Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer received his 15 minutes of fame while speaking on behalf of the Barack Obama campaign today. He promptly screwed it up.

According to the Associated Press, Schweitzer:

…thinks those who vote on the gun issue alone will be equally troubled by McCain and Obama. He said neither is perfect with the National Rifle Association scorecard – McCain has received a “C” and Obama an “F.”

The governor said such voters may turn to Libertarian Bob Barr, “if you are absolutely not going to vote for McCain or Obama on guns.”

Then, the Obama campaign had to correct the Governor. Again, according to the Associated Press:

The Obama campaign stressed that Schweitzer did not really mean gun voters should not vote for Obama.

“I think Gov. Schweitzer’s point was that for people that are concerned primarily with the gun issue, not only does Barack Obama present no danger to them owning their guns, but Mccain’s record on gun issues, as far as the NRA is concerned, isn’t perfect either,” said Obama spokesman Caleb Weaver.

It was also reported by the AP that:

The McCain campaign disputed the assertion that the Arizona senator is weak on the gun issue. Spokesman Ben Golnik said McCain received plenty of “As” from the NRA before getting one “C” rating.

I’d take McCain’s ratings over a straight “F” rating any day. Most Montanans will, too.

The Governor has flip-flopped on the gun issue and Obama, probably thinking most Montana reporters won’t check his previous statements. They normally don’t bother, but I do. Maybe Obama’s campaign should have looked into the Governor’s statements before having him speak about gun issues.

Back in April Schweitzer said neither Obama nor Clinton could win in Montana: “Asked why not, he had a one word answer: “Guns.”

It’s the guns!