The dust-up over Bernie Mac's crude jokes at an Obama fundraiser brings to mind all the fuss a couple years ago, when Stephen Colbert played the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Back then, I had to wonder if the people in charge of booking entertainers for the dinner had ever actually watched "The Colbert Report," or if they had, if they got the joke.

Fast-forward to this past weekend, when first Barack Obama distanced himself from Mac -- even while adding an "I'm just messing with you, man" -- and later a spokeswoman for his campaign denounced the jokes outright. I'm thinking this is not the first time Mac has referenced "hos" in his stand-up routine, however. Could the campaign really have been surprised?

Some of the best comedy is controversial, eyebrow-raising stuff. Candidates and politicians --whose staffs should have all the resources they need in this YouTube age to thoroughly vet entertainers -- should extend invitations with their eyes open or not at all. The flustered, after-the-fact backtracking is pretty ridiculous.