For our OOTD today, we’re going to revisit Barack Obama’s “Pet Goat” moment from last week. Obama spent two minutes giving shout-outs to his new friends at the Tribal Nations Conference instead of talking to the nation about the shooting at Fort Hood. Even apart from the breathtakingly insensitivity from Obama, he also got this wrong:
THE PRESIDENT: Please, everybody have a seat. Let me first of all just thank Ken and the entire Department of the Interior staff for organizing just an extraordinary conference. I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout-out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It’s good to see you. (Applause.)
Except that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow has not received the Medal of Honor. He has been awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, not the military Medal of Honor. And Obama should know, since he was the one who presented the award to Dr. Medicine Crow. In fact, he presented the award less than three months ago (h/t HA reader Sheridan):
Also, as anyone in the military will confirm, one does not win a Medal of Honor; they receive it. Many people make that mistake … but one should expect better from the nation’s Commander in Chief.
Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] 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!
