Some comics are known for being confrontational. Some comics are known for being vulgar. Some comics are known for using outrageousness and vulgarity to comment on social mores. I’m sure you can think of a few examples — Don Rickles, Sam Kinison, George Carlin, Sarah Silverman.

And then there’s that delightful Jackie Mason, who’s just clawed his way back into the news cycle by lobbing a racial slur at Barack Obama:

At a show in New York City last week, Mason called Obama a “shvartze,” the gossip Web site TMZ reports. The term generally refers to a black person, but some people believe it has a negative connotation, akin to the n-word in English.

And some people — oh, let’s say those of us who grew up with elderly Jewish grandparents who never quite adjusted to the melting-pot nature of North America — know that there’s no other connotation to the word besides the negative.

Seriously, check out the story. Mason tries to parse his way out of trouble by playing the victim card, and somehow ends up dragging Oprah into it. What a mensch.