Seems like it but I’m honestly not sure, and even if she did, it probably won’t stick thanks to Bubba’s impeccable Arkansas pedigree.

But just in case there’s any ore to be had in this lode, let’s mine.

“I was shocked when I learned Iowa and Mississippi have never elected a woman governor, senator or member of Congress,” she said. “There has got to be something at work here…

“I think Iowa poses a special burden, or a special obstacle to me because when you look at the numbers, how can Iowa be ranked with Mississippi? That’s not what I see. That’s not the quality. That’s not the communitarianism, that’s not the openness I see in Iowa.”

Doesn’t that sound like she’s saying she expects Mississippi to be backward but not Iowa?

I asked Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer about this. His response: “Clearly, she was referring to the historical fact that a woman has never been elected Governor or to the House or Senate from those states.”

Uh…right.

That vaguely ominous line about how there must be “something at work here” is also rich with possibilities. Follow ABC’s link to the source column and you’ll find that she elaborated by “theorizing it may be the risk-averse nature of a state built around agriculture,” which sounds like a polite way of hinting that farmers fear women in authority roles (a dubious suggestion given that other agricultural states have elected women).

Exit question one: The obvious climbdown here is to say that she wasn’t referring to southerners generally, just to Mississippians, although that merely limits the insult instead of erasing it. Given the decades-long knock on her as an elitist, that’s not an insult she can afford. So how exactly does she spin this? And exit question two: If this does gain traction in the media, how long will it be before we hear that mellifluous southern accent of hers again? Over/under is four days.

Update: Mississippi’s Republican Party is doing its best to give this some legs.