Reid made 'Negro dialect' comment

So if Reid is saying that Obama has "no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one," does that mean that he goes around saying that other blacks have a "Negro dialect"? Would an apology be enough to get a Republican excused for saying this? Will all the Democrats on the Sunday talk shows tomorrow be asked about this? Will they be pressed for a comparison with Trent Lott being removed from his leadership position? From the AP:

The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate apologized on Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect." Obama is the nation's first African-American president.
"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments," Reid said in a statement released after the excerpts were reported on the Web site of The Atlantic.
"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." . . .

Just out of curiosity, why did it take over a year to issue this apology? Didn't Reid know in 2007 that this was the wrong thing to say?

A new survey in Nevada shows:

52 percent had an unfavorable opinion of Reid, 33 percent had a favorable view and another 15 percent said they're neutral. In early December, a Mason-Dixon poll put his unfavorable-favorable rating at 49-38. The lowest Reid's popularity had slipped before in the surveys was 50 percent -- in October, August and May of 2009, when Mason-Dixon started tracking the senate race for the Review-Journal. . . .