something curious about the incident. there's no such thing as off the record, and in an internet world where everybody has a smartphone in their pocket, hence a recording and video device, public figures have to assume that everything is in full view. barack obama learned this in 2008 when he was at a san francisco fundraiser and referenced americans who in despair cling to their guns or religion or antipathy towards people not like them, or anti-immigrants sentiment. mitt romney, too, in 2012 when he was recorded in boca ratan saying there's 40% funded by the government. surely a man self described as a stable genius knows this, and he said it in a room full of people, including democratic senator richard durbin. it wasn't a dog whistle. it was a deliberate fog horn.