Former Republican New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, one of Mitt Romney's top surrogates, said yesterday that President Obama should "learn how to be an American." Really? How exactly could one be more American than by serving as president of the United States? Â
Anyway, after the (obvious, predictable and well-deserved) backlash, Sununu did apologize, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "I did say those words that are there. And, frankly, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have used those words. And I apologize for using those words … I'm apologizing for using those words. I shouldn't have used them."
But according to the Rachel Maddow Show's Maddow Blog, the rest of the interview may have used different words, but it was almost as bad as the original statement and, in some ways, worse:
The bad news is, I caught the rest of the Sununu interview. When he wasn't apologizing for his "mistake," the Romney surrogate was arguing that Obama said "businesspeople of America shouldn't take credit for building their businesses" (that never happened); he accused Obama of corruption (with no proof); he said Obama "denigrates American values" (which is absurd); he said the president sees rich people as "evil" (ridiculous); and he argued there's "a feeling amongst entrepreneurs that he is not a capitalist" (cheap nonsense).
All of this from Sununu, who also said yesterday the Obama campaign is "clearly and unequivocally a bunch of liars."
I don't imagine Sununu wants my advice, but I'm inclined to offer him a few tips anyway. First, try decaf. Second, look up "decency" in a dictionary and ponder whether you expect anyone to actually respect you. And third, if you want to accuse rivals of being "liars," try to avoid going on national television soon after and lying uncontrollably.
Read more at the Maddow Blog.