Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me (Slight Return)

[Graphic credit: Under the Mountain Bunker]

So the Mittster takes a detour from Hamptons fundraisers for douchey swells to have rap session with the NAACP, and, well, another day, another unforced error:

The audience initially welcomed the unofficial Republican nominee with a standing ovation and applauded when he promised to represent "all Americans of every race, creed and sexual orientation," and noted that "old inequities persist" even half a century after the civil rights movement.

But murmurs of disagreement rippled through the crowd early on when he argued that his policies would help "families of any color more than the policies and leadership of President Obama." When he added that he would reduce spending, in part, by eliminating "nonessential, expensive programs" like the president's healthcare plan, the audience booed for 15 seconds. And when Romney harshly criticized the president for failing to create jobs and "better educate tomorrow's workers," he appeared to have punctured much of the goodwill that was initially directed his way.

Romney stood quietly behind the lectern, smiling at the audience as it voiced disapproval. "I do not have a hidden agenda," he continued. "If you want a president who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him." To a scattering of boos and catcalls, the candidate paused and nodded firmly before carrying on with his speech. "You take a look," he said.

While a few audience members credited Romney for his bluntness, a number of them suggested that he intended to be provocative.

"He wasn't speaking to us," NAACP Chairman Emeritus Julian Bond said after Romney's speech. "He was speaking to that slice of white America that hasn't made up its mind about him, and he's saying, 'Look at me; I'm OK. I can get along with the Negroes. I can say things to them that they don't like, so I'm not afraid to stand up to them.' … I think that's what this is all about, and that's the reason he came."

That sounds about right. Now he has options -- he can run off to Dick Cheney's for another fatcat hoedown, or go on tour with Dave Chappelle. Either way, hilarity ensues.