http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/31/romney.racialremark.ap/index.html

In an article today, CNN reports that Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has apologized for a comment he made using the term "tar baby".

Both AWAD and Webster's (See AWAD Aug 15 1999, and M-W.com) define the term just as Romney used it, and note the source of the term was an Uncle Remus story. Neither source mentions any use of the term as a racial epithet.

My question:

Is this the use of this phrase as a derogatory term for a black person commonplace, and do any authoritative sources support this?

Clearly, the phrase is to be avoided if that is, in fact, a valid definition.

Reading the CNN article, I was immediately reminded of a case a few years ago in which a member of the Washington, DC mayor's office resigned over his use of the term "niggardly":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm

How much care ought a speaker exercise over his or her use of language, and should this extend beyond the accepted meanings of words to possible misinterpretations on the part of listeners? Should government officials be held to a different standard than lay-persons, owing to their public positions?

I'm curious to hear what others think, but I offer this caveat: discussion of this topic is fraught with the possibility of protracted and difficult ensnarement.

Best,
-JD