Obamateurism of the Day
posted at 8:05 am on June 12, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Yesterday, the Obama administration and the State Department committed a gobsmackingly amateurish blunder by failing to consult the British before dumping four Uighurs from Gitmo onto Bermuda — which the British have to secure. But Obama himself committed another amateurish blunder with another ally by releasing a photo of himself talking on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … and sending a regional insult along with it:
After the shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad last year with George Bush, can any American say they’re not familiar with the regional insult of showing one’s soles to another person? Even without the explicitly insult of the soles of his shoes, it certainly doesn’t look like Obama is working very hard on this phone call with Bibi, anyway. Did Bush ever release a photo of himself talking on the phone with any world leader with his shoes up on the desk, instead of a more engaged — and professional — image?
Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at obamaisms@edmorrissey.com with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.
Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!
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Considering this man’s early education and family members on his father’s side, he knew exactly what he was doing.
kingsjester on June 12, 2009 at 8:10 AM
It just continues to demonstrate the man’s scorn for everything American and respect for our allies.
red131 on June 12, 2009 at 8:10 AM
Did the Uighers get iPods?
Or maybe DVDs of Matlock
blatantblue on June 12, 2009 at 8:10 AM
And what’s that between his right index finger and thumb?
forest on June 12, 2009 at 8:10 AM
I wonder why Bermuda agreed without first consulting with Britain. I haven’t seen any mention of that. I’m wondering how they were threatened. Offshore banking?? Insurance fraud??
JiangxiDad on June 12, 2009 at 8:11 AM
It’s all about the “O.”
It’s OK, though, he’s got his cool going on. That’s all that matters.
coldwarrior on June 12, 2009 at 8:11 AM
Sorry Ed, these were not Obamateurism, these were intentional.
doriangrey on June 12, 2009 at 8:11 AM
P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C.
itsnotaboutme on June 12, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Jack Risko at Dincrat has the best take on this.
If you are not visiting Dinocrat regularly, you are missing something.
BigD on June 12, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Is there any country,culture,infobabe*sweety*reporterette,
religion,murder of the english language,proto-col,customs,
and any other group that Obama has offended and insulted!!
Me thinks,Team Obama’s Apology Tour for America isn’t
going to well for Hopey!!
canopfor on June 12, 2009 at 8:15 AM
If you go to Bermuda and your waiter is Chinese, do not order the Bomba Surprise (French pronounciation).
kingsjester on June 12, 2009 at 8:15 AM
You may be closer than you realize.
coldwarrior on June 12, 2009 at 8:15 AM
No sense not revealing what an amateur you are from all fronts. At least he did’nt send any pictures of what he learned from Uncle Frank.
heshtesh on June 12, 2009 at 8:16 AM
Precisely.
zeebeach on June 12, 2009 at 8:16 AM
Bowing to Muslims , giving jews the boot.He sure knows how to give signals.
Maybe he picked up something in those 20 years of listening to Wright.
the_nile on June 12, 2009 at 8:19 AM
In regard to the photo… BHO loves him some BHO.
He couldn’t give a tinker’s dam about Bibi… or anyone else for that matter.
mankai on June 12, 2009 at 8:20 AM
Add my name to the list, this was no accident. It was The Obama ‘being cool’. Remember all those times in the campaign debates where The Obama had to scratch an itch with the finger?
Rush was the first guy to say it publicly, but I’ve long held the belief that this guy and his wife has an in your face chip on his shoulder that is gonna be trouble before this is all over with.
Skandia Recluse on June 12, 2009 at 8:21 AM
Do we know which desk Obama chose to use in the Oval Office? I’m just curious to know which of our priceless historical antiques this pathetic fraud is using as his footrest.
As for the insult to Israel, that’s just business-as-usual for this no-class fool.
AZCoyote on June 12, 2009 at 8:22 AM
The Uighurs to Bermuda thing would have been enough. This silly shoe stuff is just, well, silly.
We conservatives don’t like over-sensitivity, remember? Personally, I’ll put my feet on my desk any damned time I want to.
flipflop on June 12, 2009 at 8:22 AM
The greatest challenge this nation faces is four years of Barrack Hussein as president. He and the cast of characters running Congress are fictitious beyond any imagined screenplay.
Hening on June 12, 2009 at 8:22 AM
Looks like a Dorito to me.
You know, one of those things that will be banned under Obamacare.
garry on June 12, 2009 at 8:26 AM
I can’t stand what Big Guy is doing to our country, but if he can’t put his feet up on the desk without worrying about whether he’s insulting islam, then it’s a pretty sad state of affairs. Ed, you & your boss are among the biggest critics of the oversensitivity islamic apologists, so I’m surprised you would call this one an Obamateurism.
KS Rex on June 12, 2009 at 8:27 AM
Cut him some slack.
After Clinton, a Democrat President has to go out of his way to show he is not receiving fellatio while on the phone about life-and-death matters.
Leave it to Democrats to disgrace the Oval Office.
jeff_from_mpls on June 12, 2009 at 8:27 AM
(head falls into hands)
World, he’s not with us.
Red Cloud on June 12, 2009 at 8:28 AM
Lets see,exposing his soles to one group,
but on the other hand,he bow’s to another,
sumpin is rotten in Denmark!!
canopfor on June 12, 2009 at 8:28 AM
But the oval office isn’t the same as hanging out at home watching a football game. That desk and that house belongs to all of us, and President Obama is the temporary tenant. It doesn’t belong to him. Also, he knew he was being photographed, so he chose to show his nonchalant, disinterested attitude–he’s an exhibitionist as well as a narcissist.
I can just imagine the thugs and criminals he allows to parade through the WH. I wonder who else he has allowed to sit at his desk. It makes me wanna vomit.
JiangxiDad on June 12, 2009 at 8:29 AM
Barry is the very definition of cool!
/barf
Barry’s ‘style’ is that of an arrogant teenager living large, yo.
rockbend on June 12, 2009 at 8:30 AM
If I’m not mistaken, the Obamateurism of the Day report is in response to Slate magazine’s similar reports about George Bush, which they continued to run even after he left office. I think this is a case of turnabout being fair play– if Slate can squeeze column inches out of W’s clumsy grammar and pronunciation, HA can do the same out of Obama’s clumsy foreign relations, economic knowledge, and lack of executive experience.
Tonus on June 12, 2009 at 8:30 AM
Very Astute.
Basilsbest on June 12, 2009 at 8:32 AM
BigD on June 12, 2009 at 8:14 AM
BetseyRoss on June 12, 2009 at 8:33 AM
You’re missing the point. No one mentioned insulting Islam.
This is an insult in that part of the world, which includes Israel. He was talking to the pm of Israel. This wasn’t some candid shot.
Most of these oval office type photographs are carefully staged, no matter who is the president. This was the one picture selected to be released.
reaganaut on June 12, 2009 at 8:33 AM
Problem is, it’s NOT his desk that he has his feet on. The desk belongs to the people of the United States of America, just like the house Barry currently occupies. And it’s not just any desk. It’s an ornately carved antique built from timbers of the British ship Resolute, and given by Queen Victoria in 1880 to President Rutherford B. Hayes.
You want to treat your own furniture like crap, go right ahead. But neither you nor Barry has the right to treat the nation’s historical antiques with such disrespect.
AZCoyote on June 12, 2009 at 8:34 AM
He’s just harkening back to his days as a “Community Organizer” or a “Furniture Rearranger” or a “Drug Peddler” or whatever the hell his complete lack of experience for this position consists of.
I have no interest in what this jackass says or does. Notify me when he leaves office.
NoDonkey on June 12, 2009 at 8:35 AM
No problem, just make damn sure you dont put your feet up on my desk.
doriangrey on June 12, 2009 at 8:35 AM
Heck no, Bush is a pretentious and square white geezer.
Bama is hip and cool and He Won, so he has earned the right to defile our antique furniture any time he pleases. We owe him, dontcha know?
tru2tx on June 12, 2009 at 8:35 AM
….life and death matters…..
jeff_from_mpls on June 12,2009 at 8:27AM.
jeff_from_mpls:
And to add,don’t forget,while Clinton was getting serviced,
and an oil change by Monica the mechanic,Yessar Arafat,was
sitting in the Rose garden bench,twittling his thumbs for
over a half hour awaiting peace talks with Bill!!:)
canopfor on June 12, 2009 at 8:36 AM
Could be a. I’m sure the elite will still have access to Doritos and other goodies that will get banned for the rest of us.
But I was thinking it was the smallest violin in the world playing for those of us who are complaining about little things like Iran getting nuclear weapons, or the State taking over private industries in the fascist command economy model.
forest on June 12, 2009 at 8:37 AM
As much as I dislike the Prevaricator-in-Chief, this is much ado about nothing. While he is amateurish and naive, ill-suited to the job and a little too aloof, this was nothing more than a “faux pas”, not an intended insult. If the photographer had taken the shot from the side, would we be having this conversation? Did Obumble have the soles of his feet pointing toward Israel? On another blog they were going nuts because his feet were on The Resolute Desk, a precious antique. Then someone else posted a link to a picture of GWB with his feet on the desk and no one backed off but attacked the person who posted the link.
Obumble and Biden have provided us with plenty of gaffe-tastic moments already. This isn’t one of them.
Jarhead68 on June 12, 2009 at 8:37 AM
The disrespect he is giving the desk pales in comparison to the disrespect he is giving Netanyahu on the phone.
sherry on June 12, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Obamateurism ?
Charles Pierce probably thinks it’s brilliant!
eforhan on June 12, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Least the Uighers don’t have to go on a gay cruise..
blatantblue on June 12, 2009 at 8:44 AM
Remember the press conference where Obama’s shifty eyes were on everything but Netanyahu? That was pretty disrespectful, too.
Remember how Netanyahu stared him down? This is Obama’s wimpy response.
Disturb the Universe on June 12, 2009 at 8:45 AM
Quite whining already… ;p
doriangrey on June 12, 2009 at 8:46 AM
Maybe the Uighers will all be in a “horrible, unimaginable, and shocking” accident in a few months.
You know, the kind where the all end up double tapped
blatantblue on June 12, 2009 at 8:48 AM
Classless, uncultured slob. Pretender, phony.
I wonder if he’s also going to carve BHO heart BHO on the desk? Betcha there’s stuff missing from the White House when he leaves (with luck, that will be sooner rather than later).
mr.blacksheep on June 12, 2009 at 8:49 AM
wouldn’t it be easier for the Uighers to terrorize somebody in the future by sneaking off Bermuda than if they were sent back to China?
for God’s sake, the Chinese want these terrorists. and the Chinese own us.
kelley in virginia on June 12, 2009 at 8:49 AM
You guys are fussy, fussy, fussy!
First you all complain when he uses Air Force One for a photo-op at a cost to the taxpayers of over $300K.
So then he gets a free shot off for the price of the digital camera file’s pixels and all you can do is find an excuse to gripe about the way he treats the most democratic country in the Mideast, who has been a US allie for the duration of the country’s existance?!
You guys must all be Jews!
Um….
Er….
I meant Zionists.
Shy Guy on June 12, 2009 at 8:50 AM
It’s the death of a thousand cuts, taken straight from the Dem. playbook. The very accusation and publicity about Obama disrespecting his office is harmful to him, as they were fatal to GWB. The truth of the individual charge mattered little to the effect.
For my survival, Obama must lose the next election. The ends justify the means. We’re losing.
JiangxiDad on June 12, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Um, Ed, I don’t really think Obama considers Israel to be an “ally”. Frankly, it’s more likely that he wouldn’t mind seeing them Jews wiped off the map.
Sign of the Dollar on June 12, 2009 at 8:52 AM
+++++
LibTired (KO) on June 12, 2009 at 8:53 AM
Just more of Obama’s arrogance…Orrogance
ladyingray on June 12, 2009 at 8:54 AM
But…but…but…I hear the food is good.
ladyingray on June 12, 2009 at 8:54 AM
Orrogance
I like that!~
I think some blogger named Ed might adopt that term
blatantblue on June 12, 2009 at 8:57 AM
Uighers are not bad
They are so misunderstood
Give them beaches now
blatantblue on June 12, 2009 at 8:59 AM
clearly you’ve never been to the Middle East. The shoe sole thing is a HUGE deal there. The Israelis are right to be miffed by it.
I love the Bermuda f-up myself. didn’t y’all know that the grown-ups are in charge?
mjk on June 12, 2009 at 8:59 AM
Well considering what his reverend has said lately, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
mjk on June 12, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Ed, didn’t you get the memo? Obama’s just cool like that.
BeantownModerate on June 12, 2009 at 9:01 AM
You can guarantee that that photo is staged. He looks cool, right? Relaxed and calm, in charge. It’s fake.
amkun on June 12, 2009 at 9:02 AM
I’ve been saying this for quite a while. People keep assuming the lack of proper reception for Brown, the DVDs, iPod, failure to bow, hugging the queen, etc. are all evidence of their stupidity. It’s not. It’s evidence of their antipathy. The Obamas hate the USA and they REALLY HATE the UK. They insult the UK at every opportunity. And their insults have the maturity of a 5th grader.
Daggett on June 12, 2009 at 9:03 AM
Be careful where you step, you followers of a son of a goat herder.
bluegrass on June 12, 2009 at 9:06 AM
They’ll only love the US when it is shaped and molded into their utopian vision.
Only then will the US be loved by the far left.
Once we’re all on bread lines, and soap soup as one commenter called it
When we’re driving cars that are less safe than paper airplanes
Once we’re all given our soma
They’ll love the US
blatantblue on June 12, 2009 at 9:07 AM
daggett, you’re right. the bambis are doing all of this on purpose. domestic collapse & international surrender.
kelley in virginia on June 12, 2009 at 9:08 AM
But Barack the Dreamy is so cooool! He transcends what we mere humans consider professional, silly.
Grafted on June 12, 2009 at 9:09 AM
But come on… he looks sooooo cool and relaxed.
sammypants on June 12, 2009 at 9:14 AM
How lucky for us. I hope Obarfa keeps it up. The English language British media can easily do the job the American media won’t. Insulted enough, they can be the first to turn on him, and destroy his reputation among those stupid, fawning Eurosocialists, and then our own stupid, fawning Amersocialists. I even hope the UK media takes on the US media.
btw, I hear Obama said that the Queen was a dyke, and that her husband was the real queen. Will look for the link.
JiangxiDad on June 12, 2009 at 9:15 AM
Good point Coyote. If he wants respect, he should act respectfully toward us, the Brits who gave us the desk, the history of the piece, and the leader he’s speaking with on the phone. I’ll remember this the next time some liberal complains about people calling him “Barry” or “BO” instead of “President Obama”.
forest on June 12, 2009 at 9:16 AM
With all of these Obamateurisms, I miss the Gipper all the more, especially on this 22nd anniversary of a Great Moment in History.
jgapinoy on June 12, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Unlike some of the “amateur-isms” posted in this space, these two really _are_ the product of those unprepared for national leadership. Never mind the shoe insult; the photo of Obama with his feet on the desk is shockingly unprofessional, and anyone with a minute of real executive experience would have realized it. You simply don’t portray leaders that way while on the job, political or corporate.
However, the placing of Gitmo detainees in Bermuda without consulting the British Foreign Office is unbelievably stupid. I’m not a genius like our scholar-President, but even _I_ know that Bermuda is a British territory. This is “Africa is a country”-type stupid, except for real. Inexcusable.
blueguitarbob on June 12, 2009 at 9:16 AM
By the way, if GWB was pictured with _his_ feet on a desk, that was stupid as well.
blueguitarbob on June 12, 2009 at 9:19 AM
amature hour times 4 years, god help us.
SHARPTOOTH on June 12, 2009 at 9:24 AM
I think there was one of Clinton where you could see the soles of Monica’s shoes.
Akzed on June 12, 2009 at 9:25 AM
I understand that in diplomacy (especially when dealing with the Middle East) that a perceived slight is often worse than a real one. However, I think if anyone is to blame, it is the White House photographer and press office for this publicly shot. Of course, its not like any Democrat since Truman has taken that office seriously, anyways…
Wasn’t it Clinton who had Lewinsky under the desk when talking to world leaders? So with the the idiotic crap that 0bama does, this is a minor issue.
Wolftech on June 12, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Do you suppose he looked so cool and calm when he was told that the Rev. Wright said that the Jews were keeping him from getting to talk to Obama at about the same time he was told about the shooting at the Holocaust Museum?
myrenovations on June 12, 2009 at 9:32 AM
So am I forgiven for my “stale” remark last night?
ladyingray on June 12, 2009 at 9:36 AM
There are no surprises here. We should not be surprised in the future, no matter how obtuse the incident. The American electorate placed into the office of POTUS a person who has no sense of office, class nor representation.
Obama does not see himself as representing us. He represents himself. It IS that simple.
The degree of narcissism that Obama suffers from is beyond anything we have seen in that office in memorable history. Expect more of the same and you will not be disappointed. He has nothing more to offer than that which we have already experienced.
Yoop on June 12, 2009 at 9:47 AM
Ever see Mike Judge’s Idiocracy?
eforhan on June 12, 2009 at 9:49 AM
He’s an idiot. There’s no other excuse.
scalleywag on June 12, 2009 at 9:53 AM
It’s the size and color of an Off-Track betting ticket.
Maybe he’ll win and fix the deficit (hey, it may be a stupid plan, but at least there’s finally a plan.)
Where can I get my allotment of soma?
Squiggy on June 12, 2009 at 9:56 AM
He has a “Gift” you know.
Baxter Greene on June 12, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Ed, as much fun as it is reading about 0bama’s daily screwups, it simply reinforces the known incompetence of the messiah and his boob posse.
GeneSmith on June 12, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Put out word in the Middle East that it’s a pork rind.
Patrick S on June 12, 2009 at 10:06 AM
This makes a lot of sense to me. On many occasions, Obama acts as if he’s a bully who has successfully wheeled and dealed his way up through a corrupt political machine. Like Chicago.
Loxodonta on June 12, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Daggett on June 12, 2009 at 9:03 AM
Obama insults all of our allies (England, Germany, etc.).
Obama sucks up to all our enemies (Iran, N. Korea, etc.).
Does he really hate America or is he just ‘community organizing’ and ‘leveling the playing field’…?
He has no other real skills so he’s falling back on the only thing he knows.
God help us all as Barry prostrates himself before our enemies and hopes they really really like him.
rockbend on June 12, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Keep on whining about leaving scuff marks on the desk while he destroys the foundations of America…
CMonster on June 12, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Three things…First, if I were President, I’d like to think I’d have more respect for the dignity of the office than to go around putting my feet up on desks. Second, if I did, I certainly wouldn’t let anyone take pictures. Third, I would not let such a slob-like picture be associated with a conversation I had with a world leader.
But, I was never a community organizer, so what do I know?
ynot4tony2 on June 12, 2009 at 10:27 AM
The picture of Obama with his feet up on the desk, speaking with Israeli PM Netanyahu, really ticked me off.
First is Obama’s lack of respect for the American people. He’s working in The People’s House, not his own office. His casual disregard for decorum and professionalism is another example of Obama’s arrogance and narcissism. I don’t recall any other president treating the White House so unprofessionally, at least publicly, showing off about it and being proud of himself for doing so. Does anyone?
Second, Obama’s behavior is a symbolic insult to all Israeli’s, not just Netanyahu, as well as Israel supporters. It’s like his middle finger on his nose treatment of Hillary. His fawning media give him just enough plausible deniability to get away with it, but it’s there for all to see. And this behavior is from a supposed great intellect who is knowledgeable and sensitive to the cultures of the region. So, either Obama knew the symbolism of what he was doing and is intentionally insulting, or Obama didn’t know the symbolism and he could care less what any unimportant people think of his behavior because he knows the media will cover for him.
Loxodonta on June 12, 2009 at 10:32 AM
It is not possible to go through gradeschool in Indonesia and NOT know this. That’s an even bigger deal there than it is in the Middle East. Barak Hussein Obama learned this before he learned how to read and write.
This is like somebody raised in America flipping the middle finger, and not just in that “Oops, I had to scratch my nose again” way that Obama usually does it. This photo is the equivalent of squatting down, taking both fingers and ramming them up as hard as you can.
logis on June 12, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Wow…. The president’s desk, made of timbers from the HMS Resolute, presented to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880… the last Democrat in office got down and dirty on/under it, and now this clown puts his stinking feet on it. That George W.Bush was such a classless, redneck, retarded cowboy.
Cornhusker on June 12, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Shoes on the desk in the Oval Office.
You know…the one Queen Victoria gave us…?
Damn this guy is a pompous ass.
F**k you, Barack Obama.
<3 Israel and the UK
bluelightbrigade on June 12, 2009 at 10:59 AM
This is a non-story. Israelis really don’t give a damn about shoes on the desk. They’re one of the most informal nations in the world.
Meryl Yourish on June 12, 2009 at 11:14 AM
I just want to know why liberals hated GW Bush for being cocky, but love BH Obama even though he’s just as cocky (or more so).
eforhan on June 12, 2009 at 11:25 AM
So now we’re in the position of wondering if the Emperor Jones’s f___ ups are intentional or not?
Dr. ZhivBlago on June 12, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Oh great, now teachers are going to have classrooms full of kids with their feet on their desks! How cool!
redwhiteblue on June 12, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Got what he got the cheatin’ way
And he’ll make it worse each and every day
So honey dont you fret
Cause you aint seen nothing yet
He’s a sole man.
James on June 12, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Fine with me… I’ll just be glad he’s gone, even if he and his mrs. take everything, including the kitchen sink.
jana on June 12, 2009 at 12:15 PM
He does not give a rat’s rearend about Israel,he therefore is treading on dangerous ground>
ohiobabe on June 12, 2009 at 12:16 PM
The thing with the soles of the shoes is the very first thing they tell you when you go to a Muslim country. The very first thing. Obama just came back from a trip to the Middle East, and surely must be familiar with this cultural taboo. It is simply not possible for him to make a mistake like this, unless he is a complete and utter moron and narcissist.
Which is why I am willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt on this one…
gridlock2 on June 12, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Remember how Obama gave Hillary the finger back during the campaign, not once, but twice.
He really likes this so-called “subtle” disrespect thing. He thinks he is being very clever.
Jackass!
gridlock2 on June 12, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Not consulting the British = embarrassing gaffe.
Sitting with his feet on the desk while speaking to Netanyahu… meh, I just don’t see that as something worth getting worked up over… on the part of Israelis or ours.
ccrooke on June 12, 2009 at 12:30 PM
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