Gov. Chet Culver this morning said U.S Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, should “retract” his controversial comments about a potential Barack Obama presidency.DES MOINES - Gov. Chet Culver this morning said U.S Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, should “retract” his controversial comments about a potential Barack Obama presidency.

King referenced Obama’s middle name, Hussein, and strongly implied that the “optics” of having Obama, a Christian U.S. senator from Illinois who is African-American, sworn in as president in 2009 would be welcome by terrorists.

“Iowans don’t share those views,” Culver said in an interview with Iowa Independent at the statehouse in Des Moines this morning. “He should retract them.”

Culver, a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention in August who is supporting Obama, went on to say that King’s remarks, picked up by media internationally, are “unfortunate” and damage Iowa’s image.

“I think that’s why it’s important for him to set the record straight,” Culver said.