Conservative radio commentator William Bennett, the former U.S. Secretary of Education, came under sharp criticism from the White House, black leaders and officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties last week for comments suggesting that aborting black children would lessen America’s crime problem.

"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," Bennett said last week on his radio talk show, "Morning in America," after a caller raised the issue of abortion.

"That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do," Bennett added, "but your crime rate would go down."

Civil rights activists immediately characterized Bennett’s remarks as racist. Democrats called on the White House to denounce Bennett's comments, which it did Friday. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) introduced legislation to condemn Bennett, and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) demanded that the Salem Radio Network stations suspend Bennett’s show, “Morning in America,” which airs on over 100 affiliates across the country and has an estimated 1.25 million listeners. Some public figures, including talk radio hostess Bev Smith, are calling for organized boycotts of the advertisers that support Bennett’s program.

"Bill Bennett’s remarks are morally degenerate," Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "It’s a blatant wish for genocide. What’s dangerous about Bennett’s remarks is that his friends [in the White House] are making public policy decisions."

Bennett served as secretary of education in the Reagan administration and was director of drug policy under former President George H.W. Bush. His book about traditional American values, "The Book of Virtue," was a bestseller in 1993. In 2003, Bennett admitted he was a serious gambler and several magazines reported that he lost millions of dollars in casinos.

On Friday, Bennett released a statement defending his remarks. "A thought experiment about public policy, on national radio, should not have received the condemnations it has," he said. Bennett said he was merely offering a "hypothetical" scenario.

But Democrats weren’t buying his explanation.

"Bill Bennett’s hateful, inflammatory remarks regarding African-Americans are simply inexcusable," Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.

"They are particularly unacceptable from a leader in the conservative movement and former Secretary of Education, once charged with the well being of every American school child," Dean said. "Bennett’s comments demonstrate a reprehensible racial insensitivity and ignorance. Are these the values of the Republican Party and its conservative allies?"

Bennett’s stunning remarks come as Republicans -- who are aggressively reaching out to black voters -- are still trying to manage the political fallout from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Black leaders have roundly criticized the Bush administration, saying the federal government was slow to respond to residents in the Gulf Coast region where more than 1,000 people died.

Last week, the White House and the Republican National Committee condemned Bennett.

"The president believes the comments were not appropriate," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said last week.

"Bill Bennett's remarks were inappropriate and unfortunate given that he's devoted much of his life to improving America's schools, keeping kids off drugs and closing the achievement gap that exists among minority and non-minority school children," Tara Wall, a senior advisor for the Republican National Committee, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Yanick Rice Lamb, a journalism professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., told BlackAmericaWeb.com that Bennett’s comments show the true depth of his feelings.

"It goes far beyond what he thinks of black students," Rice Lamb said. "He attempted to paint an entire race with one broad stroke."

Bruce S. Gordon, president & CEO of the NAACP, said Bennett should apologize for his "racist" comments.

"In 2005, there is no place for the kind of racist statement made by Bennett," Gordon said in a statement. "While the entire nation is trying to help survivors, black and white, to recover from the damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it is unconscionable for Bennett to make such ignorant and insensitive comments."

"I am personally offended and angry that Bennett felt he could make such a public statement with impunity," Gordon said. "The owners of the Salem Radio Network, which airs Bennett's program, should also apologize."

The Salem Radio Network, which is based in Texas, is Christian radio’s largest network and a leading broadcaster focusing on religious and family themes, according to the station’s website.

The network, which owns 100 radio stations, features other conservative personalities such as Cal Thomas and Mike Gallagher. Salem serves 1,600 radio stations and more than 40 ministries across the country, according to the website.

Bennett’s show, according to media reports, airs on about 115 radio stations in America and has an estimated 1.25 million listeners.

In 2004, America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, announced a joint agreement with Salem to offer radio programming through the AOL Radio Network. EHarmony.com, the national online dating service, is listed as a sponsor of the Salem network.

Salem Communications Corporation is listed among the many high-profile clients of the Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying firm with close ties to the White House, according to The Center for Media and Democracy.

Last week, Bennett told reporters that his remarks were "taken out of context" and said his critics should apologize to him for misconstruing his comments.

Bennett, who is anti-abortion, said he was "pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons any more than racism ... should be supported or opposed for economic reasons. Immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation."

"I was putting forth a hypothetical proposition," Bennett said on CNN. "I'm not racist, and I'll put my record up against theirs. I've been a champion of the real civil rights issue of our times -- equal educational opportunities for kids."

"We've got to have candor and talk about these things while we reject wild hypotheses," Bennett said.

"I don't think people have the right to be angry, if they look at the whole thing," he added. "But if they get a selective part of my comment, I can see why they would be angry. If somebody thought I was advocating that, they ought to be angry. I would be angry. But that's not what I advocate."

Black Democrats dismissed Bennett’s rhetoric as discriminatory.

"Secretary Bennett's words have once again revealed the abiding prejudice that unfortunately still guides the actions of some of this nation's policy makers," Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) said in a statement.

"If Secretary Bennett is interested in reducing crime," Cummings said, "as a former education secretary and drug czar, [he] should utilize his time and place in public life to increase educational opportunities for African-Americans, Hispanic Americans and Americans of all backgrounds."