ST. PETERSBURG-- State Rep. Darryl Rouson said he will call for the resignation of the president-elect of the Pinellas County Medical Association and a board member of the Florida Medical Association after the doctor sent out an e-mail of an image depicting President Barack Obama as a witch doctor with a loin cloth, exotic head dress and bones in his nose.

"This is absolutely terrible," wrote Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, in an e-mail to the St. Petersburg Times Thursday night. "I am immediately calling for his resignation and for the FMA to right now distance themselves from this outrageous act."

Rouson is the former president of the St. Petersburg NAACP.

Dr. David McKalip defended his decision to send the e-mail in an interview with the Times.

"I am not a racist. I am simply a person speaking up to make sure patients don't get hurt by the government and by insurance companies," he said.

Cristina Silva, Times staff writer