Deniable Plausibility

Say I tell a racist joke, but then immediately afterward say that it's not nice to be racist. Do you think I'm a racist? Do you buy my quick disclaimer afterward?

ex abundantia enim cordis os loquitur (For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh).

Judge Sonia Sotomayor:

The Court of Appeals is where policy is made.

And I know -- and I know this is on tape and I should never say that, because we don't make law. I know.

She spoke her opinion from the heart, and then the brain said "whoa, grab a fig leaf" and she made that hasty disclaimer. "She's neither advocating judicial activism, nor indicating a personal predilection for it" screams partisans on the left.

You buy that? If so, I have some land in Florida you may be interested in.