OMG! The Gift of Gaffe

[amykhar]

I think too many people are just too damn sensitive at this time of year and need to take serious chill pills. Neither candidate is wonderful. Neither candidate is satan. The world won't end if either guy is elected and neither guy is going to be the second coming.

The VPs, even less so. I'm tired of all snark all the time from both sides and just wish people would grow up when it comes to politics.

I'm tired of hearing how candidates dissed special needs kids or insulted women or forgot how many houses they owned and all the other crap that people are just blowing way out of proportion.

All the candidates are going to stick their feet firmly in their mouths at least several times this campain. It's nothing to get so overjoyed about or all bent out of shape about. Life goes on and nothing changes. We survived Bush. We'll survive these twits.

[anderclayton]

wivabef said

This needs to become a nonissue real fast.

One of those islands Ike ran over lost 80 % of there homes and we're having a major mediafest about pigs hockey lipstick and pit bulls?

What are we thinking? Let's debate the hurricane instead.

It isn't like this thread is over in current events (like a hurricane thread might be).

Why would the media be covering this instead of the hurricane (Are they? I haven't been watching TV today.)? Perhaps they feel a bit snookered by the last two hurricanes essentially fizzling out so didn't set up to cover this last one. I mean geeze they *really* covered the first one (all of the stations, almost 24-hour coverage). I saw a good deal about this particular hurricane when it was over Cuba and in concept would be somewhat personally involved with this one if it were headed in the same direction as Gustaf did (my brother currently is in Mississippi doing tech school in the Air Force Reserve) and was a bit personally concerned about Gus (my bro was in Texas at the time) but currently I'm a bit hurricaned out by the overcoverage of the first one.

Is the new hurricane aimed at major population centers? Does anyone know of anyone in the hurricane's path?

[sleeper54]

realtraveller said

--snip--

He has no idea what is going to offend people in Dayton or Colorado Springs.

--snip--

Or Des Moines.

realtraveller said

He thinks small town Iowans buy arugula at Whole Foods.

Exactly.



...tom...
' who had to Google arugula . . ...... Yes, I am admitting cultural ignorance of leafy, green vegetables... '
.

[jgibson2[$]]

lynnzop said

Two more months of nastiness. I don't know that I can take it.

You are SUCH an optimist.

[sleeper54]

amykhar said

--snip--

Life goes on and nothing changes. We survived Bush. We'll survive these twits.

.
But that is certainly nothing to celebrate. Atheist leftist or right-wing religious nut ...that is certainly nothing to be proud of. Given the potential of the human mind, body, and spirit.


...tom...
.

[wivabef]

anderclayton said

What are we thinking? Let's debate the hurricane instead.

It isn't like this thread is over in current events (like a hurricane thread might be).

Why would the media be covering this instead of the hurricane (Are they? I haven't been watching TV today.)? Perhaps they feel a bit snookered by the last two hurricanes essentially fizzling out so didn't set up to cover this last one. I mean geeze they *really* covered the first one (all of the stations, almost 24-hour coverage). I saw a good deal about this particular hurricane when it was over Cuba and in concept would be somewhat personally involved with this one if it were headed in the same direction as Gustaf did (my brother currently is in Mississippi doing tech school in the Air Force Reserve) and was a bit personally concerned about Gus (my bro was in Texas at the time) but currently I'm a bit hurricaned out by the overcoverage of the first one.

Is the new hurricane aimed at major population centers? Does anyone know of anyone in the hurricane's path?

Ander... I meant the media. Or course, this is Symposium so we can debate whatever you like!

The media is covering this because it doesn't hurt their brains to cover it. It is easy and sloppy seconds to actually presenting something thoughtful and pertinent.

This was Obama giving a bad delivery on a speech with a cliche that his automatron audience kneejerked laughed at followed by hypersensitive McCain campaign completely blowing the comment out of proportion.

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

sleeper54 said

Atheist leftist or right-wing religious nut

I thought the problem was Obama was a radical Muslim who was a member of a Christian church led by a radical preacher. Now he's an athiest?

[jgibson2[$]]

mjfrombuffalo said

I thought the problem was Obama was a radical Muslim who was a member of a Christian church led by a radical preacher. Now he's an athiest?

Only if it serves someone's purpose.

[anderclayton]

wivabef said

This was Obama giving a bad delivery on a speech with a cliche that his automatron audience kneejerked laughed at followed by hypersensitive McCain campaign completely blowing the comment out of proportion.

If so, it would easily have been remedied by Obama following it up the next day with a quick and sincere apology. Not a particularly extensive one either. In context it really didn't warrant the laugh (kneejerk or not) so obviously the reaction wasn't to the cliche itself (and can only with a reach be termed a cliche given the fact that much of the country hasn't ever heard the expression--I hadn't heard it myself). I could see why he wouldn't want to backtrack and play with it at the time but it would have been *easy easy* to do the next day. Instead he played the debate game with it and turned their reaction into supposed political games.

Like I said, Obama's speeches are heavily scripted and Palin's quote was very muchly in the forefront of the media so it seems very unlikely it was either a mistake or bad delivery. I mean seriously, when hearing the quote out of context wasn't Palin's speech in your own mind? Now imagine being very much more integrated into the campaign.

Obama was the one that declared that he was going to run a clean campaign so this would be why the media really can legitimately get on him about the quip.

[amykhar]

I don't believe an apology is necessary if people are working overtime to find something to be critical or offended about.

[sleeper54]

mjfrombuffalo said

I thought the problem was Obama was a radical Muslim who was a member of a Christian church led by a radical preacher. Now he's an athiest?

No, no, no . . ..

Not these two particular individuals; I was speaking more universally, of the spectrum of views across the populace.

Hard to say where the edges truly are.


I could care less, at this point, how McCain or Obama are portrayed or characterized. Some discussion of real issues would be nice though.


...tom...
.

[anderclayton]

amykhar said

I don't believe an apology is necessary if people are working overtime to find something to be critical or offended about.

...or to find a way to offend.

Sure. No problem on that. Like I said, this just steps the rhetoric up a notch.

[wivabef]

I agree. I am a woman, and I have heard that expression so many times, I have never taken it to be about women. It wasn't about Palin, who does not hold the copyright on the word "lipstick."

Ander, I am no Obama supporter. But this reaction from the McCain/Palin camp surprised me and I have filed it with the reaction from Hillary back in the day when she called out "a vast right wing conspiracy."

Here's my point. There are SOOOOO many other things they can pick on that are relevant and important to their constituency, this just makes them look like whiny little middle schoolers.

I called Obama out on calling Hillary "sweetie." I wouldn't hesitate to call him out again if he said something sexist. This isn't sexist. It didn't pertain to Palin. At least, that is how I perceive it.

[amykhar]

amen, Wivabef

[anderclayton]

wivabef said

Here's my point. There are SOOOOO many other things they can pick on that are relevant and important to their constituency, this just makes them look like whiny little middle schoolers.

I'm not arguing with that. I did say that they should simply note it and drop it.

wivabef said

I called Obama out on calling Hillary "sweetie." I wouldn't hesitate to call him out again if he said something sexist. This isn't sexist. It didn't pertain to Palin. At least, that is how I perceive it.

I didn't say it was sexist. Have people really been saying that? The fact that the quote involves "lipstick" really isn't the key there. If you substituted in the word "bowtie" or some other readily candidate distinguished word in there it would have the same effect. Granted that particular word wouldn't really apply here but...

I've just been watching the long Obama documentaries that have been airing over and over and one of the key things that I've noted them saying about him is that he takes care to script his speeches pretty carefully (meticulously?). As has been pointed out in this thread, one of the more memorable quotes from Palin (and she really hasn't had that many of them) had to do with lipstick. So scripted speech+memorable citation+staff very involved with watching everything. Seems unlikely to be an accident.

[wivabef]

Ander, the McCain camp said it was sexist! That's what the hullabaloo is about!

Lipstick wars: McCain claims sexism - Yahoo! News

Why else would Obama then have to apologize?

[anderclayton]

wivabef said

Ander, the McCain camp said it was sexist! That's what the hullabaloo is about!

Lipstick wars: McCain claims sexism - Yahoo! News

Why else would Obama then have to apologize?

I stand corrected there then. I still don't say that it is sexist though.

Why shouldn't he apologize? Sexism notwithstanding, even through implication calling someone else a pig isn't courteous behavior.

"Have to" though... I never said that. It is always optional.

Ander

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

sleeper54 said

No, no, no . . ..

Not these two particular individuals; I was speaking more universally, of the spectrum of views across the populace.

Hard to say where the edges truly are.


I could care less, at this point, how McCain or Obama are portrayed or characterized. Some discussion of real issues would be nice though.


...tom...
.

Wouldn't it? But it seems I was the only one watching the CNN forum with the candidates last night, where despite the softball questions some policy plans came out.

[frazzledspice]

I absolutely agree. Palin tells us Obama was a "community organizer," reminding us that Obama shares that time-honored profession with Jesus, Moses, MLK Jr., Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman, and others.

(Of course she didn't intend to do that.)

And Obama repays her with the pig in lipstick comment?

Reminding us that pit bulls in lipstick are very similar to pigs in lipstick?

It was a gaffe.

[drmomentum[$]]

So what did people think about his detailed proposal for education in that same speech?

[hadassahchana[$]]

drmomentum said

So what did people think about his detailed proposal for education in that same speech?

ROFLMAO!!!

And crying at the same time. Thanks, JP, for pointing this out.

[drmomentum[$]]

Nobody knows what he said about education, because people want to either demand an apology for something they can't prove he meant that has nothing to do with the election, or they want to lament that the discussion is not about the issues.

Here's a discussion on the issues. From the AP:<