Obamateurism of the Day; Update: Bonus Obamateurism
posted at 8:05 am on February 5, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
I know Allahpundit hit this one last night, but no set of Obamateurisms would be complete without including the Navy “corpseman” remarks from Barack Obama. Besides, I disagree with my esteemed blog partner on this one. Had Obama said this just one time and corrected it afterward in his remarks, then I’d have bet that some helpful staffer had loaded the Teleprompter with an incorrect phonetic spelling. However, after the first time “corpseman” came out of his mouth, any speaker with even a passing knowledge of the military would have realized that the word had been mispronounced. After the second one, it should have been obvious. Instead, Obama went for the hat trick:
One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world — Navy Corpsman Christian [sic] Brossard. And lying on a gurney aboard the USNS Comfort, a woman asked Christopher: “Where do you come from? What country? After my operation,” she said, “I will pray for that country.” And in Creole, Corpsman Brossard responded, “Etazini.” The United States of America.
God’s grace, and the compassion and decency of the American people is expressed through the men and women like Corpsman Brossard.
Next time, maybe a White House staffer should make sure that all of the hard words really are spelled phonetically — or maybe our Commander in Chief should familiarize himself with the nation’s military instead.
Update: Several readers have pointed out an Obamateurism I missed. Obama calls Brossard “Christian” in one place and “Christopher” in another. The text comes from the White House.
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.
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That’s how Kenyans pronounce it.
Fletch54 on February 5, 2010 at 8:10 AM
I thereforpse announce that today, all words ending in the “or” sound be thereforpse be suffixed with the most appropriate non-silent “orpse” in honorpse of our most dignified 0ratorpse in Chief.
The word “or” is now “orpse”. Forpse example, it will either rain orpse snow.
mispronunciations.
–a former Navy Corpseman
ted c on February 5, 2010 at 8:10 AM
staffer: did he just read corpseman?
TOTUS: he reads it how he sees it.
staffer: crap, next time spell it core-man.
TOTUS: I can’t do everything….he also expects me to balance a budget.
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:10 AM
Getting a thrill thinking about how a member of the Marine Corpse will always be there for him….
apostic on February 5, 2010 at 8:11 AM
totus to be blamed in 5…4…3…
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:11 AM
……all that really matters is that he says POK-eeee-stan correctly.
English as a 2nd language is HARD – gheeeesh
Ris4victory on February 5, 2010 at 8:13 AM
I wonder how he does with the letter “n” and “k”. Could he possibly miss-pronounce “funk”?
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:13 AM
What type of intellectual is this who cant pronounce basic words? Yikes! Maybe he studied eubonics instead of english.
becki51758 on February 5, 2010 at 8:13 AM
C”mon guys lets all chip in and send this goof the entire set of “hooked on phonics”! My Dad is a retired Army corpsman who voted for this buffoon and after a year of making excuses he’s finally comin’ around – Keep up the great work Champ!!!
huskerdiva on February 5, 2010 at 8:13 AM
i wonder how many in that room snickered under their breath when they heard dear leader destroying the word…
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:13 AM
See Dick, see Jane. See Dick and Jane run. See Spot……
flytier on February 5, 2010 at 8:14 AM
I used to work summers at a day camp for kids with special needs. There was one boy who would start every sentence talking about his “be-u-t-full gen-yus mother”. I loved that kid.
Now I have taken to refering to the man in the White House as my “be-u-t-ful gen-yus president”.
myrenovations on February 5, 2010 at 8:14 AM
All our young ones (a.k.a. obots) are encouraged to join the PEACE CORPSE, too – the robotic joy of being in soetoro’s new civilian army
Ris4victory on February 5, 2010 at 8:15 AM
I hope he fails.
OmahaConservative on February 5, 2010 at 8:16 AM
This was painful. I almost felt bad for him, but realized I feel bad for my Country.
singlemalt_18 on February 5, 2010 at 8:16 AM
Ris4victory on February 5, 2010 at 8:15 AM
That’s why they changed the name, he couldn’t pronounce it!
flytier on February 5, 2010 at 8:16 AM
Well after all, we all know he lived in he-why-ee and moved to chik-all-go, illinoy after he graduated from huvard.
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:17 AM
I love that raised chin and smug look on Obama’s face everytime he’s promptering.
I love it because it reminds me of what an arrogant failure he is.
I love it because, no doubt, millions of voting Americans feel the same way I do.
Chin up, Barry! In 2012 your Presidency will be in need of a pallbearer instead of a corpse/man.
David2.0 on February 5, 2010 at 8:17 AM
He inherited it from Bush.
BTW: can you imagine the MSM ridicule if W had said something like this?
Dingbat63 on February 5, 2010 at 8:17 AM
To Obama, the military is just a corpse…the life of the military is not high on his agenda.
right2bright on February 5, 2010 at 8:17 AM
….or was it yell?
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:17 AM
He inherited it from Bush.
LOL…stop it, you’re killing me.
flytier on February 5, 2010 at 8:18 AM
“Pookie left an apple corpse on my desk. Bush made him do it.”-BHO
Yoop on February 5, 2010 at 8:18 AM
dude, I woke up laughing yesterday after your Recon Marine at the NOW office quip on Wed night. My gut still hurts.
ted c on February 5, 2010 at 8:18 AM
they did ridicule him with the word ‘nuclear’…for 8 yrs
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:18 AM
He does that because TOTUS is to the left and right of him at eye height. So, like the wipers on your windshield, he is constantly looking left and right with his chin up so he can read what is being scrolled in front of him.
He can’t look straight ahead, there are no words there…
right2bright on February 5, 2010 at 8:19 AM
Seriously folks….how in the bloody blue blazes has the man avoided every military movie or tv show made in his lifetime? C’mon…
bikermailman on February 5, 2010 at 8:19 AM
nuance is pronouncing silent letters.
Daveyardbird on February 5, 2010 at 8:20 AM
“Corps-man”….. Was it a mistake ?
Maybe not …Remember this :
“*On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes — and I see many of them in the audience here today — our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/05/27/will-media-report-obama-seeing-dead-people-memorial-day-audience
:)
.
philly_PA on February 5, 2010 at 8:20 AM
he’s afraid of looking at us in the eye…
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:21 AM
And how did he screw up the guy’s name? Christian? Christopher?
I don’t know what makes me more angry… this idiot or the people who still think he is the best president ever.
behiker on February 5, 2010 at 8:21 AM
It’s hard to believe the O is so ignorant and foolish. Can the MSM finally give a decent burial to the ridiculous notion that Obama is some super genius?
jwolf on February 5, 2010 at 8:22 AM
Was Dear Liar reading from Teleprompter? Is Teleprompter trying to undermine our president? Why is Teleprompter racist?!
Being steeped in Marxist theology does not make you intelligent or knowledgeable.
rbj on February 5, 2010 at 8:22 AM
He really knew he pronounced it wrong after he said it the first time, but rather than admit he was actually wrong, he pronounced it the same twice more for the ‘hat trick’……
huskerdiva on February 5, 2010 at 8:23 AM
no, they’d have to climb in the hole right along with that notion.
ted c on February 5, 2010 at 8:23 AM
Besides, that’s where the people be. He doesn’t dare look them in the eye anymore.
Yoop on February 5, 2010 at 8:24 AM
what did he call REV Wright? Wayyy right, Weee right Wuhh right. or Wayy Rig Hit?
silent letters making a comeback.
ted c on February 5, 2010 at 8:24 AM
some just hate admitting they made a critical error in their thinking.
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:24 AM
Sigh, you’re right, I suppose. I’m not really angry at Obama; he’s doing what a con man naturally does. But I am very angry at the MSM for facilitating this giant con on the whole country.
jwolf on February 5, 2010 at 8:25 AM
no can do, they got him elected
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:26 AM
Maybe Obambi should play Call of Duty – that is where my 12 year old learned to pronounce Corpsman correctly.
ctmom on February 5, 2010 at 8:26 AM
If Obama had uttered the mispronunciation once, I’d agree it was a hapless or even stupid mispronunciation (due, perhaps, to a dedicated need to pronounce aloud specifically what he was reading and not mentally make an immediate leap to the phonetical statement of words — stupid, yes), BUT, Obama went on and stated this gruesome rendition three times, total, WITH EMPHASIS on the ghoulish mispronunciation.
So I think this is another one of Obama’s gruesome snarks about a country that he loathes.
I remember the night after the Inaugural in D.C. and there was this parade taking place before the two Obamas, the grandma and the two children, and the filming was taking place from within their booth, capturing their faces and immediate responses to the parade taking place before them.
When a military group began parading past, both Michelle and Barack had a very visible reaction which I’d describe as “loathing”. Barack was very quick to resume his big smile while Michelle turned her face away and the camera quickly turned to grandma, who was also captured with a loathing look on her face and was also seen turning away as if she had seen a giant green pile of goo on a new carpet before her.
I think that moment told anyone all they should need to know about these people (the Obamas).
And I think Barack pronounced “corpseman” because that’s his ghoulish nature acting out. He wants people to “subliminally” get his message, that the U.S. is deceased, or, likely, he thinks it is.
Lourdes on February 5, 2010 at 8:27 AM
I wonder which of the fifty-seven states the corpseman called home?
BTW, when you type “corpseman” spell check doesn’t recognize it. I guess TOTUS didn’t come with that feature or the smartest president in history is really an ignorant buffoon.
walkingboss on February 5, 2010 at 8:27 AM
I have said it before, and I will continue to say it. Obama is not a product of this country. He may have been born here, but he is not an American. I am not sure exactly what he is, but he is not an American. He shares zero values with the vast majority of the people in this country.
Johnnyreb on February 5, 2010 at 8:27 AM
This was some of my best material and I can’t even get an “lol”? Wow, tough crowd this morning….maybe I should go to Malkin’s site.
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:27 AM
has he never heard of the US Marine Corps? esprit d’ corps?
kelley in virginia on February 5, 2010 at 8:28 AM
Morpseon.
rogerb on February 5, 2010 at 8:28 AM
Post of the day!
jbh45 on February 5, 2010 at 8:28 AM
Rather than lecturing Americans to learn a second language, Obama should either take a quick course in French or a compressed refresher on English, emphasizing words adopted from foreign languages. What an ignornant buffoon.
ProfessorMiao on February 5, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Is it still B+? For What?
Cybergeezer on February 5, 2010 at 8:29 AM
:)
ladyingray on February 5, 2010 at 8:29 AM
But, but, but… Odamna is the most intelligent man ever to hold the office. THAT means HE’s right and the rest of us are all wrong. I, for one, will proudly pronounce the p in corpsman from now on. /sarc off. What a joke is this Imposter in Chief.
Crusader Rabbit on February 5, 2010 at 8:30 AM
This man has no respect at all for traditional American values. I hate saying that of a POTUS, but it is becoming more and more evident to me how extremely out of touch this man is with the American people. And it is on purpose.
kingsjester on February 5, 2010 at 8:31 AM
OT” 9.7%
dear leader will be doing the happy dance today
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:31 AM
I pronounced it “corpse-man” once. I was 5, and promptly got a lecture from my former Marine grandfather.
Sir Corky on February 5, 2010 at 8:31 AM
Yet I’ve never once heard anyone ridicule Jack Bauer for pronouncing it exactly the same way!
ProfessorMiao on February 5, 2010 at 8:33 AM
PBHO had the trifecta because he doesn’t pay attention to what is being said, mainly because he doesn’t have any attachment to the words or the meaning behind them.
Bishop on February 5, 2010 at 8:33 AM
HE’s RETARDED!
Cybergeezer on February 5, 2010 at 8:33 AM
right on
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:33 AM
Obama is the adult result of a child who was raised among people speaking Communist.
Lourdes on February 5, 2010 at 8:33 AM
H*ll no, it’s everybody else who needs to learn a second language!
ProfessorMiao on February 5, 2010 at 8:37 AM
Just thought…Barack Obama says his Grandad == with whom he spent some of his youth, old enough to be speaking and interacting with adults, certainly — Grandad was a Navy veteran, yes?
This makes it even more likely to me that Obama was intentionally mispronouncing the word.
Lourdes on February 5, 2010 at 8:37 AM
He probably practiced it wrong too it’s just there’s no one in his inner circle that knows anything about the military to correct him. He’s pathetic.
Mojave Mark on February 5, 2010 at 8:37 AM
I’m aware of how a teleprompter works, friend.
My comments are still valid.
It ain’t the prompter causing Barry’s high chin and smug expression.
It’s his wholly undeserved arrogance.
David2.0 on February 5, 2010 at 8:38 AM
OT: CHICAGO (AP) – That historically all-white club known as the U.S. Senate is likely to lose what little diversity it has after November’s elections.
Two white men will be competing for President Barack Obama’s former seat in Illinois, now held by Roland Burris, the chamber’s lone African-American. Appointed by the scandal-tainted former governor, Burris won’t be seeking a full term. {snip}
OmahaConservative on February 5, 2010 at 8:38 AM
Clean
and articulate!Disturb the Universe on February 5, 2010 at 8:38 AM
+1
Thread winner!
And apologies to Sarah Palin, but humor does trump everything else.
singlemalt_18 on February 5, 2010 at 8:39 AM
Proof please. ;-)
Yoop on February 5, 2010 at 8:39 AM
That was a good one. Don’t know how I’ll ever top that gem! LOL.
David2.0 on February 5, 2010 at 8:39 AM
SA-BA-TAGE.
NickelAndDime on February 5, 2010 at 8:40 AM
Maybe he should familiarize himself with our nation first.
It’s like he’s not from around here . . . .
AZCoyote on February 5, 2010 at 8:40 AM
Patience, monsieur. People are just getting going this morning.
jwolf on February 5, 2010 at 8:41 AM
It’s a good thing President Phonetic did not have to read the word colonel.
Disturb the Universe on February 5, 2010 at 8:41 AM
This guy is rotten to the corpse.
DaydreamBeliever on February 5, 2010 at 8:41 AM
LOL, notice I typed “may” in there. A disclaimer.
Johnnyreb on February 5, 2010 at 8:42 AM
i saw this on tv and i was just blown away
CORPSE-MAN
wtf, mate?
watcha thinkin
blatantblue on February 5, 2010 at 8:42 AM
I don’t care if he can’t pronounce the word correctly, just don’t tell me how smart and intelligent he is.
mobydutch on February 5, 2010 at 8:42 AM
Wrong. He’s F#*^KING RETARDED. Just ask Rahm.
Yoop on February 5, 2010 at 8:43 AM
Of corpse he was a little stiff. He was reading from a teleprompter. The MSM is trying to cover for him, but they can’t.
kingsjester on February 5, 2010 at 8:43 AM
Thread-ender right there. That lil’ Gem is goin in my cranial archive.
QOTY
viviliberoomuori on February 5, 2010 at 8:44 AM
The only colonel he recognizes by sight is Sanders.
Yoop on February 5, 2010 at 8:46 AM
Man, i try at ‘teh funnay’ but usually i get “error 404- funnay not found”
viviliberoomuori on February 5, 2010 at 8:46 AM
EXACTLY!
I really don’t care when people mess up words. It happens. It’s was just so obnoxious how the left lambasted George Bush for eight years. Yet, Joe Biden’s “clean, well spoken” president messes up words too.
blatantblue on February 5, 2010 at 8:46 AM
He got ‘guerney’ right. You know, the thing the corpse man was lying on….
Oops
percysunshine on February 5, 2010 at 8:47 AM
I can’t stand to watch that smug SOB anymore.
FUBO.
Key West Reader on February 5, 2010 at 8:47 AM
‘Cause I’m really not into stupid political games like this, but, frankly, I feel it is obligatory to rub it in their faces.
blatantblue on February 5, 2010 at 8:48 AM
Presidentin’ is hard…can’t expect a man to pronounce all of those pesky words properly so early in the morning when he hasn’t had his waffles yet.
yoda on February 5, 2010 at 8:48 AM
corpse
stiff
Very nice! :)
ladyingray on February 5, 2010 at 8:48 AM
It took this long?
thomasaur on February 5, 2010 at 8:49 AM
I just read the article about the jobs report and I’m at a total loss. January saw 20,000 jobs lost. They just revised the jobs lost in 2009 by nearly one million. Yet the unemployment rate DROPPED from 10% to 9.7%?!
Ok, November’s job growth was revised upward from 4,000 to 64,000, but that doesn’t account for the change in the rate. Something ain’t right here.
Doughboy on February 5, 2010 at 8:49 AM
Anyone else think he looked and sounded….strange…throughout that address?
Makes you wonder if what some of the BDS sufferers claimed about Bush may actually be true about this guy.
rockmom on February 5, 2010 at 8:49 AM
Gotta make ‘em play by the rules that they have laid out.
thomasaur on February 5, 2010 at 8:50 AM
Waiting for MSM to explain that it’s an alternate pronunciation, and perfectly correct.
mbs on February 5, 2010 at 8:53 AM
you got that right
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:53 AM
What he lacks in knowledge of the forces he commands he makes up for with his crisp salute.
Akzed on February 5, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Harvard, and Columbia and Occidental ought to the the embarassed ones.
No kidding. How did this guy make it past high school?
Oh yeah, he can give a speech as long as he writes it with words he knows.
ORconservative on February 5, 2010 at 8:54 AM
lol he looks like a kid playing army
blatantblue on February 5, 2010 at 8:55 AM
wonder if we will see a correction in the next month…
cmsinaz on February 5, 2010 at 8:56 AM
yup
blatantblue on February 5, 2010 at 8:56 AM
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