Gotta do it whenever I see piling on: ;-)

What exactly is the objection? Is it the comment about the portly man's button about to fly off? Or is it the quip about a black man nobody knows?

The article itself makes a similar comment that Pawlenty is relatively unknown (though even I know who he is)... since this hasn't been taken as bigoted, I'm guessing it must be use of that "black" word.

Would it have been okay if MB said "African American" rather than "black"? Sorry to have to ask but my national Rugby Team is called the "All Blacks" and it's a term of pride, so I'm just trying to fathom the cultural nuances.

Or perhaps the crime is to suggest that a dark fellow on a Republican podium is just a cynical symbol? MB wouldn't be the only one to believe that.

FWIW, certainly I agree with Romney that you need to get the troops back rather than fighting a war of independence on foreign shores: if US wealth keeps accumulating in the pockets of the super rich and the middle classes continue to be marginalized... well, you'll need the soldiers for exactly the reason Romney said.