Following up on our item on CNN.com last week, Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Florida) has apologized for his attack on Sarah Palin that strangely smeared hunters and gun owners as racists and anti-Semites: "anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks."

CNN Political Ticker reports it again, but there's no explicit identification of Hastings as a Democrat (plus no mention in either post that Hastings was impeached and removed as a federal judge.) The headline is bland again: "Black Florida congressman apologies [sic] for Palin comments."

CNN's Martina Stewart elides the D label by noting Hastings "spoke at a panel on the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats during the annual conference of the National Jewish Democratic Council," and was attacked by Jewish  Republicans, so a reader can deduce the point. But it's funny how reporters can just tiptoe around the basics. 

CNN's Political Ticker blog didn't bury the lead on Wednesday afternoon:

Rep. Alcee Hastings told an audience of Jewish Democrats Wednesday that they should be wary of Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin because “anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”

So not only is Palin a racist and anti-Semite, so is anyone who totes a gun? But CNN's headline was ridiculously bland: "Florida congressman points to Palin to rally Jews to Obama."

CNN's Martina Stewart added that the crowd at the National Jewish Democratic Council roared at this mudslingling line, that "the room erupted in laughter and applause." Another congressman, Jewish Rep. Steven Cohen, announced Jesus was a Democrat: