It's not just a birther joke at all.

[gulliver]

When Romney says, "No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate," the birther reference is damaging. Romney isn't a birther, of course, but he is giving himself away as someone who wants to laugh with the birthers, not at them. He is giving them "moral" support, validating them, and probably enabling them. All true.

But I think the more politically damaging aspects of it are about Romney's cloying privilege, and especially about Romney placing himself above immigrants with his quote. Romney may never be asked to show his birth certificate, but a lot of people are asked. I doubt they find Romney's joke funny at all. I would like to see Romney make the same "joke" in Arizona or standing among Hispanics. Romney may have intended a swipe at Obama and a wink to the mouth-breathing birthers, but he stupidly just set himself above Hispanics and other immigrants. Romney made it clear that he's not one of those folks who need their birth certificates checked. I have no doubt they picked up on it.

And then, of course, he lied to CBS about it right away. Romney doesn't want to be caught blowing a kiss to the birthers, and he certainly doesn't want this to be his Akin moment with Hispanics. So he tells everyone it wasn't a swipe at Obama at all. Of course not, Mitt. Of course not.

[spanone]

1. Romney isn't a birther, of course...bullshit he's a full blown birther.

[gulliver]

5. I don't think Romney believes in birtherism...

...at least yet. But show him a few more votes to be had by saying he believes in it, and I think suddenly he will.

[broiles]

8. Do we know if Romney believes in anything?

[Buns_of_Fire]

11. Sure he does. He believes in the image of Mitt Romney sitting in the Oval Office.

Past that, I got nothin'.

[fleur-de-lisa]

2. MittWit is . . .

whatever any particular faction of the repuke party wants him to be . . . for the moment. He'll shape shift in a heartbeat.

[lunatica]

3. They're all he has left

Have you seen his poll numbers? Whatever he believes he's out there desperately pandering to them.

[arely staircase]

4. great post nt

[goclark]

6. k and r n/text

[hollysmom]

7. the way Romney built to that line and then waited for the expected response,

no way was that off the cuff.

It was an insult with an amount of deniability. This was crafted for him.

I was particularly amused when he said that campaigns need humor because his humor is that of a bully, take swipes at others, but don't you dare attack me or mine whining.

The more I listen to him, the more I dislike him.

[Enrique]

9. i see it like that too n/t

[treestar]

10. First thing I thought about it when I heard it

He's above having to produce it. He's in a class above Obama, who should have to produce it.

Ticks me off, it's like when legal tribunals accept a white person's word or a copy of a document, but when you have a black person testifying, suddenly all rules about authentication of documents must be followed to a T and no way is the person's word enough. Exactly what happened to Obama over the BC nonsense.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. Of course it is also a lie, all Mitt statements are lies. Mitt has a passport, to get his first he

had to produce a birth certificate or provide one of the legal alternative forms of proving place of birth. It is that simple. He's been asked. He's produced it. So has Queen Ann.

[ananda]

13. Just like rape is not just another method of conception.

These Reeps have truly jumped the shark.

[DearAbby]

14. The fact he is as white as "Wonder Bread"

as Cher called him. He would never be questioned about citizenship, because he fits the spitting image of how he envisions an AMERICAN. White & successful. The 1%, the only people who matter. Bush's base...GOP donors...

[sad sally]

15. Mitt isn't the only birther in the RMoney family - remember his sons "joking" about it during the

primaries?

At an event in New Hampshire today, Romney's adult son Matt Romney responded to a question regarding the potential release of his father's tax returns with a joke alluding to doubts about Mr. Obama's place of birth: "I heard someone suggest the other day that as soon as Obama releases his grades and birth certificate and sort of a long list of things, then maybe he'd do it," he said.

Romney's other son, Tagg Romney, jumped in to say, "That was not my dad saying that."

Matt Romney subsequently released his first-ever tweet in response to reports about his comments: "I repeated a dumb joke. My bad. RT @emilyrs Romney's son Matt made an Obama birth certificate joke on the trail in NH."