Fox News under fire for Obama "terrorist fist jab" jibes

London, June 13 : Fox News Channel anchor E.D. Hill has apologized for uttering the words "terrorist fist jab," among others, in reference to the victory gesture Senator Barack and Michelle Obama exchanged on last Tuesday.

Today, E.D. Hill apologized for this remark, stating, "I apologise because, unfortunately, some thought I personally had characterized it inappropriately. I regret that. It was not my intention. And I certainly didn't mean to associate the word 'terrorist' in any way to Senator Obama and his wife."

The Fox News television presenter has been taken off air after her a "terrorist's fist jab" remark.

The decision by network bosses came as the Obama campaign launched a website to dispel rumours about his faith and patriotism and his wife's views on race as he prepares to compete for the White House in November.

The website, www.fightthesmears.com , offers detailed responses to several rumours that have continued to circulate online and in conservative news outlets, including that Mr Obama is a Muslim.

E. D. Hill, a veteran of the Fox network, made her comment after the presumptive Democratic nominee and his wife affectionately bumped fists on stage last week as he prepared to make his victory speech, The Telegraph reported.

Before a commercial break on her America's Pulse show, she asked: "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently. We'll show you some interesting body communication and find out what it really says."

The gesture is, however, commonplace in all walks of American life, and media commentators noted that former President George Bush Snr once used it with tennis player Anna Kournikova.

Hill's remarks are one of several instances where the Right-wing network has disparaged the Obamas recently.

It characterised Michelle Obama as "Obama's Baby Mama", a derogatory term used for black single mothers, while Liz Trotta, a journalist and Fox contributor, joked about assassinating both Obama and Osama bin Laden after supposedly muddling their names.

Both Trotta and Hill apologised, with the latter claiming that her comment had merely "characterised" discussions in the media about the Obamas greeting.

ANI