When Elizabeth Warren made a joke differentiating herself from her opponent during her debate with Republican Scott Brown about his Cosmo spread, stating “I kept my clothes on”, that was clever, witty and appropriate.
But when Brown responds to a question about the joke earlier today, “Thank god”, that is not clever, witty or appropriate. In fact, it could be a campaign killer, not so much for the bubbas out there, but for the women who may have been leaning to voting for him. It also shows cowardice; saying such things outside the presence of an opponent is the kind of thing that would send, say, an Allen West around the bend.
Several media figures think Brown has made a serious mistake by attacking Warren’s looks. American Banker’s Rob Blackwell has suggested this may be Brown’s “Macaca moment”—referring to when then-Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) used the word “Macaca” to address a dark-skinned employee of his opponent, James Webb. (Allen lost.) Slate’s Dave Weigel also joked that (Brown’s previous opponent) Martha Coakley might be running Brown’s campaign, and TPM’s Josh Marshall called the comment “not smart.”
