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Dec 4, 2008 9:10 am US/Eastern
Rendell Apologizes For Gov. Napolitano Comments
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ―
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National Governors Association (NGA) Vice Chair and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell listens during a roundtable discussion at the State Summit on Foreclosures and Housing Solutions May 28, 2008, in Arlington, Va.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Gov. Ed Rendell apologized Wednesday for his comments,
picked up by an open microphone, that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is a good choice for
Homeland Security secretary because she "has no family" and the job
requires someone who has "no life."
The remarks, which he made
while standing at a lectern Tuesday at a meeting of the National Governors
Association, were construed by some as sexist.
Rendell said Napolitano
would be ideal for the Homeland Security post. "Because for that job, you
have to have no life," he said. "Janet
has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to
it."
On Wednesday, the
governor said he "didn't mean it the wrong way" and called Napolitano
"one of the best governors in the country."
"If anybody out there
was offended, I apologize," he said.
"But you could say the exact same thing to me, about
me."
Rendell, who is married
to a federal judge and has an adult son, regularly performs gubernatorial
duties on weekends and holidays, and has a reputation for making late-night
work-related phone calls to his staff.
Napolitano, a
second-term governor, former state attorney general and former U.S. attorney,
has never been married and has no children.
Her spokeswoman,
Jeanine L'Ecuyer, said the Arizona
governor considers Rendell a good friend.
"She said she
really appreciates Gov. Rendell's confidence in her and the confidence of the
president-elect," L'Ecuyer said.
The spokeswoman
deflected questions about whether the comment was sexist.
"There's a lot of
people weighing in on that. We'll leave it to you guys to do that," she
said.
Rendell said that
former Pennsylvania Gov.
Tom Ridge,
who became the first Homeland Security secretary under President George W. Bush, "told me you have to live that job
every minute."
"I think it's
clear, to do that job you have to be ready to work 24-7," Rendell said.
"You can't have another job, you can't have an avocation you're addicted
to like golf or anything like that."
Rendell press secretary
Chuck Ardo said he did not know with whom Rendell was speaking at the time the
cameras captured his comment.
In a similar incident
nearly four years ago, a leading Arizona
state senator apologized to Napolitano after making light of her status as a
lawyer and person without a family.
Senate President Ken
Bennett was critical of Napolitano's positions regarding lawsuit reform and
family values.
"She's a lawyer,
and she doesn't have a family," Bennett said at the time. He later called
the governor to apologize.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
