The Obligatory Obama Special Olympics Post–UPDATED
March 20, 2009 / 8:50 am • By Dr. Melissa ClouthierI have a special needs child. He looks like you’d imagine a special needs child looks when he throws a ball. He looks like you’d imagine a special needs child looks when he catches a ball. He looks like you’d imagine a special needs child looks when he runs. He looks like you’d imagine a special needs child looks when he bowls. He rode the short bus for a while.
Sounds hilarious doesn’t it? You know, running, throwing, bowling awkwardly because of muscle imbalances and fear of falling and fear of being hit by the ball. What’s amazing is that his Little League teammates haven’t laughed or poked fun. Not. Once. They have managed to show more class, patience, empathy and charity than the President of the United States, but that’s turning out to be no big feat.
Last night, Barack Obama joked with Jay Leno that it’s like “watching Special Olympics” to watch him bowl:
Hilarious.
The joke doesn’t bother me so much, though. It’s just more evidence that our President is a small man. This is the man who talked about Jessica Simpson’s weight gain. This is the man who gave unworkable DVDs to our staunchest ally as a gift. This is the man who slyly flipped off John McCain and his current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Speaking of Hillary… This is the administration who gave a mis-translated red button to the Russians saying “reset”. Do they not realize that by diminishing the past administration and making fun of it at every turn they undermine their own power and respect?
They have no respect for the offices or the power or authority they hold. None.
So, the President of the United States will go on late night talk-shows. It is beneath the office but since he has no respect for the office, it’s impossible to tear it down. Bookworm says:
The President, of course, said he didn’t mean to offend anyone, and I believe it. Nasty just rolls off him naturally, without any effort on his part. He’s done this offensive trash talk before. Remember how you condescendingly told Hillary she was “nice enough?” Or how about his offering that “I’ll put Mr. Burgess up against Sean Hannity. They’ll tear him up.” That’s not presidential. That’s school yard talk, and school yard talk from the kid who isn’t nice. Popular, maybe. But nice? Definitely not.
Now, to the guts of the Politically Correct nonsense. Imagine a Republican had said something similar. Remember “Macaca”? Yeah, the career of a good man was buried because of a verbal slip such as Obama’s last night. Those on the right are outraged, but is the Left? No, they figure you should “get a sense of humor“, you know, because making fun of ‘tards is funny.
UPDATED with more from The Anchoress (go to her site, she has loads of links to the Left’s gaffes–she has a long memory and better search functions than me, I think):
Perhaps President Obama, who received a rather tidy Book Advance just before he was sworn in, (does anyone else remember how Newt Gingrich got castigated for ‘using his office to sell a book’?) should donate some of the proceeds of his advance, say…I dunno, 90% – to the Special Olympics, to show he doesn’t really think that it’s okay to joke about “extra chromosome people” like Al Gore did (yes, I remember everything). Or, at least, that he should not insult disabled people by comparing them to himself, or to political junkies, in general.
As a political junkie, I can say that.
Sigh. One almost gets tired of saying it, but one must say it, still: Can you IMAGINE what the press and the Dems would do with that, had Bush said it. Can you IMAGINE what the press and the Dems would have done with the Irish PM Teleprompter gaffe (the press has helpfully embargoed the video, so Obama doesn’t have to see it playing 24/7, as Bush would have – had Bush so gaffed). Can you IMAGINE what the press and the Dems would have done if Bush had given the Prime Minister of Great Britain a lousy pack of 50 “Classic” DVD’s that didn’t work in the UK?
The Leftists in this country, once again reveal their hypocrisy. They want to control your language but when their beloved makes stupid gaffe after stupid gaffe and reveals his lack of character, it’s funny, not pathetic.
The fact is, the Left in our country don’t mind stooping to sexism (Sarah Palin), racism (Michelle Malkin, Michael Steele), religion (Gun-clingers, Joe Lieberman), classism (Joe the Plumber, any American not Democrat), etc. when it suits them. But they’ll turn like vicious hyenas on anyone who say, does, or thinks something outside what they decide is politically correct.
Meanwhile, the Right believes in free speech. So those on the Right feel that if the President wants to make an ass of himself, he’s welcome to do so. Is it offensive? Sure. It isn’t much different than shock jock Howard Stern’s sexist jokes or the unfunny and leftist darling Don Imus’ saying “nappy headed hoes“. Listen or don’t, it’s up to you.
So the Right tends to roll their eyes at the un-p.c. shenanigans of the Left. It’s hypocritical, we tell ourselves, to believe in free speech and then admonishing someone on the left for exercising that right and revealing himself to be a jerk. That time is over. I call bullshit. The Left can start following their own rules or embrace free speech again. It’s their choice, but they can’t get away with this double-standard any more.
Back to Barack and bowling: Would I like the President of the United States to have some measure of decorum? Sure. That would be nice. It’s not going to happen with Barack Obama. And his hate speech (come on, you know if a Republican said this it would be called hate speech) represents a very nasty character flaw and deep insecurity. But anyone paying attention before the election would have seen that too.
President Barack Obama diminishes himself, the office and the country. It’s embarrassing. But you know, Americans choose presidents who, for better or worse, represent themselves. He fits right in to the base, crass culture. Far from being better or smarter, like we were told during the election, he’s baser and cruder. It’s interesting watching so many try to defend the indefensible.
UPDATED:
And for classy contrast:
Michael Goldfarb says, “Right now President Palin is sounding pretty good, and it’s not like she couldn’t have figured out how to print money, drive the stock market down, or fill out an NCAA bracket. Also, Andrew Sullivan might want to do some shoe-leather reporting on this but the way Piper is doting on Trig, it seems awfully maternal.”
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