Obama Ditches Teleprompter, Inserts Foot in Mouth and Insults Special Olympics
Via AoSHQ
Jake Tapper reports on President Obama's appearance on Jay Leno tonight:
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.
What class and compassion the president consistently shows -- just like here and here. It's dangerous to stray too far from the teleprompter.
Gov. Palin seems to have a different perspective on the Special Olympics:
UPDATE by Mel: Via Dan Riehl
Tapper updates with the White House spin:
"The president made an off-hand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics," White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said. "He thinks the Special Olympics is a wonderful program that gives an opportunity for people with disabilities from around the world."
UPDATE II by Mel: Please watch this and pay special attention to Olbermann's comment at the 54 second mark (Go ahead, watch. I'll wait.):
"What do we do about it?" So, I guess Olbermann has given up even the pretense of being an objective journalist at this point.
h/t Loxodonta
More reaction...
UPDATE by VO: No Obama gaffe can be considered complete until it gets a treatment by Iowahawk.
Posts
75 comments:
Please correct your spelling!
Trig Palin will grown up to be a remarkable man. He already is the dearest son any parent could ever wish for.
As for ykw, there are no words to describe how I feel right now.
This guy is an absolute embarassment.
Is Obama drinking the same bottled water that Joe Biden is?
Obama is a disgrace to the Presidency. What a disgusting piece of filth he is. So now he thinks it's funny mocking the Special Olympics..I bet anyone p participating in the Special Olympics could do a better job running this country then that moron has done. See, this is how Obama is WITHOUT his teleprompter. Poor little teleprompter, it's been through so much, and now this..I bet tomorrow the teleprompter will be thrown under the bus too. Obama is an epic FAIL
Wow, this really offends me. I just can't believe he said that. People who participate in the Special Olympics should be admired and emulated and not be the punchline of a joke. It reminds me of people I knew in high school who joked about someone being in special ed. In fact what he should of said was yeah well it's higher than my approval rating right now.
I have to say this is very bad form for Pres. Obama. Btw, love the teleprompter blog, it's in my favorites now.
Comments like that demonstrate immaturity and a disrespect for all of humanity. You can measure a person by how they treat those with special needs.
im soo proud....
The comment was mean spirited and it shows what kind of person he really is. We can't keep using the teleprompter excuse.
His true colors are coming through loud and clear.
Bambi doesn't have too much use for anyone. If you recall, he said he didn't want his daughters "punished with a baby," (when he was on the campaign trail).
Every time I see that pix of Sarah and Trig, I melt. It's gorgeous.
Leaving aside how tasteless Obama's special olympics comment is, the video of Sarah with Trig is over three minutes long. I didn't hear one "uh" or "um" in it. She didn't even need a teleprompter. Go Sarah!
Sarah also looks the viewer/citizen directly in the eye when she speaks.
Obama has the eeeerrrry inability to look straight into the camera or into the center of an audience when he gives a speech.
Not that Sarah needed any extra incentive to take Obama out in 2012, but as she would say, "That arouses the grizzly bear in me."
Did Obama screw up big time?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!
Techno-
That is a rhetorical question, right?
Now I know why he had this subdued expression on his face when he boarded Air Force 1 in Long Beach.
Obama is a total jerk. Everything he says has something to do with insulting people.
All I'm saying that it might be a Freudian slip. Palin made her strong remarks against half of the stimulus to her state today, as well as attack Obama yesterday on the pipeline, and is a strong candidate to kick his butt out of office. He has Palin on the mind, no doubt, and this came out.
The same with "lipstick on a pig" comment.
Oh, my. That is a great point about the Grizzly. Man, he has messed up. Palin will have yet one more reason to go grizzly on Obama.
Coincidentally, earlier tonight I just e-mailed the same YouTube link to my Mom and Dad showing Sarah talking about the Special Olympics. I told my Mom about it and how it melted my heart. Then later I find out about Obama and how he has Trigg on the brain and goes after him.
A perfect opportunity for him to mention a self-deprecating joke at himself and he not only blows it big time, but reveals what is really on his mind: That his 2012 opponent is a hundred times the human being he'll ever be.
Look I understand that phrases like , "That's retarded" or "That's gay," get used. Teens say it all the time. They're insensitive and immature remarks, but they're not damning.
If.You're.Not.The.President
Boy needs to release an apology stat or he's going to come off what I already know him to be: A PRICK
Oh, and ya'll are right. The Guv is too classy to make hay about this even though she has EVERY right to.
Obama has no class at all. I can't believe he would insult the Special Olympics. He also is terrible without his teleprompter.
Is it just me or does obama seem so "fakey" (sorry about the high school word) when he is talking without his teleprompter and he is trying to be "cool" or one of the folks as O'Reilly would say? He just seems like he is trying way to hard yet he seems to be doing it just for selfish reasons.
And why is he out on the campaign trail? Why is he not in Washington getting this economy going, surely there is something that he needs to be doing there??? How much is this trip costing anyhow? And then he insults a large part of the population?
I'm certain his teleprompter will address this gaffe, as only he can.
http://baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com/
This is even worse than his classless insult of Nancy Reagan.
President Obama - will insult elderly widows, special needs children, and our closest allies for laughs!
he's an ass
What can this mean if Olberdork even winces about Duh1? Hmmm. Must be getting jaundiced eyes behind those rose-colored glasses.
This man needs a lot of prayer. He is in over his head at one of the most critical times in our country's history. I don't think he even realizes how overmatched He is.
BTW, Craig Ferguson seems like a decent guy. I remember watching his honorary citizenship segment with Sarah and thinking that he handled it with class. I also like the fact that Sarah mentioned the responsibilities of being an Alaskan citizen. Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5zsownDK2A&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eteamsarah%2Eorg%2Fforum%2Ftopics%2Fsarah%2Don%2Dthe%2Dlate%2Dlate%2Dshow&feature=player_embedded
In the news.aol.com poll
Obama 45
Palin 42
Neither 13
with 202,132 votes cast
If you haven't already please go over and vote.
Yeah, I heard the "what do WE do?" He just threw out his objectiveness. I guess we'll hear about this on Limbaugh tomorrow.
He insults Nancy Reagan, he insulted some singer awhile back, saying she's fat, insults the Brits, insults the Brazilian president, insults special needs kids, who is this a$$ clown going to insult next? Oh, that's right, he has already insulted disabled veterans by saying that they should pay for their medical care at the VA, he wants to save about $500 million so he can help fund medical care for illegal aliens.
Oh for God's sake Olbermann just bust out your "I HEART Obama" t- shirt and be done with it.
Hey, I forgot about his insult of Jessica Simpson? Where was the outrage over that, like Laura Ingraham got when she made an offhand remark about BBW Meghan McCain?
Slightly off-topic but that baraksteleprompter.blogspot.com website is hilarious. Rush invented the concept, someone created the blog and great humor ensues. Really good stuff.
sarah should Respond to his nasty comment.
BTW
TOTUS has just released a statement to the press:
"I have complete confidence in President Obama"
Whatever you say about Obama and I have said plenty to disparage his attitudes and ideology but objectively watch how he engages Jay Leno; very comfortable, engaging (you can't judge the content-millions of stupid people get their political news off late-night talk shows); very handsome; doesn't talk in a forced way; uses simple language so people can understand; sounds earnest; and does not raise his voice; appears non-threatening, conversational tone; stumbles occasionally, but people forgive him for that because he's black, is in his element when he talks about his family; makes his Special Olympics comment
I cannot picture any other Republican against the Messiah: this is going to help Sarah; I believe people are going to say only Sarah can take him down; there is nobody else on the GOP bench that matches up with him; I'm trying to be objective as possible. You can see why McCain was no match for him.
by the way after 234,303 cast it's still:
Obama: 45
Palin: 42
Neither: 13
news.aol.com
if you haven't voted already please go over.
What is TOTUS?
http://baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com/
History Chaser
Is it just a coincidence that, in addition to this totally inappropriate reference to Special Olympics, Pres. Obama also mentioned something about sled dogs in his opening remarks?
Totally off-topic, but is Romney so darn tan? Guess it's nice to be unemployed :)
teleprompter of the united states
Sorry to go off-topic, but I just wanted to ask about this. Obama used a Palin statement today that I heard on NBC news. He said something like, "The one thing I will promise is that: I'm listening."
Was that an original Palin thing or was that a Reagan thing?
I know "the bucks stops with me (or at my desk, or whatever)" is a common phrase, but I heard Obama used it yesterday when talking about the AIG bonuses and it just reminded me of Palin in her RGA speech when she said that as govenors, "the buck stops at our desks."
Maybe he's reading up on Sarah and how she governs???
He was in downtown LA today by teh way. There is a lot of activity that goes on when the president arrives in your town. There were cops standing behind bushes on the freeway as well. Three limos came by. I didn't see all of this, but I heard from my coworkers who saw during lunch hour. I was wearing heels, so I could not walk 6 blocks uphill. They closed the roads, so we couldn't take the bus over there. My other coworkers didn't want to go with me because they didn't care much for him. I told them I just wanted to see the protestors. :b
Did people catch the slur against the Irish form Mr. Obama on Shamrock Day (that's to be politically correct and not use a referrence to a saint)
At the White House dinner, he said, ""Stay as long as you want,” Obama told his guests.
“Try to avoid putting any lampshades on your head because there are reporters watching and many of you are members of Congress.” ""
There is nothing like reminding the world that the Irish are hopeless drunks.
Oh well.....
Like 'Lonesome Rhodes' in the brilliant 1957 movie,"A Face In The Crowd" (my all-time favorite political movie) Obama's glorious self-destruction before millions of adoring crowds is guaranteed...The mask is showing cracks....The embarrassment on even Olbermann's face was priceless...
Linda, I didn't see any of the traffic. I'm been home trying to fight off a sinus infection all day. I hate it when the POTUS comes to town. Screws up traffic. Remember all the trouble Clinton used to cause when he rolled in to have Babs Streisand sing for him?
Kenton,
Funny you should mention "A Face in the Crowd." I was just thinking of that movie today -- thinking how eerily prescient it was and is. It's all about media control.
Folks, we are 59 days into the Messiah's reign; he should be flying high in the polls. Sarah Palin conversely has been out of the spotlight and if a poll was taken it would probably indicate a blowout which the PPP poll indicated yesterday:
Obama 55%
Palin 35%
but one day later news.aol.com does an internet poll. Here are the results so far:
Obama 46%
Palin 42%
Neither 12%
250, 365 votes cast
NB: Folks, don't let anybody tell you othewise our gal is in the game. Imagine when she gets out of Alaska and begins to focus on national politics.
This is fantastic news.
What GOP or conservatives should do is cultivate a good team of entertainers who can make Obama look foolish. We shouldn't be protesting the unfairness of Tina Feys, we should be fielding our own. Until we do that, we'll always be fighting a losing battle with image.
promachus:
Exactly: instead of protesting about Obama going on Leno or that he hasn't stopped campaigning since Nov. 5/2008, let's resolve to improve our known performance.
Or to put it in football terms. Do you think Bill Belichick concerns himself with the onfield acquisitions during the off-season by the NY Jets? No!
What he does is focuses solely on restocking his own team to improve its performance for the coming regular season.
The GOP should look at it the same way-strive to improve its performance by developing strategies to attack Obama's socialist agenda and work on developing a better roster GOP legislators for the 2010 midterms. How Obama uses his time as President should not be the GOP concern.
I was disappointed at Romney today taking Obama to task for being on Leno. What he should have said was he's President. He has the right to use his time as he sees fit. In 2010 the voters will present their verdict on how well or how poorly he has used his time.
Steptoe said:
"BTW
TOTUS has just released a statement to the press:
"I have complete confidence in President Obama""
LOL - steptoe, maybe you should have gone on Leno. That joke was priceless.
I wouldn't be surprised if the press asked Sarah what she thought about all this. I'm confident she will respond with her Cuda sharp wit but with class. I'm sure she is as offended as many of us are (especially with all the mean things obots would say or post about Trig and other special needs children. Some obots are just evil.)
Techno:
In a previous thread, you said you couldn't understand why Sarah was only behind Obama by 4 points in the AOL Presidential poll but trailed badly in the "crossover" poll as to who should be the Republican nominee.
Well the reason is that the 46% of Democrats who are voting for Obama in the AOL Presidential poll are "crossing over" to vote AGAINST SARAH (for Romney) in the Republican poll.
This is a real life example of what I have said before - if the Republicans don't close up their primaries Sarah will lose.
No one is going to challenge Obama in the 2012 Democratic primaries. So unless there is a real "hot" senate or gubenatorial Democratic primary going on, Democrats will want to cross over and vote in the Republican primary to defeat Sarah and nominate Romney - the weakest candidate.
Right now 40% of Republican delegates come from states with open prinaries where Democrats can easily cross over. California is going to have a referendum in 2010 to open their primary system as well - and if that happens 48% of Republican delegates will be selected in states where Democrats can vote.
This has to be one of our objectives over the next two years, to put pressure on the RNC and these "open" State Republican Parties to close up their primaries! It will not be easy because the Republican establishment will do everything it can to keep these primaries open so conservative candidates like Sarah cannot win
FOBG:
First, that was not me who questioned why the discrepancy between the head to head poll vs the one Romney led; it was davek70 who asked me why. I told him what you just told me.
Second, I agree with you completely. It has to be done or Sarah has to be so invincible that she will have few challengers. The latter would be my preference that she completely clear the field even before the primaries begin so she would have virtually no opposition.
Is that realistic? It all depends on the influence she has on the results of the 2010 midterms and how much she raises in SarahPAC; what Sarah needs in momentum.
The worst possible scenario for Sarah would there to be 4-5 viable candidates dragging the primaries out and perhaps electing another RINO. Fortunately for Sarah she doesn't in my opinion have formidable opposition like for example Ronald Reagan vs George Bush Sr. I don't think Sanford, Pawlenty or Crist will get off the ground and I think with Sarah eating away at Huckabee's evangelicals and Huck limited in funds I think he could be forced to leave early as well. That leaves Romney and Jindal and also more manageable.
I don't want to hype this too much but Sarah is in a phenomenal postion right now. In a way if this was meant to be an experiment to whether her popularity among the base without her active participation would endure, Sarah has passed with flying colors. I use the Tiger Woods example with his recent injury quite often because it is so appropriate to where Sarah finds herself-on the sidelines, but still on the lips of the base, the MSM, pundits and the Democrats. Many of her opponents just wish that Sarah would go away and disappear. That Sarah is still in high demand (SarahPAC projections)is a tribute to Sarah and perhaps a little bit to C4P and Team Sarah.
When I call Sarah a superstar I do not use that term lightly. I believe that Sarah is capable of anything in the political arena; she is that talented.
One of my favorite axioms is "It is what it is."
If the GOP doesn't change the primaries rules so be it; she'll have to adapt; if they do so much the better. But in the final analysis we must not become disheartened. The rules are the same for everybody. We'll still get Sarah across the finish line; America's future is at stake. We cannot fail on our mission.
Thanks, Everyone, and especially Techno, for your remarks. Yes, there is indeed a God in Heaven; He permitted obama to utter his uncouth remarks about the Special Olympics just a short time after Sarah's Public-Servive Announcement about the same matter. The juxtaposition of the two statements, of the two persons, of the two worldviews and milieus is striking!! Sarah's beautiful remarks still bring lacrimae, tears, to my eyes...and the brightness of her visage, her countenance, the joy that radiates from the depths of her being, threaten to blow out my computer screen :-) I noticed something else too: Sarah is establishing what we might term a confident panache in the continuity of her public discourse. What I mean may be illustrated by the following: Did you guys notice her question during the Special-Olympics Announcement: "What is the difference between a hockey mom and a Special-Olympics hockey mom? Nothing!" That is, she KNEW that quasi everyone would connect this to her famous "lipstick" remark in the speech of 3 September of last year. Without the continuity between the two speeches, the latter remark would make little sense. I think this is a great sign that Sarah is feeling increasingly confident in her own oratorical power, AND IN HER AUDIENCE AND HER DEEP CONNECTION WITH THAT AUDIENCE...she knew that everyone would immediately make the necessary connection!!
Techno, I too am afraid that the democrats will try to vote for Romney in the primaries and to thus try to deny Sarah the nomination. You are right on that: the GOP must do something to obviate this possibility. But, as you said, we will get Sarah over the line, no matter what rules we have to play under.
Thanks again, guys and gals, for all your thougthful commentary. It helps to keep up my spirits behind the Iron Curtain here in Berkeley!!!
God bless you all.
OUR BEAUTIFUL SARAH in 2012!!!
Brianus
The TelePrompTer has a Facebook group people can join:
http://tinyurl.com/dn4twl
For anyone who might want to see a few remarks on Sarah's oratorical power, and on the place of Latin and Greek in the formation of the Founding Fathers and in our educational curriculum, please see my remarks on the "stimulus" thread.
God bless all of you!!
SARAH 2012!!
Brianus
Is there anything we ordinary barbarians can do to get Steele to close the GOP promaries?
Well, just for obama's remark, a donation to SarahPac and also a donation to Special Olympics in honor of Trigg Palin, obama is not showing his many years of college education, so just for the statement- SarahPac and Special Olympics will benefit!!!
Go Sarah 2012!!!
I'm reminded of Matthew 12:34: "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."
This is why the teleprompter issue is not going to go away and may ultimately be his undoing.
In unguarded or unscripted moments, one will say what is really in their heart; i.e., the special olympics slam, being "punished with a baby" and the bitter clingers to their guns and religion crack.
The media and the libs can spin this as an absent minded harmless statement, but most of us in flyover country know exactly what is in his heart.
Amazingly enough, Good Morning America just did a spot on the whole special olympics fiasco, with James Carville and Dana Perino duking it out. Dana cleaned Carville's clock. Then, there was a fascinating interview with Tim Shriver (one of the Kennedys) who is the head of special olympics, who said obama called him and fell all over himself apologizing for his remark, but Tim didn't give him a pass. He stressed that words hurt and how something like this can cause great pain for disabled people and their families.
This is going to leave a mark.
Mr. Tact.
Bean Counter- would like to have seen that, its that on youtube?
You can go to www.abcnews.go.com/gma and see the interview with Tim Shriver and the piece Jake Tapper did. I don't see the Carville/Perino smackdown listed but it might be put up later or maybe somebody will put it on YouTube.
I found the Shriver thing fascinating since he's a Kennedy and they were all so in the tank for obama. He clearly was not amused.
Thanks Bean Counter!
I have heard Steele address getting primaries closed, but he sure doesn't appear to be doing anything about it.
-It couldn't hurt if we all started e-mailing Steele, Rush and Beck about closing primaries, but what happens to those who switch party affiliation just to vote in the primary, a la Operation Chaos?
The Obots and ACORN are plenty slimy and will do whatever they have to do, and members of the Electoral College are just as brainwashed as the average Obot.
The election is going to come down to Obots deflating their own egos in their surety that Obama's duh man. There's major corruption, in the worst sense, going on with these OJ jurists. Will they admit they were so very wrong even if the US is hell on earth by 2012?
-It's a good thing Romney is rich. He'll need all that money to pay for therapy. He's delusional if he thinks he's the frontrunner.
-Glad to hear a Kennedy has actually shown some disdain to Cap'n Big Ears. I look forward to the gaffes continuing. Classy!
Leno?
What's a Leno?
Is that the name of the teleprompter? I thought its name was binky.
Here's the Christian Science Monitor's surprisingly positive piece on Obama vs Palin for Special Olympics:
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/20/sarah-palins-take-on-the-special-olympics/
The CSM has been very negative about Palin usually, and I believe, the CSM is quite a reputable paper among the elites?
Did the GMA piece mention Palin?
hrh,
No mention of the Guv on GMA. I saw that Monitor piece, and Hot Air and Rush both used the video too. Don't know who tipped them to the video (don't think it was anyone here). Rush said that it's posted on SarahPAC, so maybe somebody out there tipped them to that one.
P.S. I'm tempted to post an update bragging that we had it first, but I'm refraining. I'm just glad that they used it. It really is a nice juxtaposition, isn't it?
Techno, I'm loving your sports references - Bill Belichick and Tiger Woods. I'm a huge sports fan so I love those comparisons with Sarah. Spot on!
Obama's remark really made my blood boil. I'm so disgusted with everything he's done so far but this was a really personal jab. I believe it was directed at Sarah. We need to bring his remark up every time MSM says how classy and sophisticated he is. Sarah has more class in her pinky.
One more thing - regarding closed primaries. I've heard lots of people on the Left and MSM say they hope Palin is nominated because in their warped minds they think she would lose against Obama. Those are the people who think she was a strain on the McCain ticket. (these people have no clue) So if they do try to sabotage the primaries maybe it could work in our favor. I know the whole issue of voters sabotaging primaries is horrible; I was just trying to find a bright spot in all this.
AMG, that's a false dare. Those who say that are obviously trying to scare nervous GOP people about Sarah, hoping they won't nominate her. In reality, the libs are shit scared of her.
The Corner linked the Palin video too: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDU1NDA2ODdlZjViYTEzYzM5ODMxZTYyN2Q2ZjcyM2U=
1. LindaW, how old are you?
"The buck stops here" was a sign on President Harry Truman's desk, so it's been around a heck of a lot longer than Sarah Palin has.
So if Gov. Palin used it and Pres. Obama used it, both were simply referencing a, yes, commonly known phrase. No one was "stealing" from anyone else. If anything, Sarah Palin "stole" as much as Barack Obama did.
2. Re: Obama teleprompter. I'm a little confused: Are y'all suggesting that Obama used a teleprompter for the Leno show interview EXCEPT for where he (as Craig Ferguson aptly said) misspoke? I'm pretty sure the whole interview was unteleprompted.
3. The Sarah Palin message to Special Olympics linked on this site was absolutely 100% on a teleprompter (whether she wrote what she read is a question for another day). Not that there's anything wrong with that. That how those kinds of things are normally done. I'm simply asking you not to compare apples to oranges. We already seem to agree how great Obama can sound off a prewritten teleprompter speech, so to really compare, we need to have Sarah Palin be interviewed on a late night talk show by someone with long experience in the business of late-night TV talk shows such as Jay Leno (or, as Craig Ferguson said many times, David Letterman).
Bean Counter-
You hit on something important: That Obama's 'unscripted/unguarded' moments are going to be his great un-doing.His teleprompter can't hide what's in his immoral heart forever.
-(Again, I highly recommend the movie, "A Face In The Crowd" for anyone who's never seen it.One of the greatest political movies EVER)
Confused,
We're not comparing apples to oranges here. We're pointing out compassion and class vs the lack of it in this instance. That's oranges to oranges. Of course Obama wouldn't have made that joke with his teleprompter at hand. That's the point of a teleprompter. But Palin wouldn't have made it at all, teleprompter at hand or no.
Wow, Maria Shriver, CA's first lady and sister to Tim Shriver, head of Special Olympics just released the following statement:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Maria Shriver says President Barack Obama's joke comparing his poor bowling score to that of a Special Olympics athlete was hurtful, although she is sure he didn't mean it that way.
California's first lady issued a statement Friday, a day after the president made the gaffe on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Obama later called Maria's brother, Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver, to apologize.
The siblings' mother, Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, founded the Special Olympics and has championed the rights of the mentally disabled.
Maria Shriver says the reaction to Obama's joke shows there is still more work to do. She says laughing at such comments "hurts millions of people throughout the world."
Shriver, a Democrat, supported Obama's presidential campaign.
The so called Prez. is totally ate up with himself, how often does he use the word COOL like a kid does, he is disingenuous and pandering, he is bordering on selling his soul to the DEVIL, he's hypocritical and disgustingly disgraces the office of President.
It's all show biz with BO his whole being has and continues to be Scripted, Produced, Directed and Sound Scored by Hollywood... and He is making a failed attempt to Act the part of President.... yet thinks he is Gods gift of COOL!!!
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