Judge Richard Cebull, the federal judge in Billings who was “strongly recommended” by Max Baucus and Conrad Burns in 2002, was busted yesterday for sending a racist email to his friends.

The email contained a joke about Obama, the implication of which is that Obama’s mother got knocked up with the future president after attending a party at which many black men were present. These attendees were such animals, the punchline goes, that Obama’s mother tells her son “just consider yourself lucky you don’t bark.”

The peachiest part of this story is Cebull’s bungled but hilarious response when questioned by a reporter. Cebull says yes,

“the e-mail is racist, but I didn’t send it as racist….I did not forward it because of the racist nature of it. Although it is racist, I’m not that way, never have been.”

And the creepiest part of the story is the original email from Cebull, which he sent when he sent along the racist joke to his trailer park acquaintances.

“Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.”

“Touching” is not how most people would describe the joke, unless perhaps you are a judge who also moonlights for the KKK on nights and weekends.

And, as is often the case in these situations, Richard Cebull (perhaps he goes by “Dick”) did not apologize for sending the email. Rather, he more narrowly apologized “to anyone that was offended.”