Thursday, March 19, 2009

Obama Misstep on Leno: Making Light of Special Olympics

Jonathan Martin of Politico is reporting that while appearing on Jay Leno tonight President Barack Obama committed one of the cardinal sins in communication: making light of a disability.

Obama's effort to mix his serious talk with more light-hearted fare was overshadowed when in an attempt to mock his own lackluster bowling skills, he said his recent 129 score in a game in the White House bowling alley was "like the Special Olympics or something."

Ouch. Not a quote you would expect from a masterful communicator. But then again, he probably did not have a Teleprompter. Besides, 129 isn't so bad. He isn't Earl Anthony, but how often does the guy bowl?

On other matters, Martin reports:

Asked his response when he found out about the AIG bonuses, Obama said: "'Stunned' is the word."

As he has all week, the president made clear to the public that he shared their outrage and reiterated that he'd try to get the cash back.

"People just had this sense of entitlement," he observed. "We must be the best and the brightest."

For all the sober talk, Obama did join Leno in getting in some quips, including one line that was sure to momentarily scare his daughters.

"That was a campaign promise," he said about the pledge he made to his daughters to buy them a dog.

"No, I'm teasing. The dog will be there shortly."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Simple bad choice of words. Nobody cares, we got bigger problems than his lame attempt a joke.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

An Elite Freudian Slip ~