“A Gaffe Is Any Impolitic Statement”

Jonathan Chait limns the important difference between gaffes and honest (if misguided) expressions of ideology:

The interesting micro development of the last two years is that the [Republican] party is starting to be infiltrated by figures who come out of smaller and even more ideologically radical subcultures — candidates like Rand Paul and Sharron Angle. (Jason Zengerle has a fantastic story in TNR on Paul’s ideology.) The news media is doing a poor job of explaining this trend, in part because it insists upon viewing this new brand of radicalism through the lens of a “gaffe” — Rand Paul won’t support the Civil Rights Act! — rather than explaining it in ideological terms.

Interesting stuff to think about in light of the recent controversy stirred up by Helen Thomas. In contrast to the “W.H. Crone“ (classy!), it seems unlikely that Carly Fiorina’s recent remarks about Senator Barbara Boxer’s hair result from any passionate personal philosophy of coiffure, so I think it’s safe to call that a gaffe.