Obama: Fighting 'rise of privacy' (piracy) (Yet another Obama gaffe)

Chicago Tribune ^ | April 13, 2009 12:15 PM | by Mark Silva

[a fool in paradise]

President Barack Obama is taking a stand against "the rise of privacy'' in the Indian Ocean.

Say what?

The president clearly meant the "rise of piracy,'' but his brief statement on the rescue of the American container ship captain held hostage by Somalian pirates came so quickly today that he didn't stop to correct himself. He did note, however, that those "who commit acts of piracy'' must be "held accountable'' for the crime....

(snip)

We'll hand one thing to the White House's stenographers, however. Whenever former President George W. Bush tripped over his own tongue, which happened with some frequency, the official transcripts proved true to the words.

And with Obama, less prone to the trip of the tongue, the same holds true in the transcripts...

"And I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of privacy [sic] in that region...."

[a fool in paradise]

Maybe he misread his teleprompter...

[neodad]

Kneel before TOTUS!

[all the best]

Freudian slip. He is a clear enemy of the private in favor of the governmental and collective.

[lilycicero]

LOL..thanks for clearing that up. I was second guessing myself and gave him the benefit of the doubt, but he really did say privacy...dur.

[MHGinTN]

He babbled what is in his dark heart.

[a fool in paradise]

Must be all of those RIAA lawyers he has in his administration. Maybe he associates “piracy” with copyright violations and “privacy” with claims about internet traffic.

[Travis T. OJustice]

Yep, he absolutely said “privacy”.

[a fool in paradise]

[heartwood]

He’s against abortion in the emanations of the penumbras of the waves in the Indian Ocean...

[BenLurkin]

Privacy, piracy.

Probably the same thing in the minds of some politicians.

[Revolting cat!]

Teleprompter typo! Spellcheck doesn’t work in such cases, as you well know.

[Red_Devil 232]

It was not really a slip of the tongue. Privacy in the US is being attacked my 0Bambi ... his brain just forgot what situation he was addressing and what audience he was talking to.

[a fool in paradise]

Rush has also played the audio clip.

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[a fool in paradise]

Isn’t it “strange” that with his nautical terms he used in his first (reportedly ghostwritten) book, he doesn’t bring them into use here during piracy on the seas?

[Revolting cat!]

This is one case when we oughta forgive Hussein. After all, English is not his native language.

[DannyTN]

When privacy is outlawed, only Presidents who are ineligible to hold office will have privacy.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Maybe he meant to say “privateering”. That is, perhaps he's suggesting that the “pirates” are operating under letters of marque from the Somali government — thus making them privateers. Of course, issuing letters of marque would be an act of war.

[a fool in paradise]

FOX News “corrected” the transcript:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/13/navy-credited-bold-rescue-captain-held-somali-pirates/
Navy Credited With Bold Rescue of U.S. Captain Held by Somali Pirates
The U.S. Navy, and particularly the SEALS, are given kudos for its successful rescue operation, but blame is still placed on the U.S. for the growth in piracy.
FOXNews.com
Monday, April 13, 2009

“I share our nation’s admiration for Captain Phillips’ courage and leadership and selfless concern for his crew and I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of (piracy) in that region, and to achieve that goal we’re going have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks and we have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise, we have to ensure those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable.”