"HILLARY'S GANDHI JOKE: WAS IT OUT OF LINE?" That's MSNBC's question of the day. I'm torn on this issue. Generally speaking, I'm willing to grant off-color jokes a pretty wide latitude. I'll forgive a lot if something's funny.

The big problem I have with Hillary's Gandhi "joke" was that it wasn't funny. What exactly is the joke here? That Gandhi was Indian, and that many gas stations are run by Indian-Americans and that many Indian-Americans live in or near St. Louis? I suppose these elements could be assembled in a humorous way, but not in the way Clinton did it. I'm reminded of the Simpsons bit in which McBain tries his hand at stand-up comedy:

"Did you ever notice how men always leave the toilet seat up? [pause] That's the joke."