are touchy. But we can't say this is an area of American life [and] that we're not allowed to talk about — race and crime.''"