Howard Fineman is a man who doesn’t think much before he speaks, especially when it comes to praising his Messiah. Hey Howard, don’t blame us conservatives when this is used by the Birthers.

For the second time in as many nights, MSNBC contributor Howard Fineman has invoked Barack Obama’s Kenyan heritage in comparing him to a marathon runner over his persistence in getting health care reform legislation passed.

“How did it happen, in a minute?” Keith Olbermann asked Fineman on MSNBC’s “Countdown” Monday night.

“Persistence by President Obama, who comes from a country of long-distance runners and was one,” Fineman said.

If you’re not catching the nuance, Fineman didn’t say that Obama descends from a nation of long-distance runners. Technically speaking, he said Obama comes from a nation of long-distance runners. As in he originated in Kenya rather than just his father.

Olbermann immediately detected meat being thrown to the Birthers and launched into damage control:

“You just said the President comes from a nation of long-distance runners; you mean he’s descended from,” Olbermann said. “Otherwise the headline is ‘Fineman: Birther.’ Howard Fineman, of MSNBC, Newsweek, and Birther Weekly.”

Even a correction doesn’t block out the fact that Fineman has said the same thing twice in just a few days. Evidently his education didn’t include learning how to think before one speaks.