Seeing as we've already engaged in at least one fun but less than newsworthy Obama post this week, I'm a little hesitant to write this. But I think Obama's gaffe on Thursday's Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in which he jokingly compared his bowling skills (or lack thereof) to those of Special Olympics participants, warrants a bit of discussion. Granted, the President delivered a swift apology, and yeah, we all say things we shouldn't from time to time. But this is the President and it was on national TV and it really irks me.Think about it for a moment: If such a sentiment were to have been uttered by our former commander in chief, the blogosphere would be up in arms and calling for his head. Yet even a co-worker of mine (who will remain unnamed) described the joke as not only amusing but also humanizing, noting that "inappropriate jokes are generally the funniest." That may be, but this wasn't especially funny, and Obama should have been poised enough to leave the tacit offenses and schmultzy flatness of low-hanging fruit jokes to Leno, who's perfected them over the years.Now, the fact that the President even needed to do The Tonight Show in the first place speaks to the potential bleakness of our moment in history. And the problem of policing speech certainly makes this discussion a bit murkier, as the ceaseless need for political correctness is a bane to both casual and serious dialogue. But, this isn't an issue of free speech; it's an issue of decency. While it might be true that participants in the Special Olympics are less skilled than other bowlers, it's not the job of the President to remind us of that.Oh. Yeah. And that's totally not the case. Michigan's Kolan McConiughey is the Special Olympics' top bowler. He's bowled five perfect games. His advice to Obama, according to Breitbart: practice.You can watch the whole conversation here.
Share on Facebook
