Has the World Gone Total Outer Limits?

To modify a quote from Molly Ringwald as Samantha Baker in Sixteen Candles, "the world has gone total outer limits."

At a town hall meeting in Oglethorpe County, GA on Tuesday, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) was asked by an elderly man, "Who's going to shoot Obama?"

According to an account of the meeting published by the Athens Banner-Herald (which Broun's office confirmed), the congressman didn't criticize the man for asking the question, instead deflecting it. He told the audience that he understood their frustration with Obama and reminded them that they would have the chance to help elect a new president next year.

Later, Broun condemned the question, and his office contacted the Secret Service, who determined the man didn't pose a threat to the president. In a statement, Broun called the remark "abhorrent" and said, "I deeply regret that this incident happened. I condemn all statements — made in sincerity or jest — that threaten or suggest the use of violence against the president of the United States or any other public official. Such rhetoric cannot and will not be tolerated."

Of course, Broun routinely calls Obama a socialist, and said shortly after Obama's election in 2008 that he feared the president would establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship.

One wonders how much the Secret Service has checked Broun out. I cannot believe this is 2011, and I can't help but wonder (although I know the answer already) that if we didn't have an African-American president, would the remark even have been said?

Scary times.