In The Heart Of Darkness?

NATIONAL PUBLIC Radio newscaster Jean Cochran reported that president George Bush was going to visit Africa, and Cochran referred to it as the "Dark Continent."

Then she was stunned to learn that people were offended by the phrase.

"I will concede antiquated but I was unaware it was 'racist and irredeemable,' as one person put it in an email," Cochran told NPR's ombudsman. "I was floored. Am I insensitive? I don't know how that could be since I didn't know there was anything to be sensitive about. I understood the term to refer to the African jungle. It's a canopy blocking out the light. A geographical term."

The phrase, by the way, dates back to the colonial era of Africa during the 19th century.

Was Cochran insensitive or is this a case of the political correct police running amok?