Father’s day may be precisely the right occasion for a story like this. Few figures in modern American politics have provided the unintentional laughs and gaffes that Vice President Joe Biden has. And now his son Beau seems to be joining in on the family tradition. At an appearance supporting the President in North Carolina, Biden the Younger decided to go off script and take a quick shot a Mitt Romney.

What could possibly go wrong?

Beau Biden, the son of the Democratic vice president, went “off script,” as he called it, to fire a shot a Republican Mitt Romney but hit Gov. Bev Perdue at the same time.

At the N.C. Democratic Party’s annual fundraising dinner, Biden mentioned that Romney didn’t seek a second term as Massachusetts governor, suggesting his failed economic policies hurt him. “I’ve never met a successful politician who didn’t run again,” said Biden, the Delaware attorney general.

As the article notes, there was an audible groan from the audience rather than the cheers which would normally follow a quick, anti-Romney applause line. I guess he forgot that Democratic Governor Bev Perdue also recently made the decision not to seek a second term.

Nothing like letting your host know that she’s a failure in her home state, eh? Nice work, Beau. We look forward to your next campaign trail offerings with breathless anticipation.