Posted on 09/27/2008 12:04:59 AM PDT by RatherBiased.com
In recent memory, every presidential debate eventually distills down into a few catchphrases. Al Gore became known for his sighs and love of lockboxes. John Kerry actually served in Vietnam. Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy.
Barack Obama has a bracelet, too.
That inartful comeback will likely filter out through the political ether in the days ahead. What might not filter through our partisan press is that shortly after pointing out that, like John McCain, Obama sports a bracelet given to him by a military family, the Democratic candidate had to stop and look at it to find out the name of the soldier he's honoring.
That soldier is Ryan David Jopek. Barack Obama doesn't appear to have known that fact.
Here's his complete line:
"Jim, let me just make a point. I've got a bracelet too. From, Sergeant, uh, uh, from the mother of, uh, Sergeant, Ryan David Jopek."
Had a Republican, say Sarah Palin, made this gaffe, who wants to bet that we wouldn't hear this clip repeated endlessly during the post-debate spin shows and in the days ahead? How much would the sincerity of our hypothetical Republican politician be called into question.
I didn't hear it discussed once in the post-debate coverage. Did you?
Sidenote: Michelle Malkin reminds us that this incident is remarkably reminiscent of the now-famous incident of George H. W. Bush looking at his watch during the 1992 presidential debates.
You can hardly expect her to complain about having her son's name mentioned in such a context.Keep her out of it. IMHO.
So, this leaves two possibilities as I see it...
1.) He forgot his name and had to look. I guess seeing as he’s repeated Sgt. Jopek’s name in so many speeches that might not hold up too well.
2.) McCain was REALLY throwing him off his game, and was catching him off-guard so badly that when Obama was attempting to come up with his rebuttal in his head he needed extra time to complete the thought before continuing to speak... Kind of strange considering that he HAS spoken about this SO many times in speeches before... (Perhaps right after he said “I have a bracelet too” he realized how childish and stupid it made him sound?)
Mrs. Jopek is being smart, and not making herself available for comment. Her ex-husband (quoted in one of the posts on this thread) said that she doesn’t want to find herself in a “Cindy Sheehan Situation”. Her ex-husband is leaning towards McCain (served a year in Iraq himself), and said that “She wants the troops to come home a little sooner than I”.
There are some other very good quotes on this thread to directly from Mrs. Jopek around the time she gave the bracelet to Obama.
Yup - those are the 2 possibilities that I see, too. But I’m sorta in the “didn’t remember” camp...that he read it off speeches/teleprompters in the past maybe and really didn’t remember off the top of his head? was trying to make it personal, but didn’t have it on a teleprompter to help?
but yes, I think you’re right - it’s one of those 2 things...
You know... Even IF Obama didn’t forget this hero’s name, I think the majority of people watching it either live, or watching the video later will ASSUME he did simply based on his demeanor, and actions as he spoke... Big goof on Obama’s part.
I'm picturing a whole staff of advisors crawling all over McCain studying his profile to pick out weaknesses. Once of them noticed the bracelet and had a groupd of slaving interns check it out and find out what it was for. The report comes back to the staffer. 20 minutes before the debate he goes to Obama and says "Here, put this on and when you hear McCain say 'bracelet' check your notes at ref#..."
” . . . and the bracelet was given to me by Cindy Sheehan who got it in the divorce from her deceased son’s father. . . “
So we have a date, Feb 2008. I’ve looked for pictures on the net that show his right wrist.
From June 27, 2008
http://www.cutyourfootprint.com/Images/news%20images/obama2.JPG
April 2008
http://overbreadth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/vulcan-obama.jpg
“How can you know a void?”
“How can you know a black hole?” (no racial pun intended)
Though he was a Christian brother, I had to quell the urge to smack him down. But I took it as a blessing in disguise to learn that he is not really my brother or friend if he thinks that I am not doing my duty by following my calling and living according to my interpretation.
He had been a Hillary! supporter who slammed Obama during the primaries. Now, suddenly, Obama is all right and would make a fine president.
The point you make proves what party hacks most leftist voters are or what communists they are at heart. That last part may sound harsh, but at the end of the day, we all have to line up under the banner of liberty or collectivism. That's where we are. And that's the banner they are standing behind with this Stalinist.
Well said. I tend to be the same way. If it costs us ‘friends’ they were never friends to begin with.
I was so annoyed when Fox’s talking heads said there was no one gaff. We were all screaming at the TV “Uhh I have a bracelet too” he sounded like a sad little boy trying to play with the big kids.
I’m not dead! I’m getting better!
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