Mitt Romney: "We're Going To Hang" Barack Obama

​The smooth-haired former governor of Massachusetts placed his foot firmly in his mouth last night at an event in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney told the audience that the Republicans were going to hang Barack Obama. Well, it sounds worse than it was, but it was pretty bad!

According to Politico:

"Reagan came up with this great thing about the 'misery index' and he hung that around Jimmy Carter's neck," Romney said. "Well, we're going to have to hang the 'Obama Misery Index' around his neck."

"I'll tell you, the fact that you've got people in this country really squeezed, with gasoline getting so expensive, with commodities getting so expensive, families are having a hard making ends meet. So we're going to have to talk about that," Romney said.

Romney continued, "We're going to hang him -- " before stopping mid-sentence.

"So to speak -- metaphorically," he clarified. "You have to be careful."

At least he caught himself before going any further. Gaffes happen. But, you know, this one is exceptionally awkward considering that our president is black, and it's a reference to hanging, and that's pretty serious and historically loaded, and you get the idea.

[rgray@villagevoice.com] [@_rosiegray]