The LA Times has ceased to be a serious news outlet and has instead churned out article after article hammering the Republican candidate. Its "journalists" pounce on anything they think they can spin against him as if they were seasoned political operatives.

Mitt Romney can't even make a joke without having the Times all over him. Almost a week after his wife's life was endangered when smoke filled the cabin of her airplane, Romney joked that he didn't know why "the windows don't open."

An initial Times article quoted him but failed to put it in the proper context that he was joking. We'll let that slide.

But a subsequent article, "Romney mocked for comment about jet windows" went for the kill. The Times would have you believe that a man who has successfully ran companies and a state didn't know why airplane windows don't open.

"The candidate cast doubt on the mechanical design of airplane windows, in a general sense," Times reporter Xiaonan Wang wrote, adding, "Romney's idea doesn't work scientifically."

No, the candidate made a joke. But that didn't stop the LA Times from acting as a forum for a quote from left-wing smear site Daily Kos.

"It'd be like the mile-high club for Seamus, with the added benefit of asphyxiation induced by the low oxygen levels at cruising altitude -- assuming that you manage to avoid having the plane rip apart due to the sudden loss of cabin pressure."

Someone trying to act so smart when it really turns out the comment wasn't serious. That's expected from a partisan hatchetmen, but real reporters? The Times continues:

The candidate's complaint about sealed plane windows quickly went viral on social media. Some are making fun of Romney for not knowing about the risks involved with an open window, while others think it might be just a joke.

At least they mentioned "others" who thought it might be a joke. The Times left room to retreat to the position of "hey, we're just reporting on something that went viral". Mmm hmm. And I'm sure they'd take an Obama joke out of context in the same way.

The Times COULD have talked to one of the "others" that was in the room. The Blaze did. But hey, they're not a respected news organization like the Los Angeles Times.

William Everitt, vice president of Investment Real Estate Associates (IREA), told TheBlaze that he was at the Romney fundraiser in Beverly Hills on Saturday. He said Romney was absolutely joking when he said he doesn't know why airplane windows don't open.

"Basically he was retelling the story and when he said 'I don't know why they don't have roll down windows on airplanes,' he looked at the audience and everyone laughed," Everitt told TheBlaze. "It was a clearly delivered joke...There were 1,000 people there that will tell you the same thing."