Barbour said he only meant to encourage New Jersey's governor. Barbour: Sorry for Obama remark

Republican heavyweight Haley Barbour apologized Tuesday night for a recent controversial remark that some have called racist.

“While I would love for [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie to put a hot poker to Obama’s butt,” Barbour said last week at a closed-door American Crossroads fundraiser in Tampa, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. “I thought he did what he was supposed to do.”


( Also on POLITICO: Haley Barbour's most barbed quotes)

Liberal outlets, including a blogger for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Gawker, and Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall, pointed out that Barbour’s comments seemingly called for the branding of the nation’s first black president.

Barbour said he was only trying to encourage Christie.

“I apologize to anyone who feels my comment had connotations that I did not intend,” Barbour said in a statement provided to POLITICO. “As a Republican, I would have liked to see Chris Christie put the heat on Obama — but for the audience of independents he did the right thing. In any case, it’s critical that we all keep our comments free of extremes or anything that could be misinterpreted.”

Barbour, a former Mississippi governor and RNC Chair, is now helping Crossroads, a Karl Rove-backed constellation of outside spending groups, raise money to help oust President Barack Obama and gain GOP control of the Senate.

Christie’s keynote address at the convention was criticized for focusing too much on himself, and not enough on GOP nominee Mitt Romney or on attacking the Obama administration’s record.

( Also on POLITICO: Christie's flop at the GOP convention)