President Obama Comments On The Death Of An Icon

President Obama commented publicly on the death of Michael Jackson. The President told the Associated Press "I grew up on his music-still have all his stuff on my iPod. [Jackson] will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers." He even sent a personal letter to the King of Pop's family sending them his condolence.

"I think that his brilliance as a performer also was paired with a tragic and, in many ways, sad personal life. I'm glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer," said Obama.

Today is the first time the President has spoken publicly about Jackson's death. David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, told Meet The Press "The president obviously believes that he [Jackson] was an important and magnificent performer. Obviously, he led a sad life in many ways as well but his impact is undeniable. I talked to [Obama] about it this morning. He said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon, and I think everybody remembers hearing his songs, watching him moonwalk on television during Motown's 25th anniversary."