Do you feel offended by Obamas comment on the Special Olympics?
i do, and just look at all the times he has messed up in just 3 months! imagine 45 more months!!!
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I don’t think its anything worse than what anyone else has said in their life time. He was just dumb enough to say it on tv. It was inappropriate for him to say it as the president. I think its a good time to reflect on things like that and remember just how hurtful jokes like that can be to some people. But, I am not personally offended. If his intentions were different when he said it maybe I would be more upset.
I’m saving my outrage for when he starts a war based on bad information.
I am sure he wishes he could take those words back. I am sure that if every word that came out of my mouth were put under a microscope I could easily be labeled a villain. Was it wrong? Yes. Have I ever said something and immediately thought “Oh Crap, that was so rude!?” A million times. I think he has a great heart. I will let it slide and I have a niece with Downs. I am sure that many people will use it to rip him apart, but I am more concerned about his policies towards the disabled. I am sure my niece will fair much better under Obama that she did under Bush.
I’m not offended, but I am suprised about how it was almost completely ignored. Had anyone else said it, the media would have torn them apart.
No. I thought it was funny. I’m going to hell, apparently.
@Eambos Ignored? I heard about it on MSNBC. I didn’t see Jay Leno. (I did read the transcript today online though)
A number of comments have already been posted in this thread.
What I mean by ignored is that it isn’t headline news. Had Bush (or pretty much any other politician) said that, it would be everywhere, and people would call them horrible names and say other bad things about them.
@Eambos :: It was shown on the NBC Nightly News. It was reported on. It was just a bad joke. I do worse everyday.
And I think most people have other things on their minds right now.
@laxrrockr18 as said in your other thread “Get over it—your candidate LOST.”
Whole sh-t! Someone famous and in a position of authority said something that every.other.regular.person. probably has said or thinks! What-he’s a mortal, like us?! Next thing you know, he’s drinking Starbucks and taking out the trash!!
Even some Republicans accepted his apology.
It was a thoughtless remark. In my mind, though, he has a loooooooonnnnng way to go to even touch the hem of GWB’s shirt in the idiotic remark department.
@Eambos Not sure where you get your news, but it was everywhere: BBC, ABC, CNN, HLN, Yahoo, USAToday, Bloomberg.
I didn’t see him say this on Leno, but as far as my thinking goes, Obama has room to make lots and lots of mistakes before I stop adoring him, and being thrilled with the way he is trying so hard to get this country out of the incredible mess we are in.
Hun, he’s a human. He’s going to f**k up. Have you watched the news over the past 8 years? Um… Obama’s faux pas are the least of our worries.
@Eambos I heard about it this afternoon on All Things Considered then heard it again on As it Happens. When I signed on to my msn email it was on the front page as well as on my yahoo and google pages. It got pretty good coverage.
I am not offended and I agree with those who say it was a goofy thing to say, but one just about all of us are capable of saying. This president could say that he doesn’t like the color blue and the right would be all over him as unpatriotic because it is one of the colors of of flag.
Uberbatman put it best – get over it. I say this to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Dick Cheney (especially Dick Cheney), Sean Hannity, every single pundit on Fox News, and anyone else trying to rake up the muck – Move on! Before we start crucifying this president, lets give him a chance to get us out of the quagmire your guys got us into.
The man who only live for making money
Lives a life that isn’t necessarily sunny;
Likewise the man who works for fame—
There’s no guarantee that time won’t erase his name
The fact is
The only work that really brings enjoyment
Is the kind that is for girl and boy meant.
Fall in love—you won’t regret it.
That’s the best work of all—if you can get it.
Holding hands at midnight
‘Neath a starry sky…
Oh that is nice work if you can get it.
And you can get it—if you try.
Why isn’t someone upset that a congressman said tit on tv?
and all of you know that you are reacting the exact same way your counter-parts would were the situation different. imagine if pat buchanan had thrown out that one.
or if he had referred to it as nappy headed special olympics
@Blondesjon it pains me to admit this, but you make an excellent point…
We can joke about this one all we want but this is one subject that just burns me up. You are all going at each other’s throats over your favorite flavors. And at what the Sharks are saying about the Jets.
Why can’t you realize that when they are all behind closed doors together they laugh their asses off at how easily we are distracted. They all pat each other on the back and discuss what the next “distraction” will be. They fool you into thinking you are on a side. They fool you into thinking that one is right and one is wrong. They do this to fool you into thinking you have some type of control.
you don’t
@Blondesjon We had a local newsgirl fired for saying nappy hair on the air a few years back. Quite the scandal.
@skfinkel…My apologies. When I use the word “they” I am referring to our elected officials in general.
sometimes “they” are the men who steal my eyelashes while i’m sleeping
I’m sure he’ll stuff up again, after all he is new to the job and on a steep learning curve.
I don’t think he was going out of his way to offend people, just trying to be funny, but it backfired on him…
He seems like a bright wee budgie so I’m sure he will make up for his slip…
It was a dumbass mistake, but I don’t think it’s malicious and i’m sure he wishes he could take it back now. A few slip-ups still doesn’t end my faith in him. If he makes any major mistakes, then i’ll reconsider.
@blondesjon: I think the distractions are air fluffs. I think we all know what is at stake here, and I don’t think anyone is laughing behind closed doors. A bigger recent distraction is the AIG thing, and even that I think people pretty much see as a little flurry compared to the economic tsunami we are in.
@skfinkel…If by people you mean the American Public at large I have to politely disagree.
have you seen the rest of the internet?
Personally, I think the whole controversy is retarded.
Oh yeah, that’s right, I can’t say that…I forgot, this is America, land of free speech, unless you say something that someone objects to.
The comment was off-the-cuff and funny. It was like he was talking to a friend, and Leno really did just slide right past it. It was a dumb thing to say, but hey, it’s all good. He’s still my guy and I like how candid he is. My mansion in hell gets another wing built weekly, just waiting for me to take up residency. Bummer, but I’ll be surrounded with fun people.
I don’t think he meant it the way it came out – poor choice of words, but don’t we all make those kinds of mistakes?
I have an aunt that lives with my mother, she has Downs Syndrome. She participates on a bowling team and also participates in Special Olympics. If I bowled like her, or if Obama bowled like her, we’d both be much better at the sport!
It was a comment, not a great choice of words, but a comment. Believe me, I’ve heard worse from the general public, just walking around a store with my aunt.
By the way, if anyone wants to see the full interview, in which Obama is pretty wonderful despite one short thoughtless off-the-cuff remark, you can see it at www.nbc.com.
i dont care that he said that it was a joke, proably not the best joke for our president to say on natinal TV but a joke non the less. It just shows that he is a regular guy who does poor taste jokes most of us do at one poin or anoter
—Now i am just waiting to hear a your mom joke from him—
Making disabled people the butt of a joke about a personal deficiency doesn’t expose a serious character flaw….oh wait, yeah it does. Maybe The President should ask Nancy Reagan to hold another seance….
I just typed this huge thing that would get me hated. Instead, I’ll just say, “Yay Obama! He can do no wrong!”
Why do any of our elected officials need to be held to these standards we impose upon them? Why, I bet Mother Theresa could holler Son of a Bitch! with the best of them when she stubbed her toe.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
i’m not personally offended, but i definitely do think that people who are have legit reason to be.
however, do i think it’s a big deal? no. i think that his intent is a lot more important than a joke that slipped out that shouldn’t have. if this happens in numerous speeches, that’s when i’ll take offense, and be start to reconsider his character. but i think that what is more ridiculous is how many people who are endlessly criticizing this slip (claiming that his ‘true colours’ are showing, etc) are completely disregarding their own off-colour jokes. even the most accepting, polite folks have made a joke that can certainly be offensive to somebody, and i don’t think i’m exaggerating a bit when i say that at least 99% of those who are throwing a fit about this have made more than their fair share of rude jokes and remarks, meaning to or not.
i’m not surprised by the reaction this whole thing has gotten, but i am kind of appalled. like i said, if things like this repeat themselves, THEN i will certainly be more judgmental of him. but one small joke? come on.
@tiffyandthewall…Why shouldn’t the joke have slipped out? People talk like that in the real world. Whether or not it is funny or offensive is a different matter. Where do we, as Americans, get off in the way we censor our elected voices?
I’m not offended but don’t think he should have said it.
So much for the Fox News assertion that NBC and MSNBC are in the pocket of the Obama administration. I heard it on MSNBC BEFORE it was aired on Leno.
My daughter, who bowls in Special Olympics, was happy to hear she’s a better bowler than the president. Of course when I bowled, I could never break 100.
I think people need to stop taking offhand remarks so seriously and adding their own meaning…. the man made a self-deprecating remark… and people chose to focus on the specific wods instead of the meaning behind them.
This is just a case of people trying to find wrong wherever they can.
Yes, Olbermann did cite the remark early yesterday, but his response was curious. He asked his guest, Ferguson, “what should we do….What does he do about that?” The transcript on MSNBC’s site deletes the first line (when Olbermann says “what should we do?”) but the video clip shows the exchange very clearly. Once again Olbermann is exposed as a direct proponent of Obama.
@lataylor…they lied to you in school…media is biased
Blondesjon – I understand, but the facade kills me.
@Blondesjon i just think that it’s unfortunate that it slipped out. i know a lot of people make jokes like that, and that most people are not outraged when they do, however in such a public forum like american tv, he does have to really monitor what he says – it’s unfortunate, but even for his own sake, he has to. i certainly agree that censorship should not even be an option, i just don’t think it was a good thing to say, you know? i’m not saying he doesn’t have slip ups and say things that can be viewed as rude, as all people do, it’s just something that’s going to be (and definitely is already) being taken way out of hand. but i don’t think he meant it maliciously to any extent, so i’m not really offended.
i empathize with the people who are upset over it, but i also accept that it’s just a flaw of human nature to make little jokes like that.
I don’t tend to get offended by things that aren’t about me or directed towards me. I do think it was unfortunate and inappropriate.
He also apologized immediately afterward. We’ve got ourselves a human being who knows how to apologize. Thank heavens!
Yesterday on NPR news I heard a Republican congressman saying something like “Look at all the stuff he’s already tried to do and we’re still in trouble.” He’s been in office two months and he hasn’t yet finished cleaning up the mess it took the Republicans eight years (=96 months) to make? Gosh, we’d better pillory him.
@Jeruba :: He was on Air Force One and called the head of the Special Olympics to apologize. What more could he do?
Imagine Bush doing that. You know, accepting any responsibility.
Do you think that if Bush had known what the word posthumously meant, he would have pardoned Nixon?
I’m over it, he’s apologized…
I agree. He apologized and talked to the head of Special Olympics and invited participants to come to the White House and said he wants to learn more about it. The ehad of the S.O. said Obama was very sincere and that he accepted the apology fully. I know I am defifnitely biased in his favor, but c’mon people, let’s get over it. I still think the interview was great and the man is learning from his mistakes and takes ownership of them when he makes them. The things that bother me much more about him are the appointments of people without thorough vetting.
@Blondesjon: yes, by people or they I do mean the American public. And for support, I would look to see that they elected Obama, and remain behind him at a very high level of support. I hope the opposition will just allow Obama a chance to do what he was elected to do, and realize that they made big mistakes that require big fixes.
@skfinkel…I agree. I would also like to clarify that I am in neither the pro-Obama camp nor the anti-Obama coalition. I just feel the entire thing is ridiculous from both sides.
Sarah Palin just chimed in. She was “shocked” but out of the other side of her mouth she says she won’t accept stimulus money for special ed because Alaska may not be able to continue it in the future.
The country voted for her to shut up.
Americans are insane. All this insane time-wasting discussion about a misunderstanding about a badly-worded joke, which was apologized for and accepted.
How often did G.W. apologize or even understand all the moronic things he said?
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