Obama's Mentor Calls Clinton Delegate An "Uncle Tom"

The tension between supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama has erupted in Obama's own home state delegation of Illinois. Obama's mentor and the man who says he is responsible for putting him in the U.S. Senate, Illinois Senate President Pro Tempore Emil Jones, Jr., called Chicago political consultant Delmarie Cobb an Uncle Tom, which the Chicago Sun-Times has confirmed based on eyewitness accounts of two Chicago aldermen. Cobb explains what happened in the lobby of the Illinois delegation's hotel in Denver:

"Last night, I was called an 'Uncle Tom' by Emil Jones in the lobby of the hotel, right in front of [Ald.] Freddrenna Lyle and [Ald.] Leslie Hairston and [Ald.] Latasha Thomas," said Cobb, a member of Clinton's Illinois Steering Committee. "I walked over to him and asked him, 'What did you just call me?

The embarrassing flap came on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, which will open tonight with a string of Chicago speakers talking about Obama's life story. Jones is often referred to as Obama's "political godfather." . . .

"If people are still making digs at the Hillary Clinton people because we supported her, that is not going to bring us on board. It makes us feel as though we're outsiders, and we're Democrats," Cobb said. "The litmus test for being black is [seen as] supporting Barack."

For his part, Jones denied calling Cobb an "Uncle Tom", but the two aldermen's account clearly supports Cobb's claim. Jones last week announced he was stepping down from the Illinois Senate. Naturally, he annointed his son, Emil III, to take his place on the November ballot.