Pawlenty Campaigning For State Senate Candidate Who Called Obama 'Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man'

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential presidential candidate, is campaigning today in his home state of Minnesota in a state Senate special election -- for a candidate who recently apologized for posting on Twitter last spring that President Obama is a "Power Hungry Arrogant Black Man."

Pawlenty said that he accepts Republican candidate Mike Parry's apology, Minnesota Public Radio reports. "He recognizes those comments were unwise and improper," said Pawlenty. "He's apologized and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and campaign for him because I think the rest of his record and the rest of his perspective is worth supporting."

When the controversy first came to light, spearheaded by local liberal blogs such as MN Progressive Project, Parry stood by the Tweet -- pointing out that it is a fact that Obama is black. As he told the Waseca County News on January 5:

"I know specifically about what you're talking about - the tweet that I had sent using my opinion and fact," Parry said. "My opinion is that our president is arrogant and angry. The fact is that he is a black man. Now if the Democratic Party and the liberals want to take my opinion and the fact and mix it together and use it to bring a bad light about me and keep them away from discussing the real issues they can do that all they want. They're grasping for straws."

Parry then apologized for it the next day. "I sincerely apologize for past tweets which were written in haste and out of the frustration I felt for the out of control spending in Washington," Parry said in a statement. "Given the fragile state of our economy and the kind of out of control and wasteful spending we're seeing from Democrats, the people in Senate District 26 must have an election about the future."