Rev Jesse Jackson at the centre of hypocrisy storm after it is revealed he used the 'N word' during a TV interview break

The Rev. Jackson used the racially charged slur in a crude off the cuff  rant when he thought a TV microphone was switched off.

He was already forced into an apology last week  after his initial remarks – that he wanted to  cut Mr Obama’s “nuts out” for “talking down to black people” – were revealed  last week.

But yesterday it transpired that in the same conversation, he’d also  accused Mr Obama of “telling niggers how to behave".

Happier times: Barack Obama and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are seen at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Awards Breakfast in 2007

The Rev Jackson has been a leading campaigner to stop use of the word,  which is totally taboo in politically correct America because of its  association with slavery and segregation.

He has called publicly and repeatedly on the entertainment industry, especially rap singers, to  find an alternative.  Two years ago he urged the public to boycott DVD copies of  the TV sit-com “Seinfeld” after co-star Michael Richards used the word during a  stand-up comedy routine.

The Rev. Jackson, who was with civil rights leader Martin Luther King when  he was shot dead in 1968, yesterday apologised again for his remarks.

But his mea culpa, which included a plea to Americans to move on and  “address the real issues,” exposed the rifts in the black community over support for  Mr Obama.

Mr Obama, the 46-year-old son of a Kenyan black man and a white mother  from Kansas, will become the country’s first black president if he wins the  November 4 election against Republican rival John McCain.

Ooops: The Rev Jackson mutters to a fellow interviewee during a Fox TV News piece

But as polls published this week revealed, the US is still a country  sharply divided by race with blacks and whites holding vastly different views.

Mr Obama might have expected support from fellow African-American Democrats such as  the Rev. Jackson and self-styled social justice activist The Rev.  Al Sharpton.

Both men are considered the elder statesmen of the civil rights movement  started by Mr King in the 1960s and have both run unsuccessful campaigns for  presidential office in the past.  But both have significantly failed to back him.

Last September the Rev. Sharpton, a 53-year-old New Yorker said to be the  inspiration for Tom Wolfe’s Rev Reggie Bacon in the “Bonfire of the Vanities,”  refused to throw his weight behind Obama.

“I don’t assume that just because somebody’s my colour, they’re my mind,” he  said.

Like Mr Obama, the 66-year-old Rev Jackson is based in Chicago and was  once considered a dynamic young politician.

He started the 1984 campaign for president as a rank outsider but  surprised everyone by winning 3.2 million votes and five primaries, including  the powerful Washington DC.

Four years later he exceeded all expectations and was briefly the  front-runner to take the Democratic nomination by gaining 11 primaries or  caucuses and pulling in 6.9 million votes.

So sorry: Jackson after the story broke

But far from being a help in getting the first  black president into the  White House, 20 years on from his own campaigns, he has been more of a hindrance.

His crude, racially charged rant against Mr Obama took place 11 days ago  when he was a guest on a Fox TV news show. 

He  assumed his microphone was  switched off during a break.

His initial comments about Mr Obama talking down to black people leaked  out last week but the television station held back from releasing the full  transcript.

The Rev Jackson was in Spain as the latest controversy erupted but he  quickly apologised to Mr Obama, his wife Michelle and their two young daughters.

“I am deeply saddened and distressed by the pain and sorrow I have caused  as a result of my hurtful words,” he said

“There really is no justification for my comments and I hope that the Obama  family and the American public will forgive me.” 

The Rev Jackson tried to explain away his initial rant by saying it was  triggered by Mr Obama’s speeches to black churchgoers urging a greater emphasis  on fatherhood and parenting.

Mr Obama recently quit the Chicago church he had attended for the past 20  years after its pastor Jeremiah Wright gave a series of racially charged  sermons.

He had previously called the pastor his spiritual mentor but was  forced to distance himself when the Rev. Wright refused to back down from his  beliefs.

Religion and race are key issues in American politics, especially in the  Mid West Bible Belt, Deep South and poor inner city suburbs.

The Rev. Sharpton, who has also campaigned to oppose use of the word  nigger, refused to condemn the Rev. Jackson, saying he wanted to hear the  comments for himself.  

But he added: “I am against the use of the N-word by anyone and I think  we must be consistent. We must not use the word.”