I am not sure if this is best described as a gaffe, or as a Freudian slip. A gaffe is defined as accidentally telling the truth.  But probably Freudian slip best characterizes the remarkable statement from Senator Mark Udall, since he hastily corrected himself.

The Washington Free Beacon noted Senator Mark Udall’s words, introducing Michelle Obama at a campaign rally:

I’m so proud of our country. In 2008 and 2012, we showed that Dr. Martin Luther King had it right,” Udall said. “Which is that in America, at our best, we judge people by the content of their color–”

Udall’s crowd began to groan, and the embattled Democratic senator quickly corrected himself on the oft-quoted phrase.

“Content of their character, not the color of their skin,” Udall said. “I got it right–I got it both ways!”

That claridication simply adds more confusion. Is he saying he got it right by “content of their color”? That’s certainly what many Democrats believe when they claim blacks can’t be racist, or that racism is the main cause of disparate outcomes.