Last December, Ohio State University president E. Gordon Gee explained to the athletic council why the University of Notre Dame wasn’t invited to join the Big Ten: “The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they’re holy hell on the rest of the week. You just can’t trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that.” Bill Donohue commented: “It’s time for everyone to take a deep breath. I have never met President Gee, but it is clear from what I read that what he said was made in jest. Was it dumb? For someone of his stature, yes. But context and tone matter, as does the frequency of what may be considered an offensive remark: a real bigot is someone who repeatedly, and maliciously, attacks others. Gee is not such a man.”
Political correctness has gone too far. Vice President Joe Biden has made his share of dumb remarks, some of which could be considered bigoted. But he is no more a bigot than Gee is.