Lynn Jenkins, Kansas Republican, Under Fire for 'Great White Hope' Comment

Representative Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) listens while others speak to the press on Capitol Hill March 24, 2009 in Washington, DC. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was joined by other House members of the Republican Party to speak about a plan to help people with unbiased guidance on 401(k) and retirement savings that have been hurt by the current economic problems. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)more pics »Freshman GOP Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins is drawing fire after a town hall meeting last week in which she suggested that the Republican party needed to find its "great white hope." The Kansas representative was discussing party leadership at the meeting in Hiawatha, KS, when she made the comment.

Lynn Jenkins (From facebook.com)
"Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope," Jenkins can be heard saying on a videotape of the meeting. "I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington."

In response to a story about the comment, a spokesperson told the Topeka Capital-Journal that the congresswoman wanted to apologize for the comment. There may be some misunderstanding there when she talked about the great white hope," spokeswoman Mary Geiger said. "What she meant by it is they have a bright future. They're bright lights within the party."

"The Great White Hope," is a phrase that originated in the early 1900s when the boxer Jack Johnson, who was black, won the heavyweight championship. Some white boxing fans began looking for the "great white hope," a white boxer who would be able to reclaim the championship. Switch boxers for presidents, and it's obvious how the comment could be seen as racist.

Note: In the video below, the date stamp is incorrect. It displays July 19, 2009 when the video was actually shot August 19, 2009.