The President's Special Olympics 'joke'

mapletrees · #1 03-20-2009, 01:39 PM

don't know if this thread would fall under the political umbrella...it was on The Tonight Show

but what the hey?!?

that was a strange thing to see/hear...I thought people were pulling my leg at first when I was told about it...

I know his kids go to a private school...don't know if they always have...

I don't know if he himself went to private schools when he was young...

is it just the case that he has not been around people who struggle with mental and physical challenges every waking minute of their lives...?

just plain odd...almost an Archie Bunker type comment....

?

HereIGoAgain · #2 03-20-2009, 02:42 PM

I'm actually suprised at the outcry. Had a concervative made that comment, he'd be lamed-ducked for the rest of his life, but left-wingers usually get away with junk like that.

However, reports are coming out saying pretty much that Obama is acknowledging that his choice of words may not have been the best.

In this case it would be better if both sides and Obama just let this one go and call it handled.

jyee · #3 03-20-2009, 03:17 PM

Wow, people seriously need to lighten up. It has nothing to do with right or left leanings and everything to do with people being completely up tight.

Here's a good read:
http://www.slate.com/id/2214316/
The average bowling score for the 2007 Special Olympics was 108.
It was a self depricating joke and not an insult to the special olympics. If he'd phrased it: "I'm so bad at bowling, i'd have tough competition from a guy with no arms" would that be an insult to amputees or the paralympics?

SongwriterFan · #4 03-20-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyee

"I'm so bad at bowling, i'd have tough competition from a guy with no arms" would that be an insult to amputees or the paralympics?

Some people would say yes.

jwenting · #5 03-20-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyee

Wow, people seriously need to lighten up. It has nothing to do with right or left leanings and everything to do with people being completely up tight.

you say that now. Had Bush made the exact same remark he'd have been blasted for years as being 'insensitive', 'offensive', etc. etc.
But Obama gets away with a statement that 'his choice of words might have been poor' and everyone buys it?
Pull the other one about it having nothing to do with right- vs. left- leaning.

Hossein is the media's baby, he can do no wrong for them. They don't even get angry when he bans cameras from the white house press room...

Ryler · #6 03-20-2009, 03:44 PM

This is the type of comment that the media loves and which gets so overblown in coverage as to make you wonder about the nation's priorities. Was he intending to insult a group? I think quite clearly no. Was it insensitive? Yes. Does it deserve this much attention? No.

Stixx · #7 03-20-2009, 03:51 PM

Sounds like an Obamanation to me......................

jyee · #8 03-20-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwenting

you say that now. Had Bush made the exact same remark he'd have been blasted for years as being 'insensitive', 'offensive', etc. etc.
But Obama gets away with a statement that 'his choice of words might have been poor' and everyone buys it?
Pull the other one about it having nothing to do with right- vs. left- leaning.

Yeah, I'm really going to argue with you about a hypothetical "had Bush made the exact same remark" scenario... as if in this imaginary alternate-reality where such an even occured you could prove something one way or another. Are you going to pull out an alternate reality copy of the imaginary ultraliberal newspaper X from the alternate reality March 20, 2009 which continues to ridicule Bush for the Special Olympics joke he made years before?

Want a real insensitive joke about the special olympics? Here's a common one that's floated around forums for quite a while:
"Arguing on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics - You may win, but you're still a retard."

edit: I will concede that Bush is still ridiculed (though not "blasted") for verbal gaffs he's made years earlier, but "Bushisms" are just funny and perpetuated as humorous phrases, not as supposed evidence of ineptitude or insensitivity or out of malice. I will continue to "surf the internets" and use "the google" long after memory of Bush has faded, simply because it's amusing... it's similar to catch phrases like "all your base" or "boom goes the dynamite"

anothersmith · #9 03-20-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwenting

Hossein is the media's baby, he can do no wrong for them. They don't even get angry when he bans cameras from the white house press room...

Glad to see this thread hasn't turned political.

Danzo · #10 03-20-2009, 06:18 PM

Some bitter humans in the land of Bilk and Money.

Small potatoes.

Out of all that is going on, its amazing that a lame joke can occupy much concern.

And some cannot restrain themselves from going political and look to slip some hate in now and then.

Welcome to 'Merica.

Danzo · #11 03-20-2009, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryler

This is the type of comment that the media loves and which gets so overblown in coverage as to make you wonder about the nation's priorities. Was he intending to insult a group? I think quite clearly no. Was it insensitive? Yes. Does it deserve this much attention? No.

Well said ... almost as if the media wants us to focus on the trivial and avoid the obvious. We have fallen for that for too many years and look where it got us.

When we see some get their panties all in a bunch over such nonsense kinda makes sense how we got into the situation we did over all these years.

Priorities are very out of whack for some. Now, any reason to attack. Ho hum.

Hope we can all focus on just trying to get this country back into shape. Look at the Intention of people and this quickly becomes a non-story.