FORT WORTH — The flap between Sarah Palin and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel over his use of the word "retarded" has spilled over into the Texas governor's race.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign has not been shy in recent days about letting media outlets know that Gov. Rick Perry's political consultant, David Carney, repeatedly used the word "retarded" in a conference call with Dallas television station KERA in advance of last month's television debate.
The incident, which the Perry campaign has confirmed, didn't get much attention.
But with Palin scheduled to campaign for Perry at a Houston-area rally on Sunday, news outlets are devoting time and energy to whether Palin is only offended when Democrats use the word inappropriately.
"It was an unfortunate choice of words and the Governor is extremely disappointed," campaign spokesman Mark Miner said.
Politico reported Thursday that rocker Ted Nugent has also used the word "retarded" in a way some might find offensive. Nugent is scheduled to play the national anthem at Sunday's Perry/Palin event.