Opinion: Cocky Obama ‘blew it’
March 20th, 2009Toby Harnden, U.S. editor of the [UK] Telegraph, comments on President Obama’s joke equating his bowling skills with the Special Olympics.
… Obama made a schoolboy error and revealed what many will see as a condescending attitude to those he views as less perfect than himself. It’s the sort of remark that would be a truly awful thing to say in the presence of a child — and he did it on national television.
… Obama was fluent and plausible on the AIG bonuses furore and the economic challenges the country faces. The questions were soft balls — on Tim Geithner, Leno asked: “How is he holding up with this? He seems like a smart guy.” Obama came prepared with scripted quips. But in a single moment, his cockiness got ahead of him and he blew it.
See video of Obama’s remark about the Special Olympics here.
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March 20th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
It was a dumb remark. How many of us have made dumb remarks? How many of us have used words earlier in our lives that we wouldn’t dream of using today? To his credit, he recognized his own error and took immediate action 1) to own it – he didn’t blame anyone else; and 2) to make amends. I never saw that happen on any issue in the last eight years.
This is a teachable moment. Perhaps the result of this will be more and better education about these issues for everyone.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Obama is an arrogant man, president or not. He believes that people should bend over and kiss his ring, why should he treat the children of the Special Olympics any different. Obama looks down on all people. Do you know any other president that had to apologize so many times in the first 60days. 1. Nancy Reagan (talking with Ronald Reagan after he was dead) 2. Brown( giving him 25 DVD that don’t even work in England) 3. Special Olympics. People wonder why he uses a teleprompter…. He blew it!!!!!
March 20th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
This is of course sad and unfortunate, especially coming from a man who, by his words and policy plans, champions the rights of people with disabilities.
Let’s look for the silver lining here, though. The President’s “joke”, and his public apology brings this issue out further into the light of day.
We’ve come a long way in this country when outrage soars at a comment like this one. We’re still not that far removed from the days when racial slurs were commonplace all over, and no one took a stand against them. Hopefully we will see more good come of this, and start to treat all people around us with the respect and dignity they deserve.
A meeting with self-advocates at the White House would be an excellent way to start.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
This is why this appearance was so risky. There is no room for error. Now this overshadows the rest of his whole California visit. Town halls, Leno, and this is all a lot of us will remember about the visit.