Jesse Jr. : "Just Carryin' On...

An Old, Family Tradition."

The House decided Thursday not to take up a resolution demanding that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas apologize for not immediately getting rid of a rock bearing the word Niggerhead from a ranch his family once leased in Paint Creek, Tex.

The measure called for Mr. Perry and his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination to condemn the word. It also called for Mr. Perry to list all of the lawmakers, friends and financial supporters he took to the land while the rock was there and to apologize for taking them.

The measure was offered by Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Illinois, who said it was drafted based on an article about the rock in The Washington Post.

“Upon reading that story, the vast majority of the people of the United States were morally outraged,” Mr. Jackson said.