Mar 22 2009
Palin Blasts Obama Over Special Olympics Remark
Politico reports Alaska Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is taking President Obama out to the woodshed for comparing his poor bowling skills to the Special Olympics on “The Tonight Show” Thursday.
“I was shocked to learn of the comment made by President Obama about Special Olympics,” said the governor. “This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world.”
“These athletes overcome more challenges, discrimination and adversity than most of us ever will. By the way, these athletes can outperform many of us and we should be proud of them. I hope President Obama’s comments do not reflect how he truly feels about the special needs community.”
Palin, a mother of five (that we know of), has am infant son with Down syndrome.
During the 2008 campaign, several websites and media blowhards such as Keith Olbermann claimed the governor cut funding for special needs education or the Special Olympics. But according to Politico writer Ben Smith, these claims are false. FactCheck.org reports that “Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn’t cut it at all. In fact, she increased funding and signed a bill that will triple per-pupil funding over three years for special needs students with high-cost requirements.”
With regard to funding for the Special Olympics, Palin actually increased spending on the organization by $25,000 during her second year as governor. In 2007, the state of Alaska allocated $250,000 (The same amount spent in 2006 under Palin’s predecessor, Frank Murkowski) for the Special Olympics, and $275,000 the following year. (Click here to see the 2008 Alaska budget)
Voting republican is like running in the special olympics. Even if you win, you’re still retarded.
http://obamacomics.today.com
“That from the worst President in history.”
Give the man some slack. A person who has absolutely no clue as to what he is doing can’t be expected to have a clue as to what is doing wrong (which is usually everything).
“she said as mayor of whatever small town she was mayor of.”
I believe you’re referring to the Village of the Damned.
“Keith Olberman is quite often an asshole.”
Ditto. I pretty much hate all talk show hosts from the con and lib camps, with the exceptions of Steve Colbert and Jon Stewart.
I must say, my opinion of Hillary has actually gone up since she withdrew from the primary last year.
Certainly, in hindsight she was way more prepared to be president than Obama. And I was surprised and pleased when i learned she (unlike Obama) voted against immunity for Orwellian telecomm companies.
“He belongs there, not on CNN.”
Keep in mind this is the same network that employed that bowtie-wearing idiot Tucker Carlson.
@Len-Good for you-that’s exactly what she is doing. She went from a nobody to a nationally recognized character. I think she is worried about returning to the land of insignificance. My God; we Americans are so goddamn touchy that it’s got to the point where you are better off not saying anything about anyone. Obama certainly meant no disrespect and was man enough to apologize for it nonetheless. This shouldn’t even be newsworthy but thanks to people like Palin; it is sure to fester until someone else says something completely innocent but some whiny asshole finds it offensive.
Obama’s slip on the Tonight Show was indicative of a general societal attitude that accepts slurs like that as “natural”. I’m not “outraged” by it, and I don’t respect the President any less because of it. I respect him more for realizing that his words could be hurtful and apologizing for them. I was always taught - and have taught my children - that an adult apologizes for causing an injury even when the injury wasn’t intended. It’s nice to see an adult in the White House.
Olbermann is a histrionic jerk who carries grudges. He enjoys his pulpit just a little too much for my taste - I’ve had my fill of arrogant know-it-alls who slant the news in ANY direction. Chris Matthews exhibits the same tendencies to grab a loose thread in a story and make up the rest of it from the whole cloth that way too many other media talking heads do. Rachel Maddow is in a class by herself. I can easily see her developing into an interviewer on a par with Barbara Walters in her prime - the Barbara Walters who could draw admissions and quotes from people that you never in a million years would ever have expected to hear. Maddow researches her subjects, asks intelligent questions and listens respectfully and thoughtfully to the answers - but she doesn’t shy away from asking follow-up questions to get deeper into the message.
well, in today’s world, if you are an educator, a lawyer or anyone in the public sphere, you have to keep up with the latest “politically correct” sensitivities. that includes when you’re speaking to address a person in a wheelchair, etc, in the proper way, e.g. person with autism, rather than autistic kid, person with a disability, rather than disabled person. In this way, we are not letting a person’s disability completely define them. A good examlel would be Stephen Hawking. I would prefer to think of him as a scientist with an incredible disability, rather than a disabled person.
The truth of the matter is that Obama is a very shallow person and not a very gifted speaker without his teleprompter.