Our first black president (sorry, Bill) is also the first sitting president to appear on a late night tv show. There he was - the most powerful human being in the world - in the same seat occupied by such luminaries as Britney Spears, Carrot Top, and so many more, when he made a really good joke:
Leno: Now, are they going to put a basketball — I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down.
President Obama: No, no. I have been practicing all — (laughter.)
Leno: Really? Really?
President Obama: I bowled a 129. (Laughter and applause.)
Leno: No, that’s very good. Yes. That’s very good, Mr. President.
President Obama: It’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something. (Laughter.)
It was a really funny joke, and anybody who complains about it is just a dour stick in the mud who hates the idea of a black president.
Which is of course why he immediately apologized:
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.
The most popular president in recent history (at least the past 6 years) goes in front of a national audience and makes a forgettable joke that really shouldn’t have offended anybody, but he shows just how noble and sensitive he is by promptly apologizing.
Like the media, we should all accept his heartfelt apology without question.
And apparently without holding him to his own standards.
Does anybody remember the Don Imus controversy? Here's what Junior Senator Obama had to say about that:
“I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus,” Obama told ABC News, “but I would also say that there’s nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude…”
“He didn’t just cross the line,” Obama said. “He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women — who I hope will be athletes — that that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment. It’s one that I’m not interested in supporting.”
Though every major presidential candidate has decried the racist remarks, Obama is the first one to say Imus should lose his job for them.
What's that, Mr. President? I can't hear you over your derisive sneer and voting record.
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