Obamateurism of the Day

Today’s OOTD comes from reader Popcorn Rob, who paid more attention to Robert Gibbs’ spin on the disappearing Gulf oil than Gibb’s boss did.  Rush Limbaugh quotes Barack Obama in his interview with Today’s Matt Lauer in his attempt to become Captain Kickass as literally dismissive of anyone who attempts to minimize the oil spill:

MATT LAUER: Let me read you some of the things Hayward has said over the course of this disaster. He said, “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume. I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest.’ He doesn’t work for you, but if he did, would you want him out?”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements. I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college, uh, seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially had the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.

Well, maybe someone should tell Gibbs to get his resumé updated, then, because Obama’s press secretary likened it to a can of Coca-Cola last week:

I’ve used this analogy before, but I think I want to take one more time to do this.  It is important to understand that this event happened 5,000 feet below the surface at a well that was several miles below that 5,000-foot point.  It is measuring — we were measuring the flow rate basically of an opened Coke can 5,000 feet below the ocean using the best available technology that we had at the time without the benefit of knowing how big the Coke can was.

In fact, ABC’s Yunji de Nies challenged Gibbs after that analogy as to whether the White House might owe Hayward an apology for using Hayward’s argument after all:

Q Robert, back in May, Tony Hayward said, “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean; the amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.” After he said that, the President said that he would have fired Mr. Hayward since he said those comments. Now it appears that Mr. Hayward may in fact have been right. Does the administration owe him an apology?

MR. GIBBS: No. (Laughter.) I don’t think he was right.

Q You don’t think he was right?

No, because Hayward didn’t use the magic words: Coke can.

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! Chris has started his annual fund drive, so be sure to visit the DBD site and keep DBD in action!

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! Chris has started his annual fund drive, so be sure to visit the DBD site and keep DBD in action!

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