Yakety yak! Just walk back.

It's always amusing to watch politicians say something so incredibly bad that they immediately have to retract it. So it was with Portland city councilor Loretta Smith's absurd proposal to have the council members openly carry firearms on the dais during meetings. Less than a day after this horrendous idea traveled from her brain to her lips, she was forced to abandon it.

What's not as funny is watching the media and the public shrug off the politician's miscue and act like nothing happened. In this case, Smith "walked" it "back," say the followup stories, and that's the end of it.

It isn't Smith's first game of Mother-May-I-Take-a-Step-Backward. Last fall, when the carport on councilor Candace Avalos's home caught fire, Smith, like many of us, jumped to the conclusion that the blaze was an act of political terrorism. But unlike many of us, Smith launched into a flowery speech comparing Avalos to Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. As it turns out, the fire was set by a homeless guy trying to keep warm.

Back in the day, having to eat one's words was a political liability. You could bet that there would be a contender for Smith's seat, who would point to her crazy sayings as reasons not to re-elect her. But in Portland's new era of "rank choice" voting, with all three councilors from a voter's district being elected at once, negative campaigning seems to be less of a thing.

Which is too bad. Sometimes negative campaigns make valid points.

Anyway, Portland, you can now rest assured that Smith won't be showing you her Glock any time soon. But you have to wonder, does she have one in her handbag?