During msnbc’s post-speech convention coverage last night, Ed Schultz says he was especially struck by this line during Mitt Romney's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention:
"When the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American."
"That was the line to the birthers tonight," Ed said, referring to people who believe President Barack Obama is not a "natural born" citizen of the United States, and therefore ineligible for the presidency. "How else are we supposed to take that line? To imply that the guy who's leading the country right now is not an American...I think that was below the belt and it was a dog whistle, whatever you want to call it, a bone throw to the birthers out there that I'm not that far from you."
"It struck me as the same way," responded Rachel Maddow. "Especially coming on the heels of his birther joke from this past week."