SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Utah company offering online a sock monkey named for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says it didn't mean to anger anyone with a "cute and cuddly" toy that some are calling racist.
An official statement issued today by Sock Obama LLC says the toy was based on a "casual and affectionate observation" that there was an association between the Illinois senator and the toy.
But the president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People calls the toy "pure racism at its extreme."