Cory Booker: I’ve Been Sidelined By Obama Campaign

Rising Democratic star Cory Booker admitted on Tuesday that he has been sidelined by President Barack Obama's re-election team after criticizing his party for attacking Mitt Romney’s business record.

Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J., has hardly been seen on the national stage since his comments — and he told the Wall Street Journal he won’t have a star role at next month’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

During a May 20 interview on Meet The Press, Booker said he found attacks on Romney’s record at Bain Capital “nauseating.” After complaints from the Obama campaign he issued a video the following day walking back the comments.

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Now he calls that “the hostage video” as it looked like he was speaking against his will. He says he was “dumb” to make it, and he stands by his original comments. "I spoke from my heart," he said. "A lot of people felt the same way I did. I expressed myself very emotionally."

But he said he now chooses his words more carefully. "There are definitely lessons to be learned," he said.

Booker told the Journal he was never expecting to be invited to speak at the convention. "The polite way to say why I didn't have expectations is that I'm an African-American, North Eastern Democrat in a safe state."