1. I don't have any agnst. I dunno why you ASSummed I do. 2. he compared his bowling performance to the special olympics. End of story.
I think we need a Senate Committee hearing on the correlation between low bowling scores and children with special needs. Once they've completely resolved the BALCO issue that is.
If special olympics has a bowling competition, I'm sure the bowlers who compete would be better than Obama. Maybe he can pull a Mark Cuban and turn a PR misstep into a marketing opportunity.
It was a stupid thing for Obama to say. It wasn't the worst because he's saying that while he has no limitations that should impair him from having a good bowling game, he bowls about as good as people who have physical conditions that would keep them from doing as well. Obama was the butt of the insult, not people in the Special Olympics. That being said it was still a stupid thing for him to say.
Comparing yourself to somebody else as a way of insulting yourself is also an insult to the person or people you are comparing to. So it doesn't really matter that much that he was being self-deprecating. (I guess it's better than directly insulting someone, but that would be a much bigger issue.) No doubt the athletes in the Special Olympics could actually kick Obama's ass at bowling, so the only basis for the joke is that those athletes are inferior based on stereotype. That's an insult, intentional or not. Of course, Obama apologized quickly and the Special Olympics president finds it to be sincere, so it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
I agree with a lot of what you said, which is why I said it was a stupid thing to be upset about. The thing is that people in the special Olympics have reasons why they might have lower scores. So it isn't an insult to them to say they aren't the same as pro-bowlers.
I understand. I think we both feel basically the same way. I just think it is more relevant and important to not diminish the fact that he did insult them with the comparison. The stereotype is that a disabled person can't do things as well as an "abled" person. Playing off that stereotype even in an attempt at self-deprecation just reinforces it. That's not that big of a deal if I say it to my friends, but the President can't get away with it (not that I'm implying he has).
There's already a Top 10 Obama/Biden gaffes compiled...not bad considering we haven't even reached the 100 day mark! http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_h.../top_10_gaffes_by_barack_obama_and_joe_biden_
Simmer. If you don't fine the amusement in my comment, then don't laugh. No need to get your panties in a wad. The joke is not that Obama can't put together a cohesive intelligent comment. The joke is that he is a puppet of the teleprompter, hence why the T is capitalized. So yes, my comment did apply. Its sad that people have to get all upset over a comment like this. Our society is too PC.
I wasn't upset at all. I was just pointing out that it wasn't applicable because he's done numerous town halls and isn't the slave to the teleprompter. If someone made a joke about Paris Hilton doing the things she does, just because she's a martian, and it's the space alien in her, it wouldn't make sense because it just isn't true. It wouldn't make sense, but it wouldn't upset me or anyone else that I know. It also has nothing to do with PC. I'm a staunch enemy of PC.
Hannity this afternoon said that one of the best bowlers from the Special Olympics, whom has bowled 5 perfect games, has said he would love to go to the White House and give the President a few pointers. I wouldn't be surprised if the President took up an offer like that. It would like just be a PR move for him, but it would still be really cool for the people that got to go. It is an honor to meet and speak with the President of the USA.
Special Olympics Bowler can beat Obama. Kolan McConiughey challenged Obama to a game and is talking smack. Kolan has the game to back it up. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama_special_olympics Special Olympics bowler: I can beat the president! By COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer Corey Williams, Associated Press Writer – Fri Mar 20, 5:24 pm ET ANN ARBOR, Mich. – So President Barack Obama thinks he bowls like a competitor in the Special Olympics? He's obviously never met Kolan McConiughey, a mentally disabled man considered one of the nation's top Special Olympics bowlers, with five perfect games to his credit. He'd like to go to the White House and show the president a thing or two about how to roll strikes. "He bowled a 129. I bowl a 300. I could beat that score easily," McConiughey said Friday. His challenge to Obama followed the president's offhand remark on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" Thursday comparing his famously inept bowling to "the Special Olympics or something." Recognizing his blunder, Obama apologized to the chairman of the Special Olympics before the show aired. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Friday said the president believes that the Special Olympics are "a triumph of the human spirit." Gibbs added that Obama understands that the athletes "deserve a lot better than the thoughtless joke that he made last night." During an interview with The Associated Press, the 35-year-old McConiughey quickly rolled several strikes with his left-handed hook in a short demonstration of his prowess at Colonial Lanes in Ann Arbor. In addition to five perfect games since 2005, McConiughey has also had an 800 series and carries a 212 average. He laughed as he joked about the popular president's apparently poor game. "I'd tell him to get a new bowling ball, new shoes and bring him down to the lane," said McConiughey, who speaks with a serious stutter. "Keep his body straight, his arm straight and keep his steps straight. He has to practice every single day." Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver was quick to respond to the president's apology. "He expressed his disappointment, and he apologized in a way that was very moving," Shriver said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Obama, Shriver said, wants to have some Special Olympic athletes visit the White House to bowl or play basketball. Still, Shriver said: "I think it's important to see that words hurt, and words do matter. And these words that in some respect can be seen as humiliating or a put-down to people with special needs do cause pain, and they do result in stereotypes." Shriver is the son of Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics and has championed the rights of the mentally disabled. His sister, Maria Shriver, wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a longtime Obama supporter, said laughing at the president's comments "hurts millions of people throughout the world." "People with special needs are great athletes and productive citizens," Shriver said. After a White House meeting with the president, Schwarzenegger was asked about Obama's remark and said he knew the president's heart. "He loves Special Olympics, and he would do everything he can to help Special Olympics," the governor said. With an IQ less than half of the 100 considered average, McConiughey lives with his foster mother and has held the same job at a grocery store for 16 years. He greets customers, sweeps floors and maintains the store's break room. "He can't read much, can't do math, can't do bill-paying," said his foster mother, Jan Pardy. "Kolan faces all these challenges, but he has an area of genius, and his genius is bowling." McConiughey has been bowling since about age 8. And he still finds time to bowl in three leagues. "It would be an honor for him to bowl with the president of the United States," said Lois Arnold, president of the Special Olympics in Michigan. Pardy said she saw Obama's comment on TV Friday morning and was not offended. "Everybody has missteps," she said. "I don't think it was a slam against the Special Olympics.
