Before you’re off to wash your Hooters/BW-3/Wing Stop-smelling shirt after spending 160 hours watching hoops this week, I want to make comment about the sucktastic media coverage of Barack Obama this week.
(Obama sneaks cigs. Tiger tokes a Coors Light or Three?)
First, we get the main media’s mangling of Coach K.’s joking comment about Obama filling out his Bracket. Then then ridiculous over-reporting of Obama’s innocent comment last night about bowling - which led to a storm of protest.
If you’ve read SbB over the years, you know I don’t share many of the convictions of the Left, but the treatment of the President by the media over two innocuous incidents compelled me to say something.
I’m well aware of our financial crisis, and I myself am a stockholder in some of the major banks that have been melting down. But I was perturbed by the ridiculous camp that used Coach K.’s comment as a vehicle to claim Obama is sleeping on the job.
I know, most of the overreaction from Obama’s Bracket came from right-wing outlets like Drudge and Fox News, but at some point can we please put away the partisan pee shooters guys? Do any of you participate in the culture we do? You really want to vilify him for filling out a NCAA hoops bracket?
I actually found it refreshing to see our President participating in March Madness as our country faces enormous problems. Acting like a calm, confident leader instead of panicking in some bunker while poring over the Stock Market tape.
In fact, the more candid pieces I see of him, the more I like him and the better I feel about our eventual economic recovery.
Obama reminds me of Tiger Woods. They seem like people you would want as friends. Both have a bit of a caustic, sardonic edge. Not afraid to make a wisecrack or off-color joke. Or in Obama’s case, sneak a cigarette. (And I could easily see Woods nursing a Coors Light at the 19th Hole.)
Take Obama’s Special Olympics comment. Yes, it was inappropriate in that setting. But anyone with a brain knows he didn’t mean harm. For the media to make an enormous stink of it was petty. Why would anyone take seriously anything that comes out of the main media when it reacts to irrelevancy that way?
Look, we all love the Special Olympics. But a good many of us, in a weak moment, have said the exact same thing. Give the guy a break.
In my lifetime, I’d say the financial crisis we’re currently in is the worst thing I’ve seen in America, save 9/11. I’m just as worried as the next guy about what will happen next. But I have also seen the progress made on turning around the banks and the stock market. If you haven’t seen it, you haven’t been paying attention.
There are a few more dominoes to fall in the coming weeks that, if all goes well, will set us on a legitimate path to recovery. Obama has certainly made some missteps in his approach to the problems, but he’s starting to get it. And I have complete confidence that eventually things will get much, much better a lot sooner than you think.
That not to say that I’m confident of the turnaround because I like Obama’s persona. I see real progress in his administration’s approach to changing the culture of Wall Street. The AIG bonus debacle, largely fomented by the media and exacerbated by Congress, is a temporary road block that will be cleared in the coming weeks.
I’m just as wary of Obama as many of you are on other issues, but I realize that everyone needs to cut him some slack. Let the guy do his thing and we’ll be out of this mess that much sooner.
10:15 pm on March 20th, 2009
The llove is over.
10:22 pm on March 20th, 2009
Amen Brooks. I'm not an Obama fan but come on….he was making fun of himself. I've got a mental image of some Special Olympian hearing this and jumping for joy saying "I'm a better bowler than the President!!"
I've got far more important issues to disagree with him on.
11:24 pm on March 20th, 2009
Sorry, not buying it Brooks - you're a closet Liberal - time to buy a pair of Birkenstocks and a Prius and 'come out'. If a Repub made that comment his/her political career would be over. Liberals are Nature's Perfect Hypocrites. They express outrage over small slights - but expect forgiveness when they f*ck up.
And no one cares about Coach Rat Face.
11:25 pm on March 20th, 2009
interesting take, incorrect, but interesting.
12:29 am on March 21st, 2009
Express outrage over "small" slights? Were you in a coma the last eight years? I was a little surprised when I kept hearing about Obama's bracket too, I feel like a lot of people think that the president should be working 24/7 for all four years in office. It probably took him 5 minutes max to do the bracket, lets hope he never spends time with his family because WWIII would erupt! The special olympics joke caught me off guard but give the man some credit, first president to do a late night interview while in office (Leno is a little on the right too). I remember a certain conservative making fun of michael j fox, I do believe he still has a job (Limbaugh has power, the media is way too strong when it comes to politics….and sports. Stop watching ESPN)
1:40 am on March 21st, 2009
I thought the special olympics comment was pretty bad. I picture a special needs kid, or whatever you call them, hearing it and thinking to himself, "Ok I guess I'm the bottom rung on everybody's ladder" well maybe not saying that, but reinforcing that idea anyhow. And letting them know that even the president laughs at their expense.
1:46 am on March 21st, 2009
If a republican made those comments their career would be over? That's such a lofted softball, I'm almost hesitant to swing.mccain - You know that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran? Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iranmccain - "I had something picked out for you, too - a little IED to put on your desk."mccain - 'The nice thing about Alzheimer's is you get to hide your own Easter eggs.'"mccain - "And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago."arlen specter told tasteless polish jokes at a luncheon just last decembercheney told a tasteless joke towards west virginians and had to apologize last yearbush told tasteless jokes about weapons of mass destruction and never apologized, yet was re-elected the same year
4:05 am on March 21st, 2009
Ok…I didn't personally see the the Leno interview gaffe, but from what I've come to understand(and I could be wrong), he wasn't referring to his bowling ability…rather, when he told Leno his average Leno was doing a slow sort of mocking golf clap…sort of a 'hey, you gave it a shot there slugger' kind of thing like you'd see some people applaud at the special olympics just cuz they were glad to see mentally retarded folks participate. even if it was meant in the context most have reported it as, I don't really find it THAT offensive…actually, I don't find it offensive at all, and I have a sister who participated in the special olympics when we were younger. so yeah…STFU. lol
4:57 am on March 21st, 2009
I'm a Repub and didn't find it all that offensive.
Bad taste yeah.
He should know and be completely cognizant of the fact that he's perpetually going to be under the microscope.
With that said though, he sure does have a lot of trouble speaking without a teleprompter.
And……let's not be hypocrites here.
If a Repub had said what he said, it would be the lead on every "mainstream news" program as well as plastered on the front page of every newspaper in SF,LA,SEA,CHI, and NY.
What was really offensive though is that pacifistic message he sent Iran.
Let's show our weakness a little more.
5:01 am on March 21st, 2009
Had a server glitch.
Can you (Mod) delete the two 4:47 posts and the one 4:46 post.
12:23 pm on March 21st, 2009
Re: the brackets, you're right, who cares. But I'm not at all convinced that Coach K was joking. K's got plenty of reason to work up a feud with Obama — he's a Republican, and Obama has chosen to associate with UNC over Duke. Not rational, sure, but why should that matter?
As to the comment, you're right but man, have you paid attention to the last 8 years? Were you one of the people who said that Imus should apologize and we should move on? Because Obama was, as I recall, one of the only presidential candidates to go so far as to say that Imus should be fired. This isn't a defense of Imus, mind — I think he's terrible. But it shows how Obama thinks tasteless comments should be handled.
(And Obama makes bonehead comments like this all the time, usually they're in a forum where they can be suppressed. Remember when a female reporter in Detroit asked a tough question on the campaign trail and he got a bit flustered and then called her "sweetie"? If GWB had ever done something like that, he would have been crucified in front of NOW hq.)
Finally, I wish I could share your optimism about the economy. As a friend once said to me, very rarely does a stock that loses half its value go without losing another half of its value (i.e., down to a 1/4). And any number of us don't quite get how a wishlist of liberal programs is supposed to stimulate the economy. But, I hope you're right.
12:24 pm on March 21st, 2009
Re: the brackets, you're right, who cares. But I'm not at all convinced that Coach K was joking. K's got plenty of reason to work up a feud with Obama — he's a Republican, and Obama has chosen to associate with UNC over Duke. Not rational, sure, but why should that matter? As to the comment, you're right but man, have you paid attention to the last 8 years? Were you one of the people who said that Imus should apologize and we should move on? Because Obama was, as I recall, one of the only presidential candidates to go so far as to say that Imus should be fired. This isn't a defense of Imus, mind — I think he's terrible. But it shows how Obama thinks tasteless comments should be handled. (And Obama makes bonehead comments like this all the time, usually they're in a forum where they can be suppressed. Remember when a female reporter in Detroit asked a tough question on the campaign trail and he got a bit flustered and then called her "sweetie"? If GWB had ever done something like that, he would have been crucified in front of NOW hq.) Finally, I wish I could share your optimism about the economy. As a friend once said to me, very rarely does a stock that loses half its value go without losing another half of its value (i.e., down to a 1/4). And any number of us don't quite get how a wishlist of liberal programs is supposed to stimulate the economy. But, I hope you're right.
2:04 pm on March 21st, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-obama-gaffe-21-mar21,0,6938805.story
2:56 pm on March 21st, 2009
Calm Down.
6:04 pm on March 22nd, 2009
people have too much time on their hands if they are getting upset over obama's ncaa bracket…. go get a job if u have that much time on your hands