So Reverend Jesse Jackson shoots his mouth off while waiting to be interviewed at Fox news. In a careless whisper, Jackson complains that Obama has been “talking down to black people” during recent church appearances. Okay, that’s Jackson’s opinion. But then the good Reverend lets it rip so to speak.

“I want to cut his nuts off.”

That is some rough talk.

Two questions come to mind. One, how in the world does an experienced television guest like Jackson get so worked up to forget that while he’s sitting in the chair, on set, that the mic on his lapel is always recording sound? Did Jackson learn nothing from the ‘hymietown’ debacle?

The second question is what is it about Obama that’s got Jackson so riled up that he couldn’t contain himself to wait until he was in a private space to go off about Obama’s message?

Jackson gave some clues to his thinking during his “I apologize” press conference. The interesting thing about Jackson’s remarks was that he started them off by spending a fair amount of time recounting the legacy and bloodshed of the Civil Rights Movement pioneers. Jackson kept reminding us of what we owe to that legacy and how we cannot forget who brought us to a present day ripe for Obama’s candidacy.

It is essential to honor history and recognize the sacrifice of those who have come before. However, it is also time for the legends to accept the dignified mantle of senior statesman and not to tear at Obama while trying to grab the spotlight for themselves.

Even Jesse Jackson Jr., who is a National Chair for Barack Obama’s campaign, felt compelled to weigh in:

Rev. Jackson is my dad and I’ll always love him,” Jackson Jr. said in a statement. “He should know how hard that I’ve worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. So, I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.