What’s Up With All the Presidential Gaffes, Anyway?

Pajamas Media ^ | Jun 24, 2011 | Michael Ledeen

[Ooh-Ah]

Big Media doesn’t pay much attention to them, even though Obama makes an amazing number of errors in his public statements.  And I think it’s easy enough to understand why the BM largely ignores them:  to report them all would totally undermine the image of the president to which a surprising number of “reporters” and pundits are wedded:  that of an unusually intelligent and well educated man.

Yet someone who tells a crowd in Vienna that his “Austrian” isn’t very good, who tells Marines that he’s pleased to speak to the “Marine Corpse,” and who, just today, said he’d given the Medal of Honor to a survivor from the 10th Mountain Division, when in fact the award was given posthumously, doesn’t fit my definition of a brilliant and cultured man.

Yes, there was a Medal of Honor winner who lived to receive it, but it was a different man.  The living honoree is named Giunta;  the deceased hero from the 10th Mountain Division was named Monti.  Both are Italian names.  Did a White House speechwriter confuse the two Italians?  And if so, what does that tell us about the ship under the command of President Obama?  That’s worth pondering for a moment.

When you add up all the mistakes he’s made–not slips of the tongue, but real errors in statements and speeches he could read from the ubiquitous teleprompter–they make quite a number.  So what? you may ask.  The answer is that hundreds of people traditionally read the drafts of presidential speeches and statements.  That happens for two good reasons.  First, presidential utterances are instant policy.  It’s hard to walk away from a public statement.  Second, the myriad political appointees want their leader to look good, and they strain to ensure the accuracy of his statements.  Or at least they did when I had first-hand knowledge of such things, now a few years back.

I don’t think that is happening in this administration.  A friend said to me earlier today that he was really amazed at the discipline of Obama’s team, specifically in the small number of leaks compared with previous administrations–especially W’s years.  It’s a good point, and that only happens when information flow is severely restricted;  when only a handful of folks know what’s happening, chances to leak are reduced.  (On the recent decision on force level reductions in Afghanistan, for example, most of the “inside the Beltway” rumors were dead wrong).

I suspect that drafts of presidential speeches and statements are treated the same way. I think they are only circulated among a very small number of people for comment, and those people are probably very busy, and don't have the time to check things like the precise name and history of a Medal of Honor recipient.

That would explain today's embarrassment (embarrassment to us, to the nation -- he speaks for us, after all -- since he doesn't seem to suffer embarrassment very often), but it doesn't explain things like the apology for his lack of fluency in Austrian or his lack of knowledge that we have a Marine Corps (pronounced "core"). That comes from lousy education, from lack of basic knowledge about the world. And if I'm right about the small number of administration officials who get to see his words before they're delivered in public, it tells us that they, too, aren't properly educated.

It tells us that the president and his trusted advisers are the products of the atrocious, politically correct educational system that's wrecking the country in so many ways. And itÂ’s very worrisome. It's part of the Orwellian universe that envelops many of our leaders, a universe in which they feel free to simply invent facts so long as they fit the emotional and ideological pattern that really matters to the elite.

And these people think they're the smart guys, and we're the dummies, even though we know that German is spoken in Vienna, and many of us would be mortified to make a glaring error about an American hero.

The gaffes are important. They tell us a lot about the nature of our leaders, and it's not good news. But it is news even though it's not reported as often as it should be, or with the sort of concern the gaffes deserve.

[Ooh-Ah]

Hard to believe a candidate for the President of the UNITED STATES could say this:

"I've now been in 57 states — I think one left to go." —at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon, May 9, 2008 (Watch video)

[hometoroost]

Obama is a bonehead but it’s hard to top “Stand up, Chuck!”

[Hunton Peck]

During a campaign appearance, 0 said there were “fallen heroes” in his audience.

0bviously, 0 sees dead people who are invisible to the rest of us.

[Dahoser]

I don’t think that is happening in this administration. A friend said to me earlier today that he was really amazed at the discipline of Obama’s team, specifically in the small number of leaks compared with previous administrations–especially W’s years. It’s a good point, and that only happens when information flow is severely restricted; when only a handful of folks know what’s happening, chances to leak are reduced. (On the recent decision on force level reductions in Afghanistan, for example, most of the “inside the Beltway” rumors were dead wrong).

I disagree somewhat on this point because that same SRM that protects Obama's image by burying his gaffes would also protect his image by burying any leaks that came their way.

[4rcane]

remember how Stewart say the MSM isn’t bias or ideological, only lazy and only focus on sensational stories, yet they feel the need to point out every gaffe GOP make but ignores every one by the DEM

[A_Former_Democrat]

That was Biden . . the same guy who said you can’t walk into a 7-Eleven or Dunkin Donuts without seeing at least one Indian . . . lol.

[dead]

Let’s contrast the LA Times treatment of two recent “flubs” from politicians. All quotes actually from the linked articles:

Obama confuses his Medal of Honor recipients during Ft. Drum remarks
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-mistake-medal-of-honor-20110624,0,4244870.story

Confusing…
the mix-up…
senior moment…
Obama, however, misspoke…
Obama had apparently mixed up…
the president misspoke

A political history lesson (Sarah Palin and Paul Revere)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rodriguez-palin-20110613,0,1596014.column

an idiot ex-governor who sloppily manipulated history for ideological ends…
Sarah Palin's goofy history lesson…
the ex-Alaska governor showed she has a loose grip on the facts…
all Palin's foolishness…
her lame manipulation of history…
Palin's aggressive ignorance…
her garbled Paul Revere story…
it's hard not to cringe

[treetopsandroofs]

The left wing freaks’ response to this one is, “Can’t you tell it was a JOKE?!”

[shalom aleichem]

He is a flippin’ idiot. Never done anything. Never learned anything. Never had to work for anything. Never had to be told “no”. Never had any loyalties except unto himself. Never had to be vetted by media or opposing party, or his own party. The skids have been greased for this pretender since he arose from obscured mongrel origins.

[DBrow]

“to report them all would totally undermine the image of the president to which a surprising number of “reporters” and pundits are wedded: that of an unusually intelligent and well educated man.”

This is a consistent media meme: Dems are smart and Reps are dopes. Kerry’s story of flying a fighter plane upside down in Israel would have been met with howls of laughter and a detailed expose had he been a Pubbie. And to find that the story was modified later to state that it was a two-seat prop trainer would have started the howl all over again. And the tale of renting a plane to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge?

There clearly are two Americas.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Question: "What’s Up With All the Presidential Gaffes, Anyway?"

Response: Perhaps he is stupid. People confused glibness and cunning for intelligence and ability. The aforementioned confusion coupled with some sort of electoral spasm against Bush propelled this nonentity into the Presidency. He is an accident and as such is a symptom of an underlying sickness that has gripped the electorate.

[RFEngineer]

There is no change in the stupidity of Obama, his gaffes are occasionally getting reported, which is a bit of a change.

[AFreeBird]

The tele-prompter is broken?

[Jane Austen]

There are enough gaffes to write a humor book. Does Jay Leno mention them? Rarely, I presume. But in his creepy obsession with Sarah Palin, he fabricates items. Every time I have tuned him in, which is not often, he mocks Palin. Just wondering, on how many shows has he NOT mention Palin?

[paterfamilias]

“The living honoree is named Giunta; the deceased hero from the 10th Mountain Division was named Monti. Both are Italian names.”

Fortunately for Obama, he doesn’t know any US history. Otherwise he might have mentioned John Basilone instead of Monti.

[blueunicorn6]

He’s dumber than a donut.

[mmichaels1970]

Did a White House speechwriter confuse the two Italians? And if so, what does that tell us about the ship under the command of President Obama? That’s worth pondering for a moment.

No...what does that tell us about OBAMA. Not about his "ship". These are Medal of Honor recipients, not health care policies or manufacturing plant managers.

Maybe somebody should wonder if the President, as Commander in Chief, might be expected to remember these heroes and not have to rely on a speech writer or team of advisors to get it right.

Obama has nobody to blame but himself for his aloofness and incompetence.

[Trailerpark Badass]

He's doing it on purpose, to diminish the stature of the Presidency by introducing a level of humiliating incompetence, as well as creating despair among Americans by showing that there is no one present who is capable of solving the problems we so obviously face.

His ultimate goal is to reduce the influence and power of the US in as many ways as possible.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I think the guy is heavily medicated. If you watched him stumble through Europe its hard to believe the protocol officer was not on duty. I think Barry is on happy pills and that is why he thought it was May 24, 2008 instead of 2011. Also why he felt compelled to attempt to greet his Irish hosts by speaking with an Irish brogue. Lets not forget toasting the Queen in the middle of the National anthem. It just goes on and on. Nobody is that stupid. The guy is likely on anti depression meds. Its all bad.

[steelyourfaith]

bttt