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Lighten Up on Presidential Gaffes

Media blowing up slips is harming political discourse: Kinsley

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 31, 2009 9:12 AM CDT

(Newser) – Saying the Cambridge police acted "stupidly" wasn't Barack Obama's first or even worst gaffe; as president-elect he mused about Nancy Reagan séances, and he still hasn't lived down his awful joke on Jay Leno. But gaffes are okay, writes Michael Kinsley in the Washington Post—we want a president who speaks honestly, even if that means slip-ups every so often. Better that than an over-scripted bore. And that's what we'll get if the talking heads don't cut out the over-the-top outrage.

Whether it's phony offense à la "lipstick on a pig" or legitimate anger like the Special Olympics incident, the "rituals of umbrage" we force politicians to go through does serious harm to public discourse. Obama and others need to be able to speak with substance, Kinsley writes. "But that can't be done in a thin-skinned political culture obsessed with gaffes, and with a citizenry overly quick to take offense."

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Barack Obama appears on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Burbank, Calif. Thursday, March 19, 2009. He made a notorious comment about the Special Olympics during that appearance. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Barack Obama and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley have a beer with Joe Biden and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Nancy Reagan smiles as Barack Obama signs the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. Obama made a gaffe about Mrs. Reagan early in his transition period. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama answers a question from the media during his meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Thursday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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We have elected a president with a speculative mind. But every teachable episode we put him through teaches him that speculation is risky. And the riskier we make it, the less of it we're likely to get. - Michael Kinsley

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 27 comments

mintclassic

Aug 3, 2009 5:20 AM CDT

The fact that you think Bush was a better speaker than Obama is just...wow. You live in a complete fantasy world, and your particular breed of ignorance is exactly what frightens me about humanity.

Silverbow7

Aug 3, 2009 3:01 AM CDT

Obama stutters?

SilenceDogood

Aug 1, 2009 10:07 AM CDT

The media in this country is a sad excuse for professional reporting. Their collective abuse of their responsibilities to report the facts without bias into borderline lies is appalling. Political caricatures and editorial comments are an acceptable vent for media to express opinions regarding political leadership, however intentionally misinforming the public by over reporting some issues and underreporting others is highly manipulative and sickening. I remember when Bush was president we had a daily death count of soldiers in Iraqi. Now that Obama is in no one talks of such, and especially deafening is the silence of the quiet surge into Afghanistan with no body counts or reporting to cover this military operation conducted by our peaceful POTUS. In brief, the gaffes are fine to report on, but report honestly on everything else with spinning the facts.

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Lighten Up on Presidential Gaffes