Who shall defend our modern-day Susan B. Anthony from this scurrilous sexist attack?

Today is Obama’s third day back on the campaign trail after his foreign trip and the Illinois senator is showing signs of fatigue. Last night at a fundraiser in Houston, he appeared to mistake his former opponent and current ally, Hillary Clinton, for the controversial pop icon, Britney Spears.

“Now we’ve got ads about Britney and Paris,” Obama said referencing McCain’s new ad comparing his opponent to the young celebrities, Spears and Hilton. “At a time when we’ve got bigger challenges than any time in our history and you’re running ads with Hillary and er – with Britney and ah Paris in it. I mean come on. The American people deserve better.”

Evidence that Obama holds Hillary in the same esteem as America’s most superficial, idiotic celebutantes? No. Evidence that Obama, like any human, is apt to lose his train of thought when he’s tired? Yes. So why post it? Because (a) it’s Friday; (b) per the new Orwellian rules that guide our political discourse, had McCain said this it would warrant a 3,000-word deconstruction at Talking Points Memo; and (c) now that Maverick’s finally being demagogued on race by the same bottom-feeding Obama supporters who demagogued Hillary, I figured I’d do my part to put it out there in case her fans want to exploit it for payback. Steve Schmidt, McCain’s new strategist, cannily referenced Bill Clinton last night in explaining why McCain’s not going to let Obama’s insulting nonsense on this subject pass unanswered, but McCain voters simply aren’t in the same position as Clinton voters in terms of their standing to accuse Obama of foul play. Remember, the entire premise of those Orwellian rules is that bad faith can be irrebuttably assumed based on party affiliation; as such, Hillary’s people enjoy a degree of immunity that you and I never will, which is why we have to hand off the baton. So here you go, Clintonites, right in your hand. Go crazy!