THE PALIN/PALIN TICKET

Romney went there today, and -- see the video below -- it seemed carefully rehearsed, not off the cuff (no matter what the Romney campaign says):

At a campaign stop in his home state of Michigan Friday, Mitt Romney made a joke referencing the continued doubts about President Obama's birth certificate raised by Romney supporters like Donald Trump.

"I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where but the both of us were born," Romney said after introducing his wife, fellow Michigan native Ann. "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where we were born and raised."

Digby says Romney's real message is that he's "a white guy for Pete's sakes!" I cringe as I type this, but I think Rush Limbaugh is closer to the mark. On the radio, he said today:

... here is Romney, I'm convinced, test-driving something. I think this line is a test drive.

... So Ryan's out there talking about Obama and his bitter clinger quote. And Romney gets up to the microphone. It's his turn to speak, and he test-drives that line about nobody's ever had to ask to see his birth certificate.

I'm going to tell you what. You know, I'm gonna make a prediction for you. It's going to be fascinating to watch. The Obama-bashing at the Republican convention is going to be delicious. It's going to be five-star-restaurant type stuff. I mean, you're going to love it. You are going to eat it up, all the Obama-bashing.

I think Romney and Ryan are going to go for everything Sarah Palin wanted the McCain campaign to focus on in '08 -- Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, the whole nine yards, and not just at the convention, but through the fall. Racial stuff? Sure, but not just -- also allegations of anti-Americanism, Tony Rezko, you name it. It's pathetic, but that's what seems like the right strategy in the wingnut bubble. (And Romney still thinks he's undergoing initiation into the wingnut Crips, so he seems to think he has to do this.)

The only difference between this and a campaign run according to Palin's principles is that Romney and Ryan are going to be sneaky about it -- they're going to slip this stuff in, then say, "Who, us? Why, we just want to have a high-minded discussion of serious issues!"

But this is what's coming: a campaign that repeatedly goes there.