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I think we should give John McCain a break.

During his appearance this week at the Buffalo Chip Campground east of Sturgis, he jokingly told the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally crowd that that his wife, Cindy McCain, should compete in the Miss Buffalo Chip Pageant.

“I told her that, with a little luck, she could be the first woman ever to serve as both the First Lady and Miss Buffalo Chip,” he said.

The crowd laughed. It was funny. That was about it.

I don’t think it matters whether McCain knew that Miss Buffalo Chip doesn’t wear much in the way of clothing. He was simply having some fun with the bikers gathered at the Chip.

Everybody in the Black Hills knows what the Miss Buffalo Chip Pageant is about, and nobody seriously believed that John McCain was suggesting that his wife strip down to her underwear.

In fact, the Rapid City Journal reporter who was there didn’t even used the quote in his stories. The reporter focused instead on energy policy and congressional earmarks, two issues of interest to local readers.

But outside South Dakota, the comment caught a lot of attention. “McCain Exploits Wife for Topless Biker Beauty Pageant,” said one online headline. “John McCain’s Sexist Gaffe,” said another. And the comments were posted all over YouTube.

It’s almost as if the commentators, suddenly tipped off to the nature of the Miss Buffalo Chip Pageant, were working hard to make the whole thing into a story.

C’mon. It’s the rally.