WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Right-wing commentator Glenn Beck said Sunday he regretted, but did not want to retract, his comment that President Barack Obama was a racist.
"I've addressed this comment a million times. And, in fact, I think I amended it this week that what I didn't understand at the time was the influence on President Obama and, you know, the white culture," Beck said on "Fox News Sunday." Beck has his own show on Fox.
"(Obama's) viewpoints come from liberation theology ... And I miscast it as racism," he said.
Asked if he regretted the comment, he said, "of course," but he went on to say he wanted to amend, not retract, the comment.
Beck also said the "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington Saturday was, foremost, a message, that people were unhappy.
Beck estimated "on the low end, 300,000 and it may be as high as 650,000" attended the rally that was billed as a non-political event, but featured former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a featured speaker.
"You don't get that many people to come to Washington and stand there … without signs, without political messages, for no reason," Beck said.
"You don't do it because they're happy about things. That's what the politicians -- the first message they should get. People aren't really happy with things," he said.
