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Charles Blow Is Sorry for Mentioning Mitt Romney’s ‘Magic Underwear’

RESTON, VA - FEBRUARY 10: Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Consumer Electronics Association during a breakfast February 10, 2012 in Reston, Virginia. He discussed his plan for jobs and how technology and innovation can spur the nation's economic growth. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Photo: Alex Wong/2012 Getty Images

Under the radar New York Times columnist Charles Blow is making some news today, but not for the words he writes in the Paper of Record. Instead, as is so often the case these days, it was a quick burst from his Twitter feed that has him apologizing. “Let me just tell you this Mitt ‘Muddle Mouth’: I’m a single parent and my kids are *amazing*! Stick that in your magic underwear,” Blow wrote during Wednesday’s Republican debate, in reference to Romney’s Mormonism. On second thought, maybe it wasn’t the best comeback.

Blow’s insta-reaction came after Romney said, “When you have 40 percent of kids being born out of wedlock, and among certain ethnic groups the vast majority being born out of wedlock, you ask yourself, how are we going to have a society in the future? Because these kids are raised in poverty in many cases, they’re in abusive settings. The likelihood of them being able to finish high school or college drops dramatically in single-family homes. And we haven’t been willing to talk about this.” Blow seems to have taken the comments personally, and he lashed out.

Buzzfeed called Mormon magic underwear temple garments “a rough equivalent of Jews’ yarmulkes or tzitzit,” and sought comment from the Times, but received no response. This morning, Blow tweeted, “Btw, the comment I made about Mormonism during Wed.’s debate was inappropriate, and I regret it. I’m willing to admit that with no caveats.” (Other Twitter offenders should take note of the succinct apology, free of justification.)

Asked about the comments on the radio, Romney responded with something resembling sarcasm: “That is a little surprising, I must admit. I guess we’re finding out for the first time that the media is somewhat biased,” he said, without addressing Mormonism head-on. He added, “I think it’s going to wear very badly and the American people are not going to line up for that kind of, if you will, divisiveness and demonization of their fellow Americans.”

Times Writer Apologizes for Romney Mormon Joke