Sen. Brown Takes Jab At Elizabeth Warren On Photo Quip

Democrats are criticizing Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown for a joke he made about one of the Democrats hoping to run against him: Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren.

During Tuesday's Democratic primary debate, Warren and the five other candidates were asked how they paid for their college. The student asking the question noted that while in law school Brown had posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine.

Warren responded in part by saying, "I kept my clothes on." She went on to say that she took out student loans, opted for a public university and held a part-time job to cover her bills.

During an interview Thursday on WZLX-FM, Brown was asked to respond to Warren's comment. Brown laughed and said, "Thank God."

Democrats were quick to pounce on Brown for his joke.

"He sent the terrible message than even an accomplished woman is fair game for the boys," said Democratic State Committeewoman Jesse Mermell.

Warren's spokesman declined comment.

In the interview, the freshman senator also defended his decision to pose for the magazine, saying modeling was his best opportunity to pay for school.

"I didn't go to Harvard, I went to the school of hard knocks and I did whatever I had to do to pay for school," Brown said, pointing to a difficult upbringing and his parents' multiple divorces.

Brown attended Tufts University and Boston College Law School.

"Let them throw stones. I did what I had to do," Brown added. "But not for having that opportunity I never would have been able to pay for school."

With reporting by The Associated Press and WBUR's Fred Thys