US Senator John McCain used his Twitter feed today to call Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "monkey." With the US government attempting diplomacy to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb, the former presidential nominee's tweet was ill-timed at best. It was deemed racist by some observers, including a fellow Republican congressman.

"So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week?" McCain tweeted, along with the headline "Iran launches monkey into space."

McCain was comparing Iran's recent launch of a monkey into orbit with the Iranian president's stated willingness to go into space. McCain linked to a Reuters article which said the advancement of Iran's space program demonstrates Iran is "seeking to show off missile systems that have alarmed the West because the technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear warhead."

Accusations that McCain's joke was racist came from several directions, including from US Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), an Arab-American lawmaker of Palestinian descent. "Maybe you should wisen up & not make racist jokes," Amash wrote to McCain on Twitter. McCain had been unmoved by criticism, tweeting simply, "Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can't everyone take a joke?"

While it's sometimes refreshing to see lawmakers use the Internet to show their true personalities, McCain's indelicate attempt at humor demonstrated why so many politicians and other prominent folks pay a public relations employee to run their Twitter feeds.

Meanwhile, Iran's nuclear program has raised concerns that Israel might invade Iran to stop it from building a bomb. US Vice President Joe Biden offered to hold bilateral talks with Iran this past weekend, a gesture that was welcomed by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, according to Reuters. "I think it is about time both sides really get into engagement because confrontation certainly is not the way," Salehi said.