“If you’re naked, you don’t have any clothes on, but if you’re nekkid you don’t have any clothes on but you’re up to something.”  

Former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., explained the distinction in a phone interview with the Des Moines Register Monday .  The 82-year-old reportedly answered the phone and had to leave for a moment because he said he was “stark nekkid.”  

Simpson spoke with the Des Moines Register ahead of a speech at Simpson College in Iowa Thursday night.  

The interview also covered the Republican’s support of same-sex marriage, his critiques of the Iowa caucuses, why he admires Rep. Paul D. Ryan, the importance of the federal debt and why “extremists” caused Republicans to lose control of the Senate.  

Simpson retired from the Senate in 1996 after serving three terms and is known for his role in the the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles plan  for deficit reduction.