John McCain has apparently studied George Allen's downfall and taken its central lesson to heart: He just apologized for using the racially-loaded phrase "tar baby" — the same day he was caught using it on tape.

McCain was captured on video by CNN employing the phrase at a town hall meeting in Cedar Falls. McCain had been asked if he would work on issues of fathers' access to their children, and he responded by saying that he was skeptical of efforts to tinker with divorce law and court decisions, calling such a move a "tar baby of enormous proportions."

The phrase, a term for a sticky situation that originated in the Br'er Rabbit stories, has also come to be known as a racial slur for black people. McCain clearly meant the phrase to be understood in its original sense. Nonetheless, when he was confronted by CNN's Candy Crowley about the more loaded meaning of the word, McCain — unlike Allen, who let his Macaca comment fester for days and days — immediately apologized. "I hope that it's not viewed that way," McCain said. He then explained the context of the situation and added, "I don't think I should have used that word and it was wrong to do so."