Apex , Nevada ( CNN ) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that he is `` very proud '' of having told Barack Obama early on that he believed he was a viable candidate for president and could win election . Responding to the controversy surrounding a newly published remark he made privately about Obama 's race in 2008 , Reid sought to emphasize his longstanding support for the nation 's first African-American president . `` I can still remember the meeting that took place in my office with Sen. Barack Obama , telling him that I think he can be elected president , '' Reid said . Obama `` was kind of surprised that the Democratic leader was calling this new senator over to suggest that he could be elected president , '' he added . A new book quotes Reid , D-Nevada , as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his `` light-skinned '' appearance and speaking patterns `` with no Negro dialect , unless he wanted to have one . '' Reid said Monday that numerous prominent African-American officials , including NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and Attorney General Eric Holder , have called him to offer support amid the controversy that began over the weekend . `` I 've apologized to everyone with the sound of my voice that I could have used a better choice of words , '' he said after an event announcing a new energy project in his home state . `` And I 'll continue doing my work for the African-American community . '' Reid said that `` as a very young man , '' he became a leader of civil rights efforts , including the integration of the gaming community . He added that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called him to say he should `` tell everybody that you have done more for diversity in the United States Senate than all the rest of the people put together . '' Asked whether he should apologize to voters , Reid -- who had issued a statement over the weekend apologizing `` for offending any and all Americans '' -- did not answer directly and instead cited the support he has received from around the country and within his own state . `` I 'm not going to dwell on this any more , '' Reid said . `` It 's in the book . I 've made all the statements I 'm going to make . '' iReport : What do you think about the words Reid used ? The book he referred to , `` Game Change , '' went on sale Monday . The authors write that `` Reid was convinced , in fact , that Obama 's race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination . '' Reid apologized in a statement sent to CNN over the weekend . `` I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words , '' he said . He added , `` I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans , especially African-Americans , for my improper comments . I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama 's legislative agenda . '' Reid called the president Saturday and apologized . In a statement issued after the call , Obama expressed support for Reid , saying , `` As far as I am concerned , the book is closed . '' Speaking to CNN contributor Roland Martin , Obama described Reid as `` a friend of mine . He has been a stalwart champion of voting rights , civil rights . '' `` This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history . For him to have used some inartful language in trying to praise me and for people to try and make hay out of that makes absolutely no sense , '' he said in the interview , which will air this month . `` I guarantee you the average person , white or black , right now is less concerned about what Harry Reid said in a quote in a book a couple of years ago than they are about how we are going to move the country forward , and that 's where we need to direct our attention . '' A senior administration official said Monday that Obama will go to Nevada in February to campaign on behalf of Reid . iReporter : `` I do n't think he should be kicked out of the Senate '' Reid also called a host of African-American political figures , including House Democrats Barbara Lee of California and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina ; the Rev . Al Sharpton ; CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile ; and the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights , Wade Henderson . Republicans pounced on the controversy . Sen. John Cornyn , R-Texas , head of the GOP 's Senate campaign arm , called for Reid to give up his leadership posts after the `` embarrassing and racially insensitive '' remarks . Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele , speaking Sunday on NBC 's `` Meet the Press , '' also called for Reid to step down . `` Racism and racist conversations have no place today in America , '' the first African-American GOP chairman said . Steele also was on the defensive for a remark he made last week . Speaking to Fox News , Steele said the GOP platform `` is one of the best political documents that 's been written in the last 25 years , honest Injun on that . '' `` Fox News Sunday '' host Chris Wallace said lawmakers from both parties have called that a racial slur . `` Well , if it is , I apologize for it . It 's not an intent to be a racial slur . I was n't intending to say a racial slur at all , '' Steele said . iReporter : Mixing race and politics equals trouble . Numerous Democrats came to Reid 's defense . The Congressional Black Caucus said Sunday that it had accepted his apology and dismissed calls for the Nevada Democrat to step down . `` Sen. Reid 's record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities , '' Lee , chairwoman of the caucus , said in a written statement . Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton , D-District of Columbia , a former chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , issued a statement saying , `` Like President Barack Obama , African-Americans are likely to accept Majority Leader Reid 's apology for an obvious reason . He has earned it . '' She added , `` Harry Reid 's opponents will not find a welcome mat in the black community if they seek to capitalize on the Reid remark . While Sen. Reid has been producing for African-Americans , many of his critics were opposing him on these same issues . '' Democrats rejected a parallel drawn by some Republicans between Reid 's remark and one by former Sen. Trent Lott , R-Mississippi , in 2002 . Lott lost his post as Senate majority leader after saying the nation would have been better off if Strom Thurmond had been elected president . Thurmond had run as a segregationist candidate in 1948 . `` There is a big double standard here , '' Steele said on NBC . `` When Democrats get caught saying racist things , you know , an apology is enough . '' Gov . Tim Kaine of Virginia , chairman of the Democratic Party , shot back , telling NBC that `` there is no comparison '' between the two sets of remarks . Reid is embroiled in a tough re-election campaign to stay in the Senate . Only one-third of Nevada voters have a favorable opinion of him , while 52 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the four-term senator , according to a survey by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research for the Las Vegas Review-Journal released over the weekend . The poll was conducted Tuesday through Thursday , before news of Reid 's comments broke . CNN 's Dana Bash , Mark Preston , Rebecca Sinderbrand and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report .
Reid : Obama : Reid is someone who ` ` has always been on right side of . '' Sen. Harry Reid apologizes to Obama for remarks made during 2008 campaign . Key Republicans have called Reid 's comments racist and said he should step down . Reid emphasizes longstanding support for Barack Obama .