Dog whislte or dumb joke? Doesn’t matter

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swfLet’s take Mitt Romney at his word and assume that his joke about birth certificates was just a joke. Let’s assume that there was no animus behind it, that it was not a calculated “dog whistle” comment designed to be red meat for the base.

Even if you assume all of this, the bad joke should still alarm people. As with his critique of British Olympic preparations while on a trip through Britain, it is clear as Jonathan Alter is saying right now on Martin Bashir’s show on MSNBC, as I write this, that Romney is gaffe-prone and inept. He cannot go off script. Is that the man we want in the White House, dealing with allies and enemies alike?

Personally, I don’t buy that this was just a gaffe. He’s talked repeatedly about how the administration is not patriotic enough, and has been willing to hang with some of the most racist elements of his own party. 

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet