GRAY DAVIS AGAINST HIMSELF:

Davis says he was 'just joking' about Schwarzenegger's pronunciation (Alexa H. Bluth, September 8, 2003, Sacramento Bee)

Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday said he was "just joking around with someone in the crowd" when he remarked a day earlier that "you shouldn't be governor unless you can pronounce the name of the state."

Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign officials continued to call on Davis to apologize for his remark, which they called an "anti-immigrant slur."

But Davis did not apologize, instead downplaying a comment that referred to the Austrian accent of the actor who is running to replace him in the recall.

"We were just kidding around in a private discussion," he told reporters after participating in a Mexican Independence Day parade in East Los Angeles.

Good thinkin'; go to a Mexican Day parade and get busted uttering an anti-immigrant slur.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 8, 2003 08:44 PM