Mitt uses Ann to explain he's not a dick. Once again, it doesn't work.

As Mitt Romney explained at his no-longer-secret fundraiser, his campaign tries to "use Ann sparingly right now so that people don't get tired of her."

But Ann Romney's latest interview, with Fox13 in Denver, shows that the use of Ann isn't "sparingly" enough. While the campaign obviously thought it was a good idea to use Ann to explain the latest Mittastrophe, turns out, as per usual, she only made things worse.

ANN: Well, you know, I've been on, obviously, on the trail a long time with Mitt, and if you listen to the whole context of what Mitt talks about, he is talking about what's happening right now in America, and how more and more people are falling into poverty, more in particular women are falling into poverty, and so there is a concern on his part, which is why he's running is that he wants to make sure to bring better economic opportunities for everyone. And, you know, I know the guy, I know him really well, I know he cares, and that's why we're running. So it's unfortunate when something gets misinterpreted like this or gets taken out of context, 'cause if you really do listen to everything that he does say, he's talking about what we're facing in America right now. [...]

FOX31: So he wasn't expressing any disdain for people who are poor or who are on entitlement programs at this point?

ANN: Oh, absolutely not. Absolutely not. There's'totally not so.

Leaving aside the Palinesque word salad of meaningless talking points and run-on sentences, when you have to clarify that the candidate does not, in fact, disdain the poor, you're losing. Badly. Very, very, very badly.

And when you have to invoke that beloved Republican defense'out of context! out of context!'you're just embarrassing yourself. Especially when the whole video'minus two minutes much later in the speech that apparently would put Mitt's disdain in a completely different context'has been released. And viewed. And made the whole country sick.

Ann's other job, as Mitt's official chief adviser on lady things, is to close the gender gap by saying "women" a lot, boasting about how she talks to women a lot, and insisting'despite all polling evidence to the contrary'that what women voters really care about are Mitt Romney's talking points.

And she's really bad at that too:

FOX31: What would you say to those women out there who are still on the fence and are wanting some more than just the economic argument?

ANN: Well, you know, I think speaking from a perspective from a wife and a mother and from the things that I know that I care about, I want to know what motivates the guy, the person that I would be voting for, and I would say that what motivates Mitt is that he cares. That this is a guy that is, doesn't, obviously need to do this for a job. I mean, he honestly believes that he can help many Americans by getting in there and having the experience that he's had and the ability to understand the economy, to bring more certainty to more Americans, especially to women.

Ann then proceeds to mention "deficits," "debts," and that "this is a really crucial time that we have to start taking some very serious look at some of the things that we've got to do to fix this economy."

In other words, women who want more than just the economic argument are going to get ... the economic argument. Oh, plus an earful of what Ann cares about.

Gosh. Maybe that's why the latest NBC/WSJ poll shows that on "dealing with issues of concern to women," 54 percent favor President Obama, while just 26 percent favor Romney.

But hey, Ann, you just keep telling the women voters what you want them to care about and insisting that Mitt really does want to help Americans. Not the mooching 47 percent of Americans, of course: seniors, the disabled, the very poor, the troops fighting in Afghanistan. Not to mention the gays, lesbians, African Americans and Latinos.

But whoever is left over? Mitt really wants to help them. All both of them.

(Full transcript below the fold.)