John Hickenlooper slapped fellow Colorado Democrat and presidential wannabe Michael Bennet with a spiteful little backhanded compliment while campaigning in Austin, Texas this week.

Bennet is one of his favorite people in the whole wide world, Hickenlooper began by way of explaining why it was okay to slam Bennet for failing to actually accomplish anything in his political career.

Here’s the exact quote dished up by the Washington Free Beacon:

“Michael Bennet is one of my favorite people in the world and I think he is a great senator, much better than I ever would be. And if he wants to get into the presidential race, you know, I’m all for it,” Hickenlooper began.

“Not unlike the other senators, I have a very different history than Michael does. And you know, he has, he is really brilliant at thinking through complex issues, but I don’t think he probably has the same level of experience that I do in terms of bringing teams together and actually, you know, getting stuff done. Really moving things forward.”

Mega meows there, Hick!

Way to shoot down your fellow Democrat and homeboy before he even declares for the race.

It would’ve been helpful if Hick clued us all in to Bennet’s failings before he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Is there something we should know about Bennet’s work as chief of staff when Hick was mayor of Denver?

Suppose we’ll have to wait for Bennet to actually declare for the race before Hick lowers the big boom.