According to Chris Kelly at the The Huffington Post, earlier this month, Mitt Romney said this:

I saw my father march with Martin Luther King

Chris then decides to fuel the Gaffe Machine as follows:

So, well, that's that. Except, according to a report in the Boston Phoenix, it turns out that depends on what your definition of "saw" is. And "march." And "with." And "Martin Luther King."

Because it never happened.

"A spokesperson for Mitt Romney now tells the Phoenix that George W. Romney and Martin Luther King Jr. marched together in June, 1963 -- although possibly not on the same day or in the same city." ... Romney spokesperson Eric Fehrnstrom suggests that these two were part of the same "series" of events, co-sponsored by King and the NAACP, and is thus consistent with Romney's claim that 'I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.'"

And so now we have an Al Gore "I invented the Internet" moment. Gore, of course, will go down in history as the person who handled situations like this as badly as any human possibly could. Let's see how Mitt Romney does:

"When we say, 'I saw the Patriots win the World Series, it doesn't necessarily mean you were there -- excuse me, the Super Bowl. I saw my dad become president of American Motors. Did that mean you were there for the ceremony? No, it's a figure of speech."

Ouch.

Good rule of thumb: when you're trying to clarify something you said that confused everyone, it's helpful not to have to make corrections during your correction. Not that anyone who is actually listening would have trouble deciphering what he said, but those (like Mr. Kelly) who are striving to turn the whole thing into a race-changing Gaffe will use it to reinforce the "he's hiding something" meme.

It seems clear that what Romney meant to say (should have said?) was this:

I [was inspired by] my father march[ing in solidarity with] Martin Luther King['s ideals].

Because even the so-called "evidence" cited by Chris Kelly supports that statement. Also, it has the added benefit of making the point that Romney was trying to make before a helpful writer like Chris Kelly did his best to distract us all.