Musician Nugent sorry for Obama slur

HOUSTON — The rock guitarist Ted Nugent, responding to cascading criticism that had become an embarrassment for his conservative Republican allies, has apologized for calling President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel.” But Democrats expressed frustration that their calls for an apology from the Texas Republican who took Nugent on the campaign trail had been ignored.

Nugent’s description of the president and his two appearances Tuesday with Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general and Republican frontrunner in the race for governor, have put Abbott on the defensive.

After the remarks generated national attention, Nugent’s language drew criticism Thursday from prominent Republicans, including Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, although those three stopped short of criticizing Abbott’s decision to campaign with Nugent.

On Friday on the Texas radio station WBAP, Nugent told Ben Ferguson, a conservative talk show host, that he “did cross the line” by using the term, a rare, if grudging, admission from the outspoken pro-gun rock star who once told Obama to “suck on my machine gun.”

“I do apologize, not necessarily to the president, but on behalf of much better men than myself,” Nugent said on Friday, mentioning Perry and Abbott. He added: “I apologize for using the street-fighter terminology of ‘ subhuman mongrel’ instead of just using more understandable language, such as ‘violator of his oath to the Constitution,’ ‘ the liar that he is.’ ”