*facepalm*

Longshot Republican candidate and good ole Wisconsin boy Tommy Thompson's been at it again in the news. At a recent debate of the Republican candidates, Tommy raised a lot of eyebrows when he said he thought it was OK for an employer to fire someone for being gay.

Problem is that Tommy misheard the question. "I don't believe in discriminating against anybody. My whole record has been like that," the former governor and U.S. health secretary said Friday.

And really, Tommy's record does hold up -- I mean, Assembly Democrat Mark Pocan observed, "I just hope that Tommy doesn't change" on the issue. And he's signed plenty of anti-discrimination laws for the state. Other people have said that he's sympathetic to gay rights.

But admittedly, this, just three weeks after Tommy apologized for remarks made to a Jewish audience reminds us all that while he's a good 'ole Wisconsin boy, he may not be suited for the presidency. One of my favorite stories is when former German ChancellorHelmut Kohl came to town and Tommy was up on stage with Bill Clinton. Apparently Tommy sounded like he was rip-roaring drunk when he introduced the chancellor and Clinton. If I remember correctly, that clip was played around Wisconsin like the Howard Dean scream.

He's been lucky that this is fairly low profile, except in the Cheese state. Well, lucky is a relative term. He's a pretty low-profile candidate with a long shot to win, so no one's really paying attention to him. But it's kind of amusing to watch from his home state -- it's proof positive that even rising up to governor and then heading to Washington D.C. for a cabinet position, he's still a good ole boy from Elroy. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but in this day and age where your campaign depends on how slick you can be, this doesn't bode well for our boy from Wisconsin.