Poll: What was the Obamateurism of the Week?

Time once again to brush up on history and select this week’s biggest Obamateurism!  Don’t make a promise to cast a vote and then later claim you underestimated the difficulty of the task.  Besides, with grade inflation the way it is these days, who’s gonna remember?

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be holding our polls to choose the Obamateurism of the Year — don’t miss it!

Previous 2011 “winners”:

• Tells Congress to work through the holidays, announces his 17-day Christmas vacation
• Takes long foreign tour while supercommittee fails, blames lack of leadership for result
• “But we’ve been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades.’’
• Obama and Sarkozy rip Netanyahu while mics on at G-20
• State Dept distributes $70,000 in Obama-written books abroad
• Claims he’s made “all right choices” on economy, adviser disagrees
• “You can go ahead and clap. Go ahead, nothing wrong with it.”
• Wonders who believes reducing regulation will create jobs after his own jobs-council chair says it will
• Obama reads own book and shows cartoon of himself to pre-schoolers
• “If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a Jew, uh, as a janitor makes me a warrior for the working class…”
• Obama waves during UN photo session, covering up face of Mongolian leader
• “But if you love me, you’ve got to help me pass this bill!”
• Demands joint session to compete with GOP debate, forced to back down
• President & First Lady take separate jets to Martha’s Vineyard 4 hours apart
• Says “I want to sell goods all over the world that are stamped with three words: ‘Made in America’” … from Canadian bus
• Rails against “big money flooding the airwaves” in politics … at a $35,800 per person fundraiser
• When I said, “change we can believe in,” I didn’t say “change we can believe in tomorrow.”
• “I’d rather be talking about stuff that everybody welcomes — like new programs.”
• “Job-killing tax cuts.”
• “Eric, don’t call my bluff. I’m going to the American people with this.”
• “And certainly at the federal level where I do have influence, I can make sure that we make these adjustments without affecting people’s collective bargaining rights.”
• Six references to tax breaks for “corporate jet owners” as reason budget isn’t balanced
• Identifies wrong soldier as non-posthumous MoH recipient
• “You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM; you don’t go to a bank teller.”
• Uses restaurant as example of success of auto bailouts, closes two weeks later
• Goes for 70th round of golf on Memorial Day
• Obama botches toast to Queen Elizabeth
• “Israel must be able to defend itself – by itself – against any threat“
• WH gripes that immigration debate too often uses caricatures after Obama says, “Maybe they’ll need a moat.”
• 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 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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