I blogged the phantom Helen Thomas “Slumdog” crack yesterday so I’m obliged to blog this. Big/obvious difference between the two: Steele doesn’t mean it as a putdown but as a playful jibe to signal common cultural ground with Jindal. (Of course, that’s also the difference between whites impermissibly using the N-word towards blacks and blacks permissibly using it with each other, and yet some conservatives reject that out of hand as an indefensible double standard.) Even so, knowing that the left will accept even the thinnest reed on which to build its argument that all Republicans are racist, he should have resisted Sliwa’s invitation to say it. Bad media management from a guy who’s supposed to be good at it.

Read the extended excerpts at the link and see for yourself how painfully heavy-handed Sliwa is in trying to play up Steele’s race. He name-drops not one, not two, but three different hip-hop stars in the span of about six questions. Exit question: If Steele’s off the hook on the “Slumdog” joke because of the common-ground aspect, what’s Coulter’s excuse?

Update: Ah, there’s that progressive spirit we know and love. Lots more of this in Jindal’s future if/when he finally runs for president.