Palin Reacts to Obama's Special Olympics "Joke"
Jim Geraghty at NRO's The Campaign Spot reports:
Governor Sarah Palin responded to remarks made last night by President Obama related to the Special Olympics on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
“I was shocked to learn of the comment made by President Obama about Special Olympics,” Governor Palin said. “This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world.
“These athletes overcome more challenges, discrimination and adversity than most of us ever will. By the way, these athletes can outperform many of us and we should be proud of them. I hope President Obama’s comments do not reflect how he truly feels about the special needs community.”
Well, after the way his allies went after her, he really couldn't count on a full-throated defense of a boneheaded comment. Obama used the whole 'it's just a joke' excuse with his "lipstick on a pig" comment, too.
VO: Here is the Governor's press release. The Governor's critics will now say that she is abusing the power of her office by trying to get Barack Obama fired from his job.
UPDATE by JR: It seems that Alaskan radio host Dan Fagan (noted Palin hater) also enjoys laughing at special needs children.
A letter to the editor of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman:
On Jan. 5, I was listening to the radio station KFQD early in the morning. Before I could turn it, the Dan Fagan minute came on. He said he had looked up Sarah Palin’s grandson’s name (Tripp) in an Urban Dictionary and that it meant “to have sex while on drugs or drunk.” This comment was a repeat chosen by the station to be aired again.
This is the guy who spends his life hating the Palins and trying to destroy them. Now, even an innocent newborn isn’t spared from this guy’s venom. Not surprising, this is the same guy, along with his sidekick, Sanquanita, who made fun of a special-needs child at the state fair two summers ago. They laughed on their radio show, because this child was tethered to its mother. The sidekick said she wanted to pet the child, like a dog. To think Anchorage Daily News and KFQD pay this guy to try to destroy our governor is sickening. No wonder the paper is shrinking. It would be great to have a real “news” paper in Anchorage. The Anchorage Daily News and the radio stations in town should not be promoting hate-speech. Leave the innocent children alone. How would you like to have your children or grandchildren smeared by the likes of Dan Fagan. The Frontiersman’s opinion page is just as nasty.
It looks like Dan needs to quit making fun of special needs children and hit the treadmill:
Posts
37 comments:
so she did make a statement....good she did promise to be an advocate...
thou Rush did a pretty good job of taking care of it for her..
Sarah, well said to the remarks made by the POTUS.
Well said.
Go Sarah. She kicks butt!
I think comments from yesterday's thread were right on, the mama grizzly did react.
I appreciate her comments.
Pfft...
This is clearly faux-outrage by that Fascist Dictator, Sarah Palin.
/Many a A-hole
Return fire, I'm sure this will make the rounds on the Internet, and print as well.
Sure dodged a bullet with that Sarah chick..
Smartest administration evah.
/s..
'Cuda attack. TOTUS draws blank.
BTW, that Sarah video was picked up by a lot of anti-Obama sites yesterday. It did't get much traction when it was posted though.
Hollis French, Beth Kerttula, and Andree McLeod are, as we speak, putting together an ethics complaint that Governor Palin is abusing her power by picking on Barry Obama and trying to get him fired.
this story is on Free Republic and has generated more than 960 views and 33 responses in under 20 minutes.
You know this is going to be picked up by various news outlets, and will spread over the next couple of days.
Naturally, the PDS folks are going to spin it as Gov. Palin not having a sense of humor, and that
0bama, the glorious orator, just misspoke, and has already apologized to the Special Olympics.
The grizzly bear in Sarah has emerged.
Sarah just threw down the gauntlet. The war is on. It will not be over until Sarah tells the world she is not running for POTUS in 2012 or it results in a victor on election night 2012.
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2009/03/lets-hear-it-for-the-tards.html
Barack Obama is filling in for as a guest advice columnist..
Videmus Omnia:
You are joking, right!
techno, why in the name of heaven would Sarah announce she will not that she's not running for president in 2012?
Have you seen this by the way?
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OGIwNGE5OWIwYjcwNGE1ZDU1Y2JjYWEwMzNkYTczMGI=
One problem in the recent election was that our side refused to caricature Obama as they did Kerry and Gore. That elevated an otherwise ineffectual candidate. But, with all these teleprompter flubs and misfired jokes, he is diminishing himself.
Too many political figures screw up and instead of appologizing.. go on to blame others or rewrite history to how they want it to be perceived rather than just owning up..
yeah the comment was .. hello now!
but the dude apologized
Which is incredibly RARE these days you have to admit
Even ole Rush L. wouldnt leave me with a bad taste in my mouth if he had at least apologized for his Michael J. Fox immitation..
It's when someone screws up and then pretends it didn't happen or goes on to blame someone else.. that's what I can't take
promachus:
Boy, this is different-being criticized for considering the possibility of Sarah backing away from entering the Presidential ring.
I'm usually criticized for being too aggressive in advocating on Sarah's behalf.
Bottom line: You can control only which is in your power to control and you cannot ASSUME anything.
techno, I wasn't criticizing you this time, just expostulating at the possibility that Sarah won't run,
BTW, that jerk AP has this post at Hot Air and is not only his snarky self but is also suggesting possible attack angles to her opponents. What a d*d!
If anyone has a right to blast Pres. Obama for his "joke" on Leno, it is Gov. Palin. I am waiting to see, though, how the MSM will spin this (thinking of Tasergate, oops Troopergate).
What is TOTUS?
Teleprompter Of The United States
Sarah is saying this because she really feels it this way.
That is the kind of person she is.
Very real ,integer and sincere; and not afraid whether other people like it or not .
Techno, I second your inquiry...what is TOTUS?
Got it...
I know I am often accused of being too political in my perspective of life. But after all this is a political blog. And I do not doubt the sincerity of Sarah's reproach of Obama. But I predict this Reaganesque move by Sarah will further endear her with Republicans and conservatives and further stuff the coffers of SarahPAC. Incidentally, Rush's positive take on Sarah today was also fantastic in this regard. Timing is everything. An excellent day for Governor Palin.
At FreeRepublic one of the posters said Politico used a goofy picture of Sarah Palin when they posted Sarah's response to Obama's joke. This is the link to MOFOPolitics.com that talks about Politico's bias:
http://www.mofopolitics.com/2009/03/20/update-politico-still-has-anti-palin-editorial-bias/
I am writing Politico about this. It is very disrespectful and demeaning to Sarah. It just never ends with the MSM.
If this isn't the most deserved act of karma, I don't know what is. He teed it up and she slammed a par 5 hole in one.
He can apologize all he wants and his enablers can spin it all they want, but as Sarah has said on several occasions, you can't go back and un-ring that bell, once it's been rung.
He deserved to be smacked down and she is the most appropriate one to do it. Her special olympics video is just icing on the cake. This sweet video is getting infinitely more exposure than it would have on its own, and the contrast between the two politicians is breathtaking.
The gov. scored major, major points this week. Hmm, is that a door creaking open I hear???
I have often said that the 2008 election is like 1976 with Obama corresponding to Jimmy Carter and Sarah Palin 2008’s Reagan. This is an excellent article in which Michael Wolff trashes Obama for his appearance last night on Jay Leno and compares him (Obama) to Carter. It’s worth the read.
http://www.newser.com/off-the-grid/post/99/barack-obama-is-a-terrible-bore.html
Barack Obama is a Terrible Bore by Michael Wolff of Newser.com
Sheesh, the guy is Jimmy Carter.
That homespun bowling crap on Jay Leno, followed by the turgid, teachy fiscal policy lecture, together with the hurt defensiveness (and bad script for it) that everybody in Washington "is Simon Cowell… Everybody's got an opinion," is pure I’m-in-over-my-head stuff. Even the idea of having to go on Jay Leno to rescue yourself from the AIG mess is lame. Be a man, man.
The guy just doesn’t know what to say. He can’t connect. Emotions are here, he’s over there. He can’t get the words to match the situation.
This began, I’d argue, from the first moment. He punted on the inaugural. Everybody ran around like crazy trying to praise it because if Barack Obama couldn’t give a speech then what?
But now, at week 11, we’re face-to-face with the reality, the man can’t talk worth a damn.
You can see the fundamental mistake he’s making. Having been so successfully elected, he’s acting like people actually want to hear what he thinks. He’s the great earnest bore at the dinner party. Instead of singing for his supper, he’s just talking—and going on at length. The real job of making people part of the story you’re telling, of having them hang on your every word, of getting the tone and detail right, the hard job of holding a conversation, he ain’t doing.
He’s cold; he’s prickly; he’s uncomfortable; he’s not funny; and he’s getting awfully tedious.
He thinks it’s all about him. That we want him for himself—that he doesn’t have to seduce, charm, surprise, show some skin.
(AP Image)
So Jimmy.
It’s instructive and humorous to remember that Carter ran a brilliant campaign that succeeded largely because his voice was new. Simple, direct, basic, human. And then, of course, he turned into a sad-sack twit.
What happens when you move into the White House?
Well, shit, of course. The true secret of the power of language is in quickness. Barack Obama can’t keep up. He evidently needs too much preparation. And then there’s the organization. He’s undoubtedly got too many people debating what he should say. That’s the other secret of language: You’ve got to just go for it. Can’t think too much about it. It’s like hitting the ball. And then there’s knowing who you want to be—which is different than knowing who you are. You’re on the stage. You’re acting. You’ve got to make yourself believable, cleverly make yourself up as you go along.
This guy is leaden and this show is in trouble.
More of Newser founder Michael Wolff's articles and commentary can be found at VanityFair.com, where he writes a regular column. He can be emailed at michael@newser.com
I agree. This is a good day for the Guv, and a good week as well.
Sarah's statement is and will be seen by the public (except ones still drunk on Kool-Aid) as legit because she has a special needs child. If Hukabee or someone made a statement to me it would be opprotunistic and not accepted well. Sarah has a right sense she was actually personally offended.
The grizzly did rise up, she is a mom. I would have done the same, ANY mother would have done the same and everybody knows it. The MSM spinning it differently will not fly I don't think.
Everyone makes mistakes and says things they do not mean. But I read a quote from Sarah that said something like, she at times thinks something sarcastic to say but she bites her tounge because of the position she is in. Perhaps Obama should do the same. When you have rarely spoken in public without the use of a teleprompter you are out of practice in watching what you say.
Can you imagine the things that will go wrong in the next 4 years as Obama mets with foreign heads of state? Perhaps he will set up a teleprompter while speaking with them one on one.
Sarah, I am sure was truly hurt by what Obama said. When my kid strikes out and someone says a negative thing it kills me. I cannot imagine how much it would hurt to have the Pres. say something like that on national T.V.
hah. watching Oprah. she mentioned how fabulous the Leno interview was. she didn't even mention the "joke". neither did Jenny McCarthy (mother of an austistic child), who took over for Gayle.
Drudge now has a link to Sarah's statement
As someone with a physical disability, I am so proud of Sarah's remarks. One of the reasons I was especially drawn to Sarah was her heart for people with special needs. The president has apologized and I will give him credit for that, however ( I know I may sound cynical) but we he have apologized if it was not political. I know this is not a big thing, in light of what is going on in the whole today. However, the president's offhand jokes/remarks remember the teaching profanity to kids joke speak volumes to me.
The paid Obama-zombies are having a rat-fest over at ADN's blog-site article about this.
*DIE ADN,DIE!
She is just being a "friend and advocate" for special needs kids, unfortunately just not from the White House! The contrast between Sarah and Obama is quite stark. 2012 can't come fast enough for me!
WELL! WELL! BO's chickens are coming home to roust as Rev. Wright would say... Embarrassing is not even close to describing the disappointment of us who supported the CHANGE WE CAN COUNT ONE campaign.
Im at a loss of hope over this latest blundering exhibit of poor judgement by President Obama, I cannot justify any further support of him and the direction and bad example he is portraying. Im off the cool aid!!
The way the Right and the Left grow more and more to hate each other, am I the only person who thinks we're going to be in a civil war in a few years?
I think Sarah Palin is a godsend and I support her 100%
Sarah needs our help!
Ben Smith of Politico posted Sarah's response to Obama and included the following smear:
"UPDATE: Think Progress noted during the campaign that she once proposed cutting Special Olympics funding."
This has a lot of people worked up over there and Sarah is being slammed in the comments as a heartless hypocrite. I knew Politico was up to something because they used an unflattering photo of Sarah.
Anyway, does anyone on this blog especially the moderators have facts that can prove that Sarah did not cut Special Olympics funding as Ben Smith is claiming.
I remember CNN tried to smear like this before. Many people read Politico as you know so this could hurt Sarah. That seems to be Politico's goal is to make people hate Sarah instead of Obama over this.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_palin.html
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