March 07, 2012 09:54 PM UTC

Forget "Frackenlooper," Let's Clown On "Hickenblooper!"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Huffington Post Denver:

Last week, [Gov. John Hickenlooper] mistakenly introduced Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia as a “rising sex star” at a childhood literacy event, causing fits of laughter by many in attendance. He often refers to the Lt. Gov. as a “rising star,” and a “rock star,” and said later that he meant to jokingly call Garcia a “sex symbol,” but slipped up. Listen to the “rising sex star” audio clip here, courtesy of 850 KOA Radio.

But, on Tuesday, in the second sex joke in a week, during what would have been a relatively benign introduction of Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Hickenlooper dropped another bomb, Fox31 reports.

According to The Denver Post, at a Colorado Business Community for the Arts luncheon Tuesday, Hickenlooper reminded the more than 600 guests that Hancock’s wife, Mary Louise Lee, is a acclaimed vocalist and then said, “We read about how President Obama sings to Michelle in the shower, so you can just imagine what the mayor gives his wife in the shower. Uh, I mean what SHE gives him in the shower.” [Pols emphasis]

The crowd reportedly burst into laughter and Hick’s face burst into several shades of red…

According to FOX 31’s Eli Stokols, this might actually be reaching a level where it’s being taken, well, we guess perhaps actually taking these knee-slapping verbal misfires seriously:

A group of African-American church leaders want Gov. John Hickenlooper to apologize for a racy joke he made Tuesday when introducing Mayor Michael Hancock at a luncheon…

We haven’t heard yet if Mayor Michael Hancock is actually hoping for an apology. We doubt it. And while we certainly don’t think this is something that he would do intentionally, we can’t help but note that occupying the media’s time with sexual innuendo-fortified but harmless gaffes is probably much better for maintaining Gov. John Hickenlooper’s sky-high approval ratings than, say, answering much less trivial questions about oil and gas drilling. In short, “Hickenblooper” from a public relations standpoint is infinitely preferable to “Frackenlooper.”

And “Hickenblooper” just plain sells more papers, folks.