EURweb.com - OBAMA HAS MICHAEL JACKSON IN HIS IPOD: In new interview, President says he "grew up on his music."

*Despite criticism from some African American media outlets, President Obama says he doesn't see any controversy about choosing not to release a formal White House statement about the passing of Michael Jackson, something typically done when an iconic music figure dies.

"Look, you're the first person who's actually asked me about it," he told the Associated Press' White House correspondent Jennifer Loven on Thursday, explaining why he hasn't said more than a few comments passed along by spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Instead of a public statement, President Obama sent the Jackson family a letter, the contents of which neither side has disclosed.

The President also said Thursday that Jackson, who died last week at 50, will "go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers."

"I grew up on his music," he said. "I still have all his stuff on my iPod."

Obama said that at the same time that he felt Jackson had experienced "a tragic and in many ways sad personal life."

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OBAMA HAS MICHAEL JACKSON IN HIS IPOD: In new interview, President says he "grew up on his music."