Go Obama!

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I'm not sure what you all expected to see here in FYM. A thread scolding him for his gaffe? Or a thread where a bunch of us rallied to pre-emptively defend him?

Dumb thing to say, he apologized, and yeah, it's a bit different when we're still tallying up the gaffes. Not like he's had a whole box full of them in his two months in office so far.

:shrug:
 
Irvine511 said:
it's not like he invaded the wrong country
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Fair enough.
insulted our allies
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Oops! Sorry France and Germany!
exploded the deficit
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Just wait for the next decade of cascading Obama deficits.
read My Pet Goat while 3,000 people were murdered on the streets of New York
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Cute, who would have stopped it? President Clinton on the golf course, with Bin Laden in Predator missile crosshairs? A true cheap shot.
watched New Orleans drown
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The Halliburton Hurricane Machine again? W did a poor job, as did the mayor of New Orleans, and the governor of Louisiana, who wasn't asking for much federal aid beforehand. In the face of an unprecedented natural disaster.
or trumpeted his anti-intellectualism as some sort of badge of honor
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Irrelevant hack garbage.

but go ahead and carp about some sort of double-standard. it's about as effective as refusing stimulus money
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In which the Feds fund binding social services to the states for a few short years, until the Feds don't fund it anymore, and then the states are required to pick up the entire tab...which they can't afford (without huge tax increases).
 
2861U2 said:
^ He was off his prompter, what do you expect?

I'm glad to see him getting beat up (although only slightly) over this. Lord knows what would have happened if this had been President Bush.
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You listen to Rush far too much...

The difference between W and Obama, one faces his mistakes like a man and apologizes.

Press Release from Special Olympics:

"President Obama called last night and expressed his regret and he apologized. He said that he did not intend to humiliate Special Olympics athletes or people with intellectual disabilities. He was sincere and heartfelt, and said that he is a fan of our movement and is ready to work with our athletes to make the United States a more accepting and welcoming country for all people with special needs.

Words hurt and words matter. Words can cause pain and result in stereotypes that are unfair and damaging to people with intellectual disabilities. And using 'Special Olympics' in a negative or derogatory context can be a humiliating put-down to people with special needs.

This is a teachable moment for our country. We are asking young people, parents and leaders from all walks of life to engage in conversation and help dispel negative caricatures about people with intellectual disabilities. We believe that it's only through open conversation and dialogue about how stereotypes can cause pain that we can begin to work together to create communities of acceptance and inclusion for all.

Special Olympics is not a program, but a worldwide movement operating 30,000 events a year in more than 180 countries. Every one of them is a chance for people of all ages to get involved, to think differently about attitudes and perceptions they may have about people with intellectual disabilities, and to make a difference.

And so we challenge people to join our 'Spread the Word to End the Word' campaign, a youth-led national awareness effort that will launch on March 31, where we are asking people to pledge their respect for people with special needs. We're asking people to sign our 'R-word' pledge, to join in our Unified Sports programs, to volunteer, and to be fans of our athletes and our movement.

Additionally, we challenge policy leaders at all levels to commit to improving the support and resources for people with intellectual disabilities in areas such as healthcare, education, housing and recreation.

Finally, we invite the President to take the lead and consider hiring a Special Olympics athlete to work in the White House. In so doing, he could help end misperceptions about the talents and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities, and demonstrate their dignity and value to the world."
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I wonder if it would have been alright if he made an off color gay comment.

Stereotypes are wonderful things when it is not your identity group being targeted.

Yes he apologized, but, in my time in this forum, apologies, well, they have not been accepted for many others - like for example IMUS .....

:shifty:
 
Dreadsox said:
I wonder if it would have been alright if he made an off color gay comment.

Stereotypes are wonderful things when it is not your identity group being targeted.

Yes he apologized, but, in my time in this forum, apologies, well, they have not been accepted for many others - like for example IMUS .....

:shifty:
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:lol:
There does seem to be a hierarchy of victimhood right enough. You would think looking at some statements that have emanated from the US gay lobby that they believe that no group, in history, has ever been as discriminated against.
 
Dreadsox said:
I wonder if it would have been alright if he made an off color gay comment.

Stereotypes are wonderful things when it is not your identity group being targeted.

Yes he apologized, but, in my time in this forum, apologies, well, they have not been accepted for many others - like for example IMUS .....

:shifty:
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Well I think there is a difference when one has a history of such comments, and I do think there is a difference between a racial slur and using an unfortunate truth as self deprecation.
 
look i have no problem with what obama said, we're all a little too uptight about offending people here in america as it is...

but if a major republican had made a sweeping generalization about a group of people this place would be ablaze with outrage. it went nuts when someone who's job is to be shocking and outrageous, imus, said something shocking and outrageous.

if you're someone who gets their panties in a bunch every time somebody says something you deem to be offensive, at least don't be partial about it.
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
but if a major republican had made a sweeping generalization about a group of people this place would be ablaze with outrage. it went nuts when someone who's job is to be shocking and outrageous, imus, said something shocking and outrageous.

if you're someone who gets their panties in a bunch every time somebody says something you deem to be offensive, at least don't be partial about it.
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exactly.

had georgie boy done the same thing, every media outlet would have been set on fire with the news and people would be claiming he hated all disabled people.

i'm sure obama didn't intend to say it at all, and that he simply didn't realise what he was saying at the time...

dreadsox and financeguy bring up good points on this too.
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:
Well I think there is a difference when one has a history of such comments, and I do think there is a difference between a racial slur and using an unfortunate truth as self deprecation.
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That may be true...good point. IMUS was the only person I could think of at the time. However, he is a shock jock paid to say shocking things. The other is an elected official, paid to represent our country.

Maybe that balances out your point and mine.
 
is this about the comment Obama made on the Jay Leno show?????

Jay Leno ????
where you go for all your in depth politcal discussion?????

no wonder he was the first president to appear on a show like that
 
i think it's perfectly clear that barack obama doesn't care about handicapped people.

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While appearing on "The Tonight Show" to tout his economic plan, Obama -- who famously rolled a gutter ball while trying to woo primary voters last year -- told Leno that he had been practicing in the White House bowling alley and recently scored an unimpressive 129.

"It's like -- it was like Special Olympics or something," the president said, prompting laughter from the audience.

Obama called Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver after the show to apologize and to express his admiration for the organization. Shriver accepted the apology and later said he hoped the gaffe would serve as an opportunity to knock down myths about people with disabilities.

His sister, California First Lady Maria Shriver, issued a statement expressing disappointment with the president's comments, as well as the laughter that followed it:

"While I am confident that President Obama never intended to offend anyone, the response that his comments have caused, coupled with the reaction of a prime-time audience, demonstrate the need to continue to educate the non-disabled community on the issues that confront those with a developmental disability."

Obama's comment also hit close to home for David Axelrod, the president's top political guru and a senior White House advisor.

Axelrod's daughter, Lauren, is a longtime Special Olympian who has competed in swimming and track and field events. His wife, Susan, was part of a delegation led last month by Vice President Joe Biden to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho.

"I think he was trying to make a comment about himself and his own skills, more than putting anyone else down," Susan Axelrod said. "We have been with him with Lauren, and he is nothing but totally respectful." Still, she called it an unfortunate comment.

"Knowing the president the way I do, I would assume that he is horrified that he said this, and I think he will make every attempt to make something positive out of it," she said.

But the president's joke was more than just the perpetuation of a cruel stereotype, Special Olympians said. It was factually incorrect as well.

A 129 score would keep the president off the medal stand at several Special Olympic bowling events, according to recent results.

Brothers Rich and Ted Olson have participated in the Games for more than three decades and don't have enough space in their suburban Glen Ellyn, Ill., home for all their medals and ribbons. The Olsons, whose scores typically run in the 140s and 150s, didn't find the joke offensive, but Rich laughed when he heard the president's score.
"That's not very good," he said. "It wouldn't beat us. He needs to practice."
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to medal in the Special Olympics one needs to bowl in the 140s and 150s.

I guess 129 would be a typical Special bowling score. :shrug:
 
financeguy said:
:lol:
There does seem to be a hierarchy of victimhood right enough. You would think looking at some statements that have emanated from the US gay lobby that they believe that no group, in history, has ever been as discriminated against.
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you're right. i never speak up for anyone other than gay people. not even once.

it's not like i even spent any time trying to point out the many different sides to Don Imus, or have taken relatively (in here) unpopular positions that many describe as anti-Palestinian.

your above statement is far more blanketing and filled with stereotypes and wishful thinking than those "statements" that you attribute to the "US gay lobby."

cite your sources?
 
Irvine511 said:
you're right. i never speak up for anyone other than gay people. not even once.

it's not like i even spent any time trying to point out the many different sides to Don Imus, or have taken relatively (in here) unpopular positions that many describe as anti-Palestinian.

your above statement is far more blanketing and filled with stereotypes and wishful thinking than those "statements" that you attribute to the "US gay lobby."

cite your sources?
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I said 'US gay lobby', not 'Irvine511', but as you seem to want to personalise it, probably the most glaring example I can think of is the hyperbolic statements that have been made equating the slavery that Africans were subject to with gays not being allowed to legally marry.
 
financeguy said:
I said 'US gay lobby', not 'Irvine511', but as you seem to want to personalise it, probably the most glaring example I can think of is the hyperbolic statements that have been made equating the slavery that Africans were subject to with gays not being allowed to legally marry.
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tell me, what is the "US gay lobby"?

and, again, where are these hyperbolic statements?

while you're at it, google "jumping the broom."
 
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