What has Ken done wrong?

What has Ken Clarke done wrong — other than commit the political sin of making a media gaffe? Nothing. In yesterday’s now infamous BBC interview, he was simply attempting to explain his position on rape sentencing, which may or may not be the right one. It’s a difficult question — and, under some antagonistic interrogation, he stumbled and got flustered. “Rape is rape,” said the radio interviewer. “Not it’s not,” the Justice Secretary replied. He later talked about “serious, proper rape.”
 
Bad phrasing? Certainly. Injudicious? Sure. But Clarke’s essential argument — that not all rapes are the same, that some rapes are worse than others — is quite obviously true. How can one have a sensible discussion on the subject without accepting that point? By raising it, however, and by losing his cool with the press, Clarke has offended news morality and given his opponents something to attack. Ed Miliband pounced, and now the consensus is that he must go.