CNN 2010-01-17（在线收听）

We know senate majority leader Harry Reid is sorry for what he said about president Obama.

That's what he said. But was it racist? Was it true but crudely phrased or was it just plain clueless? Our Soledad O'Brien looks closer at what's really motivating his apology.

>> I've apologized to the president.

>> Reporter: So why exactly is Harry Reid spending so much time apologizing? Author and blogger, Kelly Goff.

>> First of all, apologizing because it's politically necessary to do so. But second of all he's really apologizing because he used essentially antiquated racial language.

>> Reporter: Problem number one for Senator Reid, race and privilege. The senator suggesting the light-skinned candidate has a better chance of winning.

>> I believe that Harry Reid was revealing a very ugly truth about how white Americans tend to view African-American candidates. I mean, It's not a surprise that even in recent memory if you look at Doug Wilder in Virginia, for instance, or the success that Harold Ford has had, it has often been more light-skinned African-Americans that have had greater success or the extraordinary success that Colin Powell had amongst white Americans.

>> What I thought was fascinating about his comment and the reaction to it is I think a lot of black people have long believed that it's sort of an inner community secret.

>> Reporter: Problem number two, the Senator's use of the phrase “Negro dialect”, what exactly does that mean? We asked famed Harvard law professor Charles Oakley Tree.

>> You have to ask Harry Reid. It certainly makes no sense in my sense of what the dialect of African-Americans are, because it's as varied as the dialect of any ethnic group anywhere in the world.

>> Reporter: Professor and preacher Michael Eric Dyson says it's not just how you say it, it's what you're talking about.

>> It's not just intonation. If Barack Obama was speaking about affirmative action and bussing and housing and unemployment and stuff, he'd be seen as more black.

>> Reporter: By Negro dialect, maybe Senator Reid meant this.

>> I know we can come together to face down the challenges of our own time.

>> Reporter: Barack Obama speaking to a mostly black crowd at the NAACP may be the biggest problem of them all.