He. Just. Can't. Help. It.

Poor Mitt. I almost feel sorry for the guy.

Back in the day, Romney strenuously argued AGAINST bailing out the U.S. auto industry. Let 'em go bankrupt, he loudly opined. It's the American way. President Obama (wisely) ignored the advice and went all Lend-Lease on Detroit with oodles of taxpayer cash.

As Dirty Harry said during halftime at the Superbowl, Chevy & Company (along with America and apple pie) are back, baby -- firing on all cylinders thanks to Uncle Sam. Today, Obama looks like a hero. Mitt just looks dumb.

Seeing the error of his ways, Mitt is backpedaling and trying to convince folks that he really, honestly, truly does love Detroit and American cars. That led him to say this to an audience:

"I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs. I used to have a dodge truck, so I used to have all three [of the big automakers] covered."

Now remember: Try as he might, Romney is simply incapable of not coming off as Thurston Howell III (the uber rich guy of Gilligan's Island fame). He reeks of wealth down to his pores. So that led an amused Jon Chait to write this:

"It does make sense, in an extremely narrow way. If somebody were to accuse you of hating the Girl Scouts, you might point out that we bought a half dozen boxes of Tagalongs. That’s Romney’s thought process. I don’t hate Detroit, I love Detroit! I have a whole fleet of cars! My wife rides in a Cadillac, with a driver following behind in a second Cadillac in case she feels like changing colors in the middle of the trip! What? What did I say?"

Heh. To paraphrase the late great Ann Richards of Texas: Poor Mitt. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.