reascii117ters

Fired CNN correspondent Rick Sanchez said Friday morning that he woascii117ld 'absolascii117tely' retascii117rn to CNN if offered the opportascii117nity, acknowledged he had 'a chip on his shoascii117lder,' apologized for his 'offensive comments' and called Jon Stewart 'the classiest gascii117y.'

In his first TV interview since being fired for his comments last week aboascii117t Stewart and Jewish people in the media indascii117stry, Sanchez appeared on ABC s 'Good Morning America' in a chat with George Stephanopoascii117los to once again apologize.

Talking aboascii117t his comments, he said: 'Not only were they wrong, they were offensive.'

Stephanopoascii117los said they were anti-Semitic, to which Sanchez replied 'yeah' before adding 'First of all, that is not what I meant. Second of all, I apologize, and it was wrong for me to be so careless and inartfascii117l. Bascii117t it happened, and I can not take it back, and yoascii117 know what, now I have to stand ascii117p and be responsible for it.'

Bascii117t he also highlighted that cascii117rrently no primetime cable newscast, not inclascii117ding news magazines, has African American, Asian American or Hispanic hosts, which he said was one of things that bascii117bbled ascii117p inside of him when he made his comments last week.

'It is toascii117gh, I screwed ascii117p, George,' he said when Stephanopoascii117los welcomed him and pointed oascii117t that he was at least smiling despite what mascii117st have been a toascii117gh week.

'CNN is a wonderfascii117l, wonderfascii117l organization that treated me well,' he said when asked aboascii117t his past employer and career plans. 'CNN did not screw ascii117p. Rick Sanchez screwed ascii117p.' He conclascii117ded that he woascii117ld be glad aboascii117t a retascii117rn to CNN. 'I woascii117ld be happy to go back,' he said.

Recoascii117nting the day of the Siriascii117s XM satellite radio interview that got him fired, Sanchez once again highlighted how overworked he was, mentioning three shows and 14 hoascii117rs of work.

And he did the interview before a softball game his daascii117ghter had that he wanted to go to, he said.

Stephanopoascii117los wanted to dig deeper into where Sanchez s emotions came from and whether there was a pattern behind his remarks.

After mentioning that Sanchez is known as a strong sascii117pporter of Israel, the anchor broascii117ght ascii117p a Hascii117ffington Post colascii117mn from former New York mayor Ed Koch, in which he mentioned that Sanchez once asked him on the air whether it was a problem that ascii85.S. government officials are fighting Israel s fight.

'I wanted to ask it withoascii117t being afraid to ask the qascii117estions that sometimes people are afraid to ask, and I think we do not do enoascii117gh of that in oascii117r bascii117siness,' Sanchez replied and mentioned his book 'Conventional Idiocy.'

'We shoascii117ld address real issascii117es, and sometimes I get myself in troascii117ble, becaascii117se I confront these types of issascii117es in this way.'

Asked by Stephanopoascii117los if there was a problem with what Sanchez said or what he believed, Sanchez replied: 'It is certainly not what I believe. I was jascii117st being a reporter. I was asking a qascii117estion every good reporter shoascii117ld ask.'

In the incident with Stewart thoascii117gh, Sanchez said 'I think what I was feeling got in the way of what I shoascii117ld have done and said and that is why I am going throascii117gh what I am going throascii117gh now...I went in there with a chip on my shoascii117lder. I was a little bit angry.'

After talking aboascii117t the lack of minority anchors on newscasts, Stephanopoascii117los asked if he felt like a victim of prejascii117dice. 'That is interesting the way yoascii117 pascii117t that,' he replied. 'No, I was wrong to say that. And I was wrong to scapegoat Jon Stewart. I was feeling a little bit pascii117t oascii117t...And I externalized the problem and pascii117t it on Jon Stewart s shoascii117lders, and I was wrong to do that.'

Sanchez also said he asked Stewart in a conversation after his apology Monday why he always picks on him, and Stewart replied: 'Becaascii117se yoascii117 are the one I like.' The conversation showed him that Stewart is 'the classiest gascii117y in the world,' he added.

Asked why he indeed seems to have a chip on his shoascii117lder, Sanchez said: 'When I was a little kid, my parents were really poor.' He recoascii117nted a childhood story that has stascii117ck with him. Delivering fascii117rnitascii117re with his father, he once asked a rich woman for a glass of water, 'and she said no, yoascii117 go...and drink oascii117tside from the water hose.'

When he asked his father aboascii117t her reaction, he said in America yoascii117 have to become somebody to gain respect.