03/20/2009 (2:05 am)
The Great Communicator
Towards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance, the president talked about how he’s gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley.
He bowled a 129, the president said.
“That’s very good, Mr. President,” Leno said sarcastically.
It’s “like the Special Olympics or something,” the president said.
Rightward blogs are alight with reactions. The most relevant, in my mind, was a rare exchange between Allahpundit and Ed Morrissey at Hot Air that went like this:
Update (AP): … I tire of this politically calculated outrage. We all know what he meant; it was politically incorrect, but more political incorrectness among our political elite is all to the good. Lay off.
Update (Ed): Not if only one side gets away with it, AP.
Like Allahpundit, I think political correctness is a disease from which we all desperately need to be cured. I know lots of folks who might have made a similar comment about Special Olympics, and they’re not bad people.
Like Ed, I know exactly how this would have been received if George W. Bush had said it. We all do. But the truth is, George W. Bush would never have said it, and I think we all know that, too. He was too considerate, and too respectful toward the office of the President and toward the American people.
The Anchoress has her usual, thorough understanding. “Obama sans Teleprompter: Not Pretty.” Among her observations:
Perhaps President Obama, who received a rather tidy Book Advance just before he was sworn in … should donate some of the proceeds of his advance, say…I dunno, 90% – to the Special Olympics…
She adds something I’ve been thinking for a while:
In an email exchange, the point was made that Obama seems to be everything the left projected about Bush. The stumblebum suit being operated from behind. All those projections. You know about projection, right? It is when you take the thing that is inside you; hate, fear, insecurity, malicious motives, etc – and you project it on to someone else. For instance, during the election, I kept getting emails from folks on the left insisting that Bush – the powermongering fascist – would never allow another election to happen.
That’s maybe the projection I worry about, sometimes.
It says something astonishing about the human ability to deceive oneself that Democrats managed to convince themselves that this mook is an adult, let alone that he is a great communicator. He reminds me of the self-important creeps at college that I was embarrassed to be seen with. He tries too hard. He only gets it right when relying on the speech writers. In person, it seems, he is really nothing Special.
Barry, you’re the President of the United States. It’s not time to be cool. It’s time to make sure you do your homework.
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4 Comments »
Comment by dullhammer
“Update (Ed): Not if only one side gets away with it, AP.”
THAT is such an important point. Along with your follow up on the disease of PC and the double standard with Bush.
Word of caution though for us all. If all conservatives do is mock Obama in the way the Left did to Bush, it will accomplish nothing. It has to be tied together with the greater purpose of elevating respect for the office of the President (regardless of who’s in there). I know you have that in mind, Phil. But I could see conservatives in general being tempted to get into some kind of Mutually Assured Destruction via mindless mockery.
One big plus for conservatives is the fact that there was not ANY self-correction and (self?) respect from the liberals on this matter. So it won’t take much to make a contrast with their treatment of Bush.
Comment by RM
Please do not hold your breath waiting for self correction from leftists. Never explain, never apologize.
Comment by jordan
He has hurt many families in America. He needs to say he is sorry in the public, not to an organization.
In addition, someone who claims to have experienced prejudice and stereotypes throughout life, and has written about them in great detail,
should be more sensitive and refined from life’s lessons.
Furthermore, Obama claimed he was going to have the world think ‘highly’ of America again. Will this joke help?
For someone who spoke of equality as a creed. Does this joke match that philosophy?
For someone that said he would stand for all people. Does this stand up for those that participate in the special
Olympics?
The fact is Obama claimed a higher standard. To much is given, much is required.
Obama has just showed us that ‘yes we can’ destroy what a campaign stands for with a single joke.
During the campaign for the White House in 2008, the media criticized Palin for being ‘common,’ ‘not-polished,’ ‘not-compassionate’ and ‘not presidential.’ However, compare Sarah Palins attitude in this video created three weeks ago for the Special Olympics in Boise, Idaho.
You decide the more ‘presidential’ among them:
Comment by dullhammer
RM
I have no expectations of the Leftists. I think the respect for the Oval Office could be elevated by the one sided effort of the Right. Much like what Reagan did. But it would simply be a shame if the Right blew the opportunity with going no further than tit for tat. That’s all I’m saying.
To further your point, though, here’s a link to Hot Air where the Left/Media [read 'leftovermedia'] is STILL nit picking on Bush, while they ignore Obama. So, I hear what you’re saying.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/21/the-slate-irrelevantism-of-the-day/
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