Poll: What was the Obamateurism of the Week?
posted at 9:00 am on May 15, 2011 by Ed Morrissey
Carla bar the door, it’s time once again to select this week’s Obamateurism of the Week! Let’s give credit where credit’s due; each of these gems are like found(ing) treasure. If they paint a caricature as a group, it’s one that might even have a Teuton laughing.
Previous 2011 “winners”:
- White House issues Earth Day proclamation, skips Easter
- Can’t name a mistake at townhall in which he made three in one sentence
- Accuses GOP of trying to hurt seniors after lecturing them not to demagogue on entitlement reform
- “If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know, you might want to think about a trade-in.”
- Obama accepts his transparency award in secret, no-press meeting
- “War” first changed to “kinetic military action,” then “time-limited, scope-limited military action”
- Obama telling people it would be easier to be President of China because “No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao’s words in Tahrir Square.”
- Obama tells group that there is a “subterranean” racially-based agenda in opposition to his presidency
- Ferry for Americans in Libya comes three days late — and with a bill for passengers
- WH says Obama not addressing Libya because of “scheduling issue“
- After saying he hadn’t followed the Wisconsin issue, says Walker’s plan “seems like more of an assault on unions.”
- Businesses have “obligation” to create jobs and “pay decent wages”
- After losing verdict on first ever federal mandate to purchase private-sector product, accuses judge of “overreach”
- Obama bogarts Newt Gingrich’s book title for his “Winning the Future” SOTU speech
- 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner holds state dinner for man who has 2010 winner under house arrest
- After telling Boehner and McConnell that “there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012,”announces March start to re-election bid
- “I really want to figure out a way where I can spend more time outside of Washington listening and learning and engaging the American people.”
Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me atobamaisms@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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Nobody wants to end LEGAL immigration.
Mord on May 15, 2011 at 9:02 AM
Not acknowledging Bush may not have been his biggest blunder, but it’s the one that annoyed me the most.
anniekc on May 15, 2011 at 9:05 AM
Hey! I just saw a poll result in which 100% of the votes were for my choice! Of course, that may have a little something to do with my vote being the first. Maybe I should build a moat around it to protect it. Better yet, let’s build a moat around Obama to protect our country from him.
backwoods conservative on May 15, 2011 at 9:05 AM
The only problem I have with using alligators in a moat, which is a very good idea, is all of the gator farts we’ll have to suffer from the spicy food they’ll be eating.
madmonkphotog on May 15, 2011 at 9:06 AM
They are all worthy, because each shows a different icky quality of the current occupant of the White House: his narcissism and lack of generosity, his thuggishness, his distortion of facts for political purposes, his use of absurd hyperbole to divide America, and his ignorance.
ProfessorMiao on May 15, 2011 at 9:06 AM
Each and every week we have enough amateur outbursts from this bunch of Marxist thugs to fill two entire administrations of any other president.
When this TRAITOR is finally ousted from his occupation of the White House, I suggest we mark the occasion by creating a new national holiday. Everybody gets the day off, we can have parades and cookouts – a second Independence Day of sorts!
turfmann on May 15, 2011 at 9:08 AM
Teutonic shift? Barack ‘Quayle’ Obama?
ElectricPhase on May 15, 2011 at 9:11 AM
I went with the moat—In fact I predicted it in the QOTD thread.
OmahaConservative on May 15, 2011 at 9:12 AM
His comment about Republicans wanting to build a moat to curb illegal immigration is further testimony to his inexcusable arrogance, not to mention his complete unwillingness to want to tackle the issue.
It is also a comment that is sure to come back and haunt him as we get closer to Election 2012.
pilamaye on May 15, 2011 at 9:18 AM
The moat thing…it’s all about gaining new Democratic voters. The old ones have figured Scooter out.
kingsjester on May 15, 2011 at 9:20 AM
I’ll take “Who needs a moat?” for $200, Alex!
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Moats, merely a projection from the POTUS as to how he envisions the residence @ 1600 Penn. Ave. should be.
NY Conservative on May 15, 2011 at 9:24 AM
these are some tough choices today tho’…
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:25 AM
speaking of moats….didn’t Obama and his wife buy half of Tony Rezko’s next door lot to keep someone else from building a house on it???
what, they weren’t happy with the lot size that they had? They was too worried about someone gettin’ too close to the crib?
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:26 AM
I voted for the moat too. Those alligators are going to bite him in his bony ass.
Naturally Curly on May 15, 2011 at 9:27 AM
Had to go with the Intel thing…even if the founders actually were immigrants he may just as well have brought up Steinway pianos or a thousand other companies started by immigrants…those who got here legally that is.
Maybe some of these glaring factually incorrect statements should be called “Bidenisms”, “dumbassisms”, “propagandisms” or the like.
Dr. ZhivBlago on May 15, 2011 at 9:27 AM
Except the Democrats. Who would want to go through the legal process if they can just show up and say “hey, I’m here, gimme my citizenship privileges”.
forest on May 15, 2011 at 9:27 AM
I understand why the moat is winning but I had to go with banning the reporter then lying about it. This administration can’t even bully effectively.
sammypants on May 15, 2011 at 9:27 AM
It’s just like him to come up with moat and alligators. Do you have any idea how much that would cost? A simple minefield would be much quicker, cheaper and effective.
cartooner on May 15, 2011 at 9:30 AM
I need an all of the above this week….dang it…went with the moat…
one sentence is ‘can’t we all get along’ and the next, he’s bashing the gop…and he wonders why he can’t get anything done in congress…look in the mirror bub
it’s despicable…
cmsinaz on May 15, 2011 at 9:31 AM
Ditto that.
I went with The One’s “moat” comment…but ignoring Bush’s contribution for so long should not be forgotten.
JetBoy on May 15, 2011 at 9:33 AM
tru dat
cmsinaz on May 15, 2011 at 9:34 AM
Obama bought himself a moat from convicted felon Tony Rezko adjacent to his chicago pad….and, in a campaign speech he criticizes people for wanting some semblance of border security that HE HIMSELF tried to establish when he bought himself. So, what is it Mr. Obama, were you afraid “some Mexicans” were going to build a house next to you?
What a hypocrite.
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:36 AM
when he bought himself.…a house.
duh.
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:37 AM
the moat that obama bought from tony rezko
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:40 AM
I had to go with the moat, it was a campaign speech for someone running for one party while insulting the other half of the nation. A smart person, who already had the nomination locked up, would be trying to unite and get votes. This “brilliant” man cannot help himself, he must go for the jugular of his perceived enemies. I’m hoping it will be his downfall. It would be delicious.
Cindy Munford on May 15, 2011 at 9:41 AM
good linky ted
cmsinaz on May 15, 2011 at 9:42 AM
Impossible choice this week. All five deserve to win.
NeighborhoodCatLady on May 15, 2011 at 9:43 AM
Once again, they’re all good but the moat thing is gonna stick, I think, so moat it is…
golfmann on May 15, 2011 at 9:44 AM
out: driving into the ditch
in: moat & alligators
we are going to hear about it ad nauseum….guaranteed
cmsinaz on May 15, 2011 at 9:48 AM
Were those Teutonic plates that shifted? Tectons around the world must be outraged.
BuckeyeSam on May 15, 2011 at 9:49 AM
Hey, if we can get Tony and Rita Rezko to give us a deal on some property in the southern US, do you think we could slice it up, build a fence and a moat on it?
discuss
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:50 AM
IIRC, Rezko spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase the adjoining lot, then sold a portion of it to the Obamas for a pittance. The deal left Rezko with a lot that was too small to build a house on (per the local ordinances), so Rezko’s lot was basically rendered worthless by the sale. But nobody in the MSM thought there was anything at all suspicious about that transaction. After all, who among us doesn’t have a “friend” who would purchase an expensive piece of real estate, then sell us a small part of it at a bargain price (and devalue the property by hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process) in order to give us more privacy? It’s just the neighborly thing to do, isn’t it? Move along folks, nothing to see here. Just
corruption. . . er, business as usual in Obamaworld.AZCoyote on May 15, 2011 at 9:50 AM
I went with the “Teutonic shift” simply for its classic What-if-Bush-said-it / World’s-Greatest-Orator vibe.
Logically though it has to be the moat. Any “funny” comment that leads to petitions from angry citizens has to be considered amateurish. I wonder if he ad-libbed that. He seems to get in trouble whenever he goes off TOTUS, and most especially when he thinks he’s being funny.
Drained Brain on May 15, 2011 at 9:50 AM
just a little modification for effect.
ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:54 AM
How come you lied about the border fence???
tarpon on May 15, 2011 at 9:54 AM
Seriously, I’ve commented about this many times. Obama and his wife have posted federal gift tax returns, and yet this transaction has never been reported as a taxable gift. Why not? He can’t argue that it was a bad business deal–he had an appraisal. In short, he made a taxable gift to Rezko’s wife of $64,000. Sure, he can whittle it down by gift-splitting with his wife and by each of them using an annual exclusion (then, $12,000). But I still don’t get the media’s silence on this.
And how about that initial home purchase? Listed at $1.65M in a seller’s market, and the seller miraculously accepts $1.3M? My bet is that the seller was paid $350K under the table by some friends of BO, and he was happy to do so because his $500K (or $250K) exclusion couldn’t shelter all of the gain.
BuckeyeSam on May 15, 2011 at 9:59 AM
Maybe it can be a teutonic moat. Might be more dangerous than gators.
Eren on May 15, 2011 at 9:59 AM
Since this is a takeoff on what the left (Salon I believe) used to do to Bush every week, I chose “Teutonic shift”.
Obama is not smart enough to realize that the word did not fit what he was trying to say.
Vince on May 15, 2011 at 10:04 AM
@ ted c on May 15, 2011 at 9:50 AM
I was looking forward to Rezko testifying at Blago’s last trial. It’s not like good old Tony was hard to find. Wonder if he will make an appearance at Badboyovich’s current trial? This case really started to stink when Holder took over the DOJ.
MayorDaley on May 15, 2011 at 10:07 AM
He’s right, but as usual he really late. About 70 years late. We all remember that the Persians where great followers of Hitler and the Nazis. Who did we elect president the Kingfish.
Tommy_G on May 15, 2011 at 10:17 AM
The dude is completely out of his league. This week offered a treasure trove of idiocy.
FireBlogger on May 15, 2011 at 10:19 AM
We have just got to run a strong candidate who can beat this unamerican hatefilled douche…
OmahaConservative on May 15, 2011 at 10:21 AM
He went to El Paso and never acknowledged that since the border fencing and guard shacks close together have been built that crime in El Paso has dropped significantly. We were there for the Sun Bowl in 2009 and it was amazing to see El Paso since I hadn’t been there since 2002 where when you checked in at a hotel, they told you where not to go at night in certain areas.
We were downtown for the pregame Sun Bowl party the night before the game and felt very safe. The one warning that stayed the same was do not cross the border into Mexico. No need as their restaurants and a lot of the shops moved to the El Paso side of the border.
What does Obama think El Paso would be like without that fence? Back to one of the most crime ridden cities in America. The jerk doesn’t even acknowledge how many people from Juarez come across the border every day to work on the American side. He makes it sound like they are being kept out of this Country when if they have a work permit they can come and go across the border. No permit — no admittance. The jerk and his Democrat supporters never acknowledge that the vast majority of Republicans have no problem with anyone here legally.
PhiKapMom on May 15, 2011 at 10:29 AM
This sums it up nicely. Each week I have had a similar response to all of the choices on TOOTW.
Pazman on May 15, 2011 at 10:30 AM
I liked the Teutonic shift, cause that shows his stupidity once again, but it won’t get reported. I went with moat because he said it in Texas and because it even offended a liberal hispanic reporter (Navarette).
txmomof6 on May 15, 2011 at 10:35 AM
Those silly wingnuts, if they aren’t driving the car off the cliff (in reverse) or refusing to grab a mop they’re out there demanding a moat be built, filled with alligators. Mr. President must be smoking more than cigarettes.
scalleywag on May 15, 2011 at 10:45 AM
I usually never needeed an “All the above option”.
Until this week.
BallisticBob on May 15, 2011 at 10:56 AM
He does this all the time he preaches to both sides of the aisle, don’t demagogue than he turn around and demagogues.
I really think he’s trying to lighten things up by joking it does humanize the speaker. There just needs to be some thought put into the target of his jokes. My daughter was disappointed she said, we’re getting a moat and alligators, on the southern border? I said no, he’s just kidding. We have a sense of humor we are tired of the one way traffic for his zingers. Why not show a little self depreciation once in awhile?
Dr Evil on May 15, 2011 at 10:59 AM
OT: I recommended catching Wallace’s FNS Panel on the FNC repeats later today. It consisted of Hume, Nina Easton, Kim Strassel, and Mort Zuckerman. Mort can be a little squishy–and indeed raved for a moment about Huntsman–but Strassel and Easton are very well informed.
I’m just glad that I didn’t have to listen to obligatory Obama cheerleading from Juan Williams and Mora Liasson, or some other liberal.
BuckeyeSam on May 15, 2011 at 11:04 AM
A plethora of choices this week.
I chose moat, but I think the real winner is lying about the border fence being completed.
Alana on May 15, 2011 at 11:07 AM
I think the references to Obama as an amateur have run their course, and we should all recognize immediately that it no longer works.
Clearly this guy is now a professional. A professional liar; a professional crook; a professional demagogue; and a professional socialist.
Yes, he’s still an uneducated nitwit, and his intellect is hilariously overrated…but he’s no longer an amateur.
Jaibones on May 15, 2011 at 11:11 AM
Teutonic?
The media never EVER forgot to ridicule Bush for saying “nucular”, and the but this will disappear down the memory hole like so much else has since this poser announced his candidacy.
hillbillyjim on May 15, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Where is the list to vote on? Duh, sorry, I can’t find it.
Bambi on May 15, 2011 at 11:14 AM
I had to vote for the moat because this Columbia graduate did not know we already had a moat called the Rio Grande. However the remark blaming all the earthquakes on the Germans was, to me, very racist.
Old Country Boy on May 15, 2011 at 11:14 AM
I live in the south, therefore, I must vote for the ‘gators.
I think the moat/gators idea was the best Obama idea since the one about building dog parks to save the economy.
Do moats qualify as shovel ready projects?
kringeesmom on May 15, 2011 at 11:16 AM
The moat thing is no amateur mistake. Ojesus fully intends to inflame the passions of every subgroup of voters that he can by any means (lies) necessary. OFA, I’m sure, is already on the case.
hillbillyjim on May 15, 2011 at 11:17 AM
Then they’ll make a purse and a pair of shoes out of him, ’cause he’s got skin-in-the-game.
Yoop on May 15, 2011 at 11:18 AM
Do the Rules of Narcissism allow that?
Yoop on May 15, 2011 at 11:24 AM
Yes, indeed. I must admit to being amazed at the fresh, new,and inventive ways that Obama has managed to insult hard-working Americans at such a constant pace. It seems to be his one, true talent.
There have been exactly 2 times the choice for OOTW was obvious: When Obama let Bill Clinton take-over a presser and, when Obama said essentially that life for him would be easier if he were a Chinese dictator. Frankly, I wish he would step down for the remainder of his term and let Clinton or Hu Jintao take over while he golfs. I think both his replacements would not be so terribly insulting to the country’s citizens.
Mutnodjmet on May 15, 2011 at 11:26 AM
It’s maddening to me, those people who don’t distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. Their logic goes something like this:
Approach A
Republicans are against Mexicans sneaking across the border
Mexicans have brown skin
Brown skin makes you different
Therefor Republicans hate anyone who’s different from them
Therefor Republicans hate all immigration, especially Hispanics
Approach B
Republicans are xenophobic
Therefor Republicans hate all immigration
I love immigration. Legal immigration. It’s not a good sign if the first thing you do getting here is to break the law.
Paul-Cincy on May 15, 2011 at 11:27 AM
This is proof positive that Obama is playing way too much golf. He seems to be obsessed with holes in the ground.
kringeesmom on May 15, 2011 at 11:30 AM
I thought the Teutonic slip was cute, like Bush confusing Slovenia and Slovakia. Or more like a Quayleism. But then, if Dan Quayle had said that … there would be a convoy of dump trucks needed to heap all the scorn and derision on him that would be printed in the press and on TV. The sneers, laughter, knowing glances, and shaking of heads. But if we mock Barack Hussein Obama, and laugh and point, then we’re RAAAAAAAAACIST!
Paul-Cincy on May 15, 2011 at 11:33 AM
The Obama family eats from Teutonic plates.
profitsbeard on May 15, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Stop the torture. Get Barry out of office Nov 2012!!
bayview on May 15, 2011 at 11:52 AM
Moat. Build one around the WH to keep the morans living there away from the rest of the country. Lord knows they don’t understand the nation anyway.
Philly on May 15, 2011 at 11:57 AM
The moat.
So tired of this dope’s rhetoric…the sound of his voice now makes my teeth grind.
Tim_CA on May 15, 2011 at 12:16 PM
I cant’ believe I missed the Teutonic shift thing. LOL
SMARTEST PREZ EVAH!!!!!
ButterflyDragon on May 15, 2011 at 12:39 PM
Moat.
Rhymes with boat.
Wish we could put O-Dumbo on a slow one to China.
GrannyDee on May 15, 2011 at 1:03 PM
I thought the whole argument for “immigration” was one big fat lie! Obummer talked and talked about immigration reform as if we simply need a looser policy that allows more people to immigrate to the USA. Who has a problem with that? The problem was that Obummer was really trying to argue that we should give amnesty to 11-20 million who broke our laws to get here and continue to break US laws as they stay. Yes, Obummer dared to suggest that Rupert Murdock was after all an immigrant – without mentioning that he was a LEGAL immigrant.
katablog.com on May 15, 2011 at 1:07 PM
Teutonic minds are more logical than Obama’s.
The ObL execution exposed Obama in more negative ways than 1001 version. Taking full credit is the biggest negative.
Obama is not GWB and he doesn’t even give the latter credit. GWB on the other hand grew like a gian in the minds of the U.S. American people.
The “moat” incident exposed the thug for exatly what he is, not the president of the people.
Plus, he doesn’t know the difference among alligators and crokodiles and has never heard of the Rio Grande.
All qualify to be nominated, every week.
Schadenfreude on May 15, 2011 at 1:18 PM
Grrrr
Obama is now GWB and he doesn’t even give the latter credit. GWB on the other hand grew like a giant in the minds of the U.S. American people.
Schadenfreude on May 15, 2011 at 1:19 PM
It amuses me no end that this Ivy League grad so often proclaimed as the smartest president evah keeps saying things like “Cominskey Park,” Corps(e)man” and “Teutonic shift.” I swear, his Malapropisms are far worse than Dubya’s ever were especially since Bush was not regarded as the greatest orator since Cicero.
SukieTawdry on May 15, 2011 at 1:40 PM
Yeah, the pandering to the illegals was a throwaway. I’m waiting for him to tell us the Republicans were standing on the top of the moat, sipping slurpees, while the Dems sweated down in the moat, hot, bugs a-crawlin’, fightin’ off the gators. The Dems can’t actually grant amnesty because the unions would have a fit. Which brings up an interesting thought: Boeing ought to declare that with respect to the 1000 new jobs at the NLRB-targeted So. Carolina plant, it would feature an “affirmative action” program giving Hispanic immigrants a leg up on employment at the plant. Hilarity ensues, as the White House, the Hispanic lobby, Barry’s stooges at the NLRB and likely that ass Holder trip all over themselves as they try to manage the public relations meleé . . .
tpitman on May 15, 2011 at 1:54 PM
I have to admit the “teutonic” shift was a contender. I hadn’t read that one until this post. Who knew the Germans were back in North Africa? Is that why the Brits were hot to trot on the Libya thing?
tpitman on May 15, 2011 at 1:58 PM
I went with the first option, the lack of acknowledgment to Bush until days later.
Obamature = amateur
It is amateurish and immature to always think of oneself, especially as a leader. Children usually think only of them selves until they begin to mature. One usually matures when they become a husband, father, and leader, thinking less of self and more about their family, children and others.
I just don’t see that quality in this man.
Pazman on May 15, 2011 at 2:35 PM
Odummy actually said “Cominskey FIELD” instead of Comiskey Park. He flubbed the first word and the second word. Even when translated into Austrian, it’s still Park not Field.
MayorDaley on May 15, 2011 at 2:38 PM
How do you pick the ripest tomato?
They are all so juicy.
2012 is such a close walk, Ed, can you please make a playbook?
“No matter where you go, there you are.” -Buckaroo Banzai
Open The Door on May 15, 2011 at 6:01 PM
I think the Obamateurism of the Week is not only that they threatened to boot that reporter from the pool but that they also told the rest of the press pack not to report the fact…and the press complied. If it hadn’t been for the reporter’s own paper making the gutsy call of speaking out about this, none of us would have been any the wiser.
Begs the question, what else are the media keeping under wraps so as not to embarrass Obama?
Jay Mac on May 15, 2011 at 9:23 PM
Failing to acknowledge the previous administrations’ efforts leading up to bin Laden’s death isn’t a blunder, and isn’t amateurish. It’s calculated and purely partisan. Now, that may turn out to have been a mistake come Nov 2012, but it wasn’t an accidental move, it was a conscious decision.
“Teutonic” was silly, but a mistake anyone could make while speaking. If he really thought that was the word he meant to say, well, that’s sad, but it’s a gap in his vocabulary, not amateurish as POTUS.
Pointing out businesses founded by immigrants as an argument for amnesty is also NOT a mistake, or amateurish, it’s both playing to the base and using disinformation to accomplish a goal. It’s a lie, but not accidental.
That leaves the story about threatening a reporter’s press access then denying the threat then changing the story numerous times for damage control, which is moronic on several levels, and the idiocy of decrying the use of caricatures then immediately using one. I toss a coin on those.
Ed, we really need several separate categories for each day/week:
Amateurisms
Socialisms
Hypocrisies
Assaults on the Constitution
Assaults on Liberty
Alinski-isms
Freelancer on May 15, 2011 at 10:06 PM
Moat vote for the mope.
RedNewEnglander on May 16, 2011 at 12:52 PM