Search This Blog

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Pigs, Honor and Hypocracy

This morning Senator Obama shouted "Enough" to the press and the world in a bid to stop the ongoing controversy surrounding his comparison of Governor Palin to a pig. According to Obama this entire controversy was a creation of the McCain campaign designed to take the attention of the American people from the pressing issues in the campaign. What utter nonsense! Obama just doesn't get it.

It is safe to say that most people hearing the Obama remark thought that he was refering to Governor Palin as a pig. I know that I did. Still, let's assume for a moment that Obama actually did not mean to refer to Governor Palin. The exchange still shows that Obama lacks the judgment to be president. First, if Obama did not mean the remark, all that he had to say was I certainly did not mean to refer to Governor Palin and if anyone misunderstood me and was offended, I apologize. That non-apology apology would have sufficed to take the steam out of the story. Obama did not understand the dynamic of the campaign well enough to know to do this.

Second, if he is elected President, Obama will be meeting with world leaders in meeting where his words will have particular weight. Surely, Obama should have realized that his lipstick on a pig remark would be construed as referring to Governor Palin. Indeed, his claims to the contrary seem clearly contrived. If, however, Obama never perceived the insult in his words, then he surely should not be president. Will he slip up when speaking to Putin or to the Iranians? Will he fail to recognize the import of his words repeatedly?

This is not the first time that Obama spoke and then claimed he meant something else. His speech to AIPAC when he proclaimed his support for an "undivided" Jerusalem as capital of Israel comes to mind. The use of the word "undivided" is clearly understood as support for the Israeli position regarding Jerusalem. By two days later, Obama had taken it all back. He would not admit to a mistake, he just claimed that he meant something else.

Third, we got to see Obama deal with the firestorm that arose after he made these remarks. How did he respond? First, his campaign released a statement in which it accused John McCain of not being honorable. That was just stupid. Now he is out petulantly cricizing the media and the McCain campaign for making the pig remark into an issue.

Senator Obama: Why not address the issue directly and apologize? Is it so hard for you to admit you were wrong?

No comments: