He can’t possibly mean this the way it sounds. I realize Team Obama has its own brand of Newspeak — terrorist attacks are “man-caused disasters,” spending increases are “budget cuts,” etc. — but not even a partisan svengali as dedicated as Ax is going to convince the public that Carrie Prejean’s a dog.

When Axelrod was asked if he had weighed in on the Obama family’s dog choice, “the Rasputin in this kingdom” (as Sagal jokingly refered to him) sassed back, “I was only called in for the final three, and one was Miss California.”

Quoth Jeri Thompson, “Way to be a sexist pig. Thanks, David!” In fairness, I think all he was doing is reaching for a funny topical reference related to judging and this pitiful name-check was the best he could do. Or maybe, given the White House’s knack for picking fights with non-politicians like Rush and Rick Santelli, he was driven to goof on her through simple force of habit. Whichever it is, it’s interesting that this seems to be derisive and yet the only reason a liberal like him would have for disliking her is that she has the same view on marriage — supposedly — as his pal Barry. This may be the best clue yet that The One’s faking.

Update: Oh, almost forgot: The National Organization for Marriage is a “hate group,” according to the very conscientious ex-director of the California pageant. I wonder how she feels about having a hatemonger in the White House. Hard times, America.

Update: In the comments, Omri Ceren of Mere Rhetoric puts it more eloquently.

I don’t think it’s as complicated as “topical namecheck.” Miss CA is just this week’s Designated Hate Target, so she gets bundled into every leftist joke that requires an “insert demeaning reference here” punchline. The sexist overtones are just part and parcel of the Obama boys club, where a robust lack of respect for women goes back to the Dem primaries. They needed to develop a culture of antipathy for Clinton, so they reached for the most readily available tropes. Fast forward a few months and you’ve got speech writers groping cutouts of Clinton. A few months after that, and Ax is calling Prejean a dog. The sexist tropes are *reflexive* for these tools.