Odd Riordan incident

The lede and first few grafs of an AP story about the ex-mayor and candidate for governor in today's San Luis Obispo Tribune:

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - State Education Secretary Richard Riordan has apologized for joking that a child's name meant "stupid dirty girl."

In a videotaped exchange at the city's central library on Thursday, a girl asked Riordan if he knew that her name meant "Egyptian goddess."

Riordan, who apparently believed he'd been asked what her name meant, replied, "It means stupid dirty girl."

Some in the room laughed nervously, and the girl again told Riordan the meaning of her name.

"Hey, that's nifty," he said.

Riordan apologized on Friday, saying he had been teasing the girl. Gov. Schwarzenegger issued a statement calling the remarks "unacceptable in any context" and adding: "I've known Dick Riordan for a long time, and I know that he would never knowingly or intentionally upset a child."