Friday 20 March 2009

Obama: perhaps not as nice as he seems

Towards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance, the president talked about how he’s gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley.

He bowled a 129, the president said.

“That’s very good, Mr. President,” Leno said sarcastically.

It’s “like the Special Olympics or something,” the president said.

When asked about the remark, the White House had no comment.


Blogged in a few different places, like here, for example, where this extract was snipped from.

A relaxed moment, your guard is down, you say what you think.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why do you post these, mate?

He's already publicly apologised, and invited the US Special Olympics team over for a bowling session.

(Source: The Politico)

Gordon Cheng said...

Wally, great that he apologized, just as it is good that Marcus Einfeld now feels remorse over lying to avoid a speeding fine.

But the question remains: what sort of man have the Americans managed to elect as president? The gaffe—even the appearance as US President on a chat show—has to make you wonder about his character.

Anonymous said...

If you're equating a verbal gaffe with perjury, the previous occupant of Obama's office (and all of us) would be up on some pretty stiff counts!

I agree that the question does remain as to what kind of man the US has elected as their president. Is it fair to interpret your last comment as indicating you've already passed judgement?

Gordon Cheng said...

I've been deeply sceptical about Obama ever since stuff like this came to my attention.

Anonymous said...

Is it "just" the abortion issue?

(And are you just sourcing your information about him from sites like the National Review or NetNewsWire? If so, I can understand your having a generally very negative view of him.)

Gordon Cheng said...

Hi Wally,

what do you mean by "just"? For me, this is a fairly significant question.

Most of my information about Obama comes from what I watch on TV, read in the newspapers, and from blogs like theologica.

I have only consciously read 'National Review' once in my life, and I'm not aware of the other source you mention.

Unknown said...

"just" as in "solely", not as in "trivially".

I agree that the killing of the unborn is a very big issue, and one which should certainly be used to measure Obama's presidency.

I assume you wouldn't pass judgement based on that single issue - are there other things I should be aware of?

Gordon Cheng said...

Abortion and embryo stem-cell research seem to be the only moral areas where Obama has taken decisive legislative action—and both in a way that shows grave disrespect for human life. And yes, especially given that I don't vote in the US, that seems sufficient reason to suspect that he is in ethical terms a lightweight.

Are there any specific issues or actions in his policy record that suggest the opposite?

Anonymous said...

A quick google search for 'Obama legislation' turns up at least three O-sponsored bills indicating the "ethical lightweight" has at least some heft to him.

Again, I agree his public position on the killing of the unborn is not biblical, but is it enough to pass judgement on his presidency?

Gordon Cheng said...

Again, I agree his public position on the killing of the unborn is not biblical, but is it enough to pass judgement on his presidency?

Who knows? He may change his mind and repent during his term of office. I think we should wait and see.