Coburn: 'Good Thing I Can't Pack a Gun' in Senate

Today's exercise in whether a politician's joke goes too far, courtesy of Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn: "It's just a good thing I can't pack a gun on the Senate floor," said the Republican, after describing his colleagues as "cowards" and a "bunch of elitists." The Tulsa World reported the comments yesterday, and they're drawing attention today, including coverage in Politico, the Hill, and Talking Points Memo.

It wasn't Coburn's only controversial remark as recounted by the World:

• He said President Obama's "intent is not to destroy, his intent is to create dependency because it worked so well for him. As an African-American male," Obama received "tremendous advantage from a lot of these programs."
• He thinks Medicare was a lousy idea from its inception. "You can't tell me the system is better now than it was before Medicare," he said. "Show me where in the Constitution the federal government is responsible for your health care."

(More Tom Coburn stories.)