With first lady Michelle Obama at his side, Democratic Sen. Mark Udall embarrassingly botched one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most famous quotes.
“In America, at our best, we judge people by the content of their color,” Udall, locked in a tight race with Republican Cory Gardner, said during a Thursday rally.
After groans from the crowd, Udall corrected himself: “We judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”
Byron York of the Washington Examiner captured the moment in Fort Collins:
Udall delivered an abbreviated version of his campaign pitch, urging the crowd to vote early and reminding them that Colorado law allows voters to register on election day itself. No problems there. But then it came time to introduce the First Lady. “In 2008 and 2012, we showed that Dr. Martin Luther King had it right,” Udall began, “which is that in America, at our best, we judge people by the content of their color — ”
Oops. In a millisecond, both Udall and the crowd sensed that he had gotten those famous words terribly wrong. “The content of their character,” Udall quickly corrected, as the audience began simultaneously to laugh, groan, and cheer. “Not the color of their skin.” Udall acknowledged that he had messed up and then repeated, a little haltingly, just to make sure he had it right: “We judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”
Udall wasn’t the only one to gaffe on Thursday. The first lady referred to him as a “fifth-generation Coloradan,” when in fact Udall was born in Arizona. The statement is true of Gardner, though.
A poll this week indicates Gardner has pulled ahead: a USA Today/Suffolk University poll has Gardner at 46 percent and Udall at 39 percent.