Big whoop. I'm sure a lot of media will pick up on this and start some BS about political correctness but that's to be expected from the media who love a juicy bit of non-news.

But really, he compared his bowling to special Olympics, so what? Only the self-righteous, sense of humourless a*****es are going to get all up in arms of it

Also, video tab?

I didn't think it deserved to be put there, just thought it would get some conversation for a slow Friday.

But, back on subject...I have mixed feelings about this. If I am sitting around with friends, there really are no PC rules about jokes.

But how would you feel about say, a white president saying something derogatory about black kids an TV?

I took the comment to be in pretty bad taste coming from a president.

(And I don't think I'm self-righteous or humorless)

I get that he's the president and in the public eye but my main point was that the media will run with this and people will be 'offended'. What you're talking about is the context of the humour rather than the humour itself and I'm with you on that point.

I think he pulled a "Biden" there. There are a lot of different metaphors he could have used.

Bet he wishes he had the power to have Leno wipe that part off the tape.

The White House spin doctors jumped on that one before it ever hit the airwaves, issuing a preemptive statement.

Contrast to this from a year ago: "I'm not a perfect man."

He's apologised now and I really hope that's the end of it, but I can easily picture what you're saying, D-Lives.

Like the Jonathon Ross/Russell Brand nonsense I can see this getting blown out of proportion.

Of course it was just a joke that didn't go over well. Nothing wrong, nothing evil. Let's face it, when Obama has a teleprompter he is a great speaker. When he doesn't he is horrible. This is just an example as is the times he stumbles and says 'uh' 40 times a minute. That is all this is.

The bigger point is the difference in the reaction to this. There will be little made of this by and large. There will be jokes, but that is about it. Very few and no one with any legitimacy will try and swing this to be a sign of his real personality. However you know if it was Bush, there would be a huge uproar.

It is similar to a few days ago when he screwed up his speech because of a problem with the teleprompter and he gave someone else's speech, thanking himself. Simple mistake, it is an example of his over reliance on the teleprompter but a simple mistake. If Bush had did the same thing there would have been massive jokes against him and people calling him an idiot.

Well, I was surprised that he said it...about as surprised as a Mexican at an Imigration raid.

That comment shook me like Michael J. Fox in an earthquake.

I don't see a big deal about it, but I guess in America it's uncommon for political figures to make appearances on popular TV shows like that.

Why link to such a long clip for such a short comment?

Maybe so it is more obvious that it was just a joke? So that it can be seen in context? Just guessing.


The fact that 1:43 is considered a "long clip" tells you something about the effect the internet has had on people's attention spans :D

I laughed, he was on a comedy show though.. but at the same time thats sounds like a comment I would make.. he was trying to show a little humor and poke fun at himself since everyone always jokes about his poor bowling and yea this is the result. Technically it is a true statement tho.. numbers in the special olympics are a lot lower. Maybe he thought it was cool to poke fun of since "the ringer" came out..

I think the issue is, a lot of us would make that joke in private. So what right do we have to get all up in arms about it when it is said in public?

Was it in good taste? not really. Should he have said it? prolly not. But I hate that everyone gets all high and mighty, when secretly we thought it was funny.

Meh, I was just comparing the comment time to video time ratio. A bit big, no big deal though.


(I had also just watched the whole thing earlier this morning)

My comment was tongue-in-cheek

Still you do make a good point...
it is possible to link to a specific section of a youtube video

you add #t=xmys to the end of the url

x = number of minutes
y = number of seconds

Didn't a certain Southern Republican member of Congress make a joke at Strom Thurmond's birthday party a few years back? Something about what a different country we would be in if he had one the Presidency when he ran?

Didn't that comment get turned into "Republican wishes KKK ran White House!!!" or something along those lines?

What people like myself (and Hoosker) are trying to point out is the double standard. How many times did we hear jokes about Cheney being Bush's brain? I remember a certain debate where Bush had some stiff thing under his jacket and the leftwingers were going nuts saying it was a control device Cheney was using to feed answers to Bush during the debate. Here we have a President who brings a teleprompter everywhere he goes even when he is just introducing a cabinet pick!!!

Why have the late night comedians not started poking fun at Obama over his love for the teleprompter?

I just feel mad he stole my joke that I use whenever I make fun of people that suck at sports.
Or accomplished, I'm not sure.

Ok, he shouldn't have said it. Let the uptight people flip out and complain for a week or so. Then just ignore the few that will remember and complain about it for the remainder of his presidency.

You know, part of his strong appeal to me has always been that he just seems very much like you or I. He's a regular guy, and someone with a nice personality who is very down to earth, and (oh noes!) has a sense of humor.

I could easily have one-upped his "Special Olympics" joke by performing my own physical impersonation of what Special Olympics bowling would look like. Certainly wouldn't be "politically correct" by any stretch and likely in poor-taste to some, but geez... people need to lighten the f**k up already. Stop taking everything in life so damned seriously.

I saw this last night with my roommates. We laughed hysterically. I know that some will be complaining about this, but I give him props. I like this dude.

When he doesn't have a teleprompter, he may not be as good. That's true for anyone. Reading a speech that was prepared beforehand always comes out better and more polished than making something up on the spot. Your classification is more suited to the previous president. He read speeches well, but by god could he NOT improvise a speech to save his life.

No, this was just a relaxed Obama. He had a sense of humor but still could put on the serious face. He's got charisma coming out the wazoo.

Sure, it was a non-PC joke. But we all have slip-ups. All that indicates is he's only human. The apology was the responsible thing to do for him. But other than that, I'll have my laughs.

Man, that joke went over like a boner in pre-school.