NationStates Jolt Archive

So, Dubya had a little meeting with the press. Then he called on a reporter wearing sunglasses. He poked a bit of fun at the man in sunglasses. Turns out, the man was blind. Its actually rather cruel when you read the transcript:

Alright, the original link didn't work. You can link to it through this Yahoo article on the same subject.

President Bush's "Oh, **** " Moment of the Day (http://news.yahoo.com/s/wonkette/20060614/en_wonkette/presidentbushsohmomentoftheday)

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Peter. Are you going to ask that question with shades on?

Q I can take them off.

THE PRESIDENT: I’m interested in the shade look, seriously.

Q All right, I’ll keep it, then.

THE PRESIDENT: For the viewers, there’s no sun. (Laughter.)

Q I guess it depends on your perspective. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Touche. (Laughter.)

Q Following up on the other Peter’s question about Karl Rove…

So, Dubya had a little meeting with the press. Then he called on a reporter wearing sunglasses. He poked a bit of fun at the man in sunglasses. Turns out, the man was blind. Its actually rather cruel when you read the transcript:

Partial transcript
(http://http://www.wonkette.com/politics/media/an-update-on-president-bushs-screwup-180754.php)

Link doesn't give us transcript.

Here's my words of wisdom for the day...

Jesus cured the blind, Dubya pokes fun at them.

Meh, i can imagine having that conversation. Shame the president didn't do his research

Link doesn't give us transcript.

I'll fix that.

Some group of some kind was offended? Oh noes!

Some group of some kind was offended? Oh noes!
That would be the group that thinks it's uncool to make fun of people over their appearance or mode of dress because, you know what -- sometimes it turns out they're wearing shades because they're blind.

I have to say that :LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOL:

@ That bs.

So Bush has "inadvertenly" picked at two blind people and a cripple.

:mad: :sniper:

Ahhhaahhaha... loser... (Bush that is)

So, Dubya had a little meeting with the press. Then he called on a reporter wearing sunglasses. He poked a bit of fun at the man in sunglasses. Turns out, the man was blind. Its actually rather cruel when you read the transcript:

Alright, the original link didn't work. You can link to it through this Yahoo article on the same subject.

President Bush's "Oh, **** " Moment of the Day (http://news.yahoo.com/s/wonkette/20060614/en_wonkette/presidentbushsohmomentoftheday)
Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."
Oh? good thing clinton was smart enough to not make fun of a bind man. Specialy when he was wearing an obvious marker like dark sunglasses in doors.

I mean in a frigging highschoo well maybe you will see people wearing sun glasses just to look "Cool" even indoors

But at a press confrence with the president of the USA? you would have to be an idiot to not catch something like that

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."
Except, of course, that Clinton didn't do it. Your golden boy Bush stuck his foot in this one -- again. It must be difficult for you to keep sticking up for him. At the rate he pulls these bonehead maneuvers, I'm surprised you have time for anything else.

The President yet again shows his ignorance...

I'm more interested in how long it took someone to explain it to Bush. And how many sock-puppets were required.

Hey, that's not cruel, my friend was going blind and now is blind, and we call him the terminator. We make jokes about it, just as much as we make fun of all of our friends, and we all have a good laugh.

So I don't find it disrespectful really. I mean unless George flips him off and says " do you kno what our flag looks like?".

Ah, well, me and my friends are disrespectful people. We get humor out of it, just like how you guys disrespect George for calling him dubya. He likes it, he calls himself dubya, cause he has a sense of humor. Hey I voted for him and I like calling him dubya. And I like all the republican and democrat stereotyping.

To be fair, the title of this thread is pretty provocative. Making fun requires that the person actually know there is something to make fun OF. The link says:

For what it matters, during the Bush Rose Garden presser this a.m., Wallsten was wearing shades because he is legally blind — a fact that Bush apparently didn’t know, or forgot, about one of the reporters covering him for one of America’s major newspapers.

But at a press confrence with the president of the USA? you would have to be an idiot to not catch something like that

:D No comment.

Did the blind man know he was talking to the president, and not the KFC guy?

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."

You obviously lived in an alternate 1990's somehwere where the press didn't go out of their way to Tabloid-ize the Clintons.

How is this bad? I mean, Bush is a fucker, but all this does is show that he’s human. I was much happier thinking of him as an elaborate puppet.

And Bush said touché? God damn it. Why can’t you let me hate him in peace?

Bleh... Bush....

Oh? good thing clinton was smart enough to not make fun of a bind man. Specialy when he was wearing an obvious marker like dark sunglasses in doors.

I mean in a frigging highschoo well maybe you will see people wearing sun glasses just to look "Cool" even indoors

But at a press confrence with the president of the USA? you would have to be an idiot to not catch something like that
Whatever.

At least Bush has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!

Whatever.

At least Bush has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!
I really don't give a fuck about that, nor the war in Iraq. Just as long as something good comes out of it, George got his war, and Clinton got his sex. Would you rather have sex with Monica or Hillary? Can you blame Bill for being a pig?

I really don't give a fuck about that, nor the war in Iraq. Just as long as something good comes out of it, George got his war, and Clinton got his sex. Would you rather have sex with Monica or Hillary? Can you blame Bill for being a pig?
No, I can't blame him for wanting to fuck someone besides that bitch of a wife of his, but I can and DO blame him for being a stupid shit.

According to Clinton, he didn't have sexual relations with her.... because it was the cigar, man, not him.

:rolleyes:

Whatever.

At least Bush has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!
I thought everyone was upset because Clinton broke the "fun to ride until your friends see you" rule.

Hey, that's not cruel, my friend was going blind and now is blind, and we call him the terminator. We make jokes about it, just as much as we make fun of all of our friends, and we all have a good laugh.

So I don't find it disrespectful really. I mean unless George flips him off and says " do you kno what our flag looks like?".

Ah, well, me and my friends are disrespectful people. We get humor out of it, just like how you guys disrespect George for calling him dubya. He likes it, he calls himself dubya, cause he has a sense of humor. Hey I voted for him and I like calling him dubya. And I like all the republican and democrat stereotyping.

Hey, that's not cruel, my friend was going blind and now is blind, and we call him the terminator. We make jokes about it, just as much as we make fun of all of our friends, and we all have a good laugh.

So I don't find it disrespectful really. I mean unless George flips him off and says " do you kno what our flag looks like?".

Ah, well, me and my friends are disrespectful people. We get humor out of it, just like how you guys disrespect George for calling him dubya. He likes it, he calls himself dubya, cause he has a sense of humor. Hey I voted for him and I like calling him dubya. And I like all the republican and democrat stereotyping.
You and your friends sound like fun.:)

According to Clinton, he didn't have sexual relations with her.... because it was the cigar, man, not him.

:rolleyes:
I thought it was the man in the velvet robe?

You and your friends sound like fun.:)
A life of watching Monty Python and South Park does make people cool :)

According to Clinton, he didn't have sexual relations with her.... because it was the cigar, man, not him.

:rolleyes:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And oral sex isn't sex, and Clinton didn't get cum on her dress. I've heard it all.

No, I can't blame him for wanting to fuck someone besides that bitch of a wife of his, but I can and DO blame him for being a stupid shit.

Fine, but do you have to bring him up EVERY time Bush is a stupid shit?


(Begins to worry anout Eut's man-crush on Clinton. No Wonder Eut hates Hillary so.)

Whatever.

At least Bush has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!
... after the stink that the repubs raised over it not even an idiot like bush would make that mistake with the precident set before him ... possibly

A life of watching Monty Python and South Park does make people cool :)
You bet your ass it does.

Fine, but do you have to bring him up EVERY time Bush is a stupid shit?


(Begins to worry anout Eut's man-crush on Clinton. No Wonder Eut hates Hillary so.)

Hey calm down now, don't start an E-fight. We understand your opinions about democrats and republicans. Let's just accept things and try to make the best of it. Okay? Okay!

... after the stink that the repubs raised over it not even an idiot like bush would make that mistake with the precident set before him ... possibly
I’m sure he does his floozies far away from prying eyes. Those under-ground bunkers aren't there for nothing, you know.

I think most of America has lost respect for the people who become president. Call me a nationalist if you want, but I think being a nationalist is a healthy thing. But come on now, you should show respect for someone who becomes president, if you think he's an idiot then maybe you guys shouldn't have elected someone like Kerry and maybe you would have had a better chance with Al Lieberman.

If I was president you'd bet I'd be playing Ages of Empire and Warcraft3 in my bunker. And people would be calling me a nerdy war monger. JUST CAUSE I WENT TO WAR WITH QUEL-THALAS!

But If I was president I would try to shape up the U.N. and tell them they do have a responsibility in this world, and that responsibility isn't smoking pot all day from Kofi. And I would go to war with alot of the drug smugglers and money counterfiters in the world. And I would get liberals on my ass that are saying this isn't a war we shouldn't be in, we're trying to police the world, and i'd be portrayed as Hitler and yada yada yada.

I think most of America has lost respect for the people who become president. Call me a nationalist if you want, but I think being a nationalist is a healthy thing. But come on now, you should show respect for someone who becomes president, if you think he's an idiot then maybe you guys shouldn't have elected someone like Kerry and maybe you would have had a better chance with Al Lieberman.
I had nothing to do with electing bush ... he went in against my wishes. I have every right to think him an idiot ... he has shown that he is over and over, hell he has fallen to quale proportions in my eyes ... thats hard to do.

But come on now, you should show respect for someone who becomes president, ...

Never happend, never will. People said nasty things about Washington, Jefferson, Lincon, Roosevelt, etc, etc. Americans have always shown contempt for their elected officals. It's as American as apple pie.

So keep those unpatriotic thoughts to yourself. What are you, some kind of anti-American subversive?? ;)

No, I can't blame him for wanting to fuck someone besides that bitch of a wife of his, but I can and DO blame him for being a stupid shit.
Obsess much? Jealous at all? (Ah, but jealous of whom?) :p

EDIT: Ah, Gymoor beat me to it. But seriously, Eut, lighten up. Bush's screw ups are funny.

No, I can't blame him for wanting to fuck someone besides that bitch of a wife of his, but I can and DO blame him for being a stupid shit.
Lol personaly that aint half as stupid as any one of the many things that bush pulled so far... comeon man even to me this seems like grasping for straws

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/14/bush.apology.ap/index.html

Any fool can see Wallsten forgave him for his gaffe. I'm going to hell for that pun, aren't I?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/14/bush.apology.ap/index.html

Any fool can see Wallsten forgave him for his gaffe.
Of course he forgave him. First, it would have been uncool not to, and second, it's not like Bush can help being dumb.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/14/bush.apology.ap/index.html

Any fool can see Wallsten forgave him for his gaffe.
Kind of figured with how the origional transcript went the guy kept his cool

Lol personaly that aint half as stupid as any one of the many things that bush pulled so far... comeon man even to me this seems like grasping for straws
The difference is that I find Bush funny when he does something funny.

It's like watching Chevy Chase.

Clinton, on the other hand, looks like a married guy sitting in a bar not wearing his wedding ring, trying to talk someone into a fuck.

You know, I read the transcript, and I watch the video clip, but I can't really see where he actually made fun of the guy for being blind...

Eh I guess leftist will use anything as ammo, even something as pointless as this.

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."

You mean FOX News would have apologized for Clinton? Woooow...

:rolleyes:

P.S. Apologizing for Shrub and "But, but Clinton!" in one thread? Admit you're a Bushevik, Forrest.

The difference is that I find Bush funny when he does something funny.

It's like watching Chevy Chase.

Clinton, on the other hand, looks like a married guy sitting in a bar not wearing his wedding ring, trying to talk someone into a fuck.

Yeah, but Dude...

George W. right about now is like the talkshow Chevy. The latest-piece-of-crap Vacation movie Chevy.

Dubya's act was amuzing when he was snorting coke back in the day, is what I'm saying here. But it's clear now that Georgie isn't ready for Prime Time.

(Likes this Chevy/Dubya metaphore.)

Still not seeing where he insulted the guy...

The difference is that I find Bush funny when he does something funny.

It's like watching Chevy Chase.

Clinton, on the other hand, looks like a married guy sitting in a bar not wearing his wedding ring, trying to talk someone into a fuck.
Personaly I am more scared when he does something stupid ... clintion may or may not have been a sleezeball married guy sitting in a bar but at least he was a smart married guy in a bar

Bush is the guy over in the corner that hits his head on the light over the pool table every frigging time (worse the sober guy doing that)

I may dislike both of thoes people ... maybe dislike the sleezeball more (in this example) But he probably would be the one I trust to drive my car then that idiot that cant avoild a simple light

Whatever.

At least Bush has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!
And yet, Clinton's approval rating during impeachment (http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/20/impeachment.poll/)is more than double that of the butthead that you love to defend.

Perhaps you have been borrowing Georgy's glasses?

http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/Z/-/bush_rose_colored.jpg

I care about this.

Honest.

:rolleyes:

Why is this even newsworthy?

Breaking News Alert!!!! Bush is still a dumbass!!!! Stay tuned for details.

Clinton, on the other hand, looks like a married guy sitting in a bar not wearing his wedding ring, trying to talk someone into a fuck.
Sounds like your kinda guy? Weren't you praising the glories of "swinging" the other day?

I wonder if anybody ever actually listens to what Bush says. Besides when he comments on a blind guy's shades, I mean. There are so many people out there who slander Bush, and I have never seen any evidence of a policy which these people disagree with. In fact, most of the things I hear from these people are unfounded. Why such hate? My little brother told me that "Bush is propaganda" when we were talking about Green Day. He has no idea about what politics are, and the fact that my family has injected an agenda into him gives me a sense of immorality in modern politics. (For reference, I myself am no angel. However, I don't go around putting incomprehensible ideas into little kids' heads.)

What I've seen from the majority of young adults whom I've met who don't like Bush for what ever reason, their concerns rest in his staying in office for the rest of eternity. Come on, guys. Wait for the end of his term before you start making assumptions like that.

His speech tonight made sense to me: we're in a war, some people don't like that fact, there are powers overseas who don't want us in Iraq, and he plans to stick to his guns to the very end. If you don't like it, you can move to Canada or something. There's nothing in Bush's policy preventing you from doing so.

In conclusion, I hope that the next president of the United States of America is a Democrat.

Still not seeing where he insulted the guy...
Keep looking. It is pretty subtle. Even Bush missed it.









(Hint: It was the assumption that the guy had no reason to be wearing dark glasses -- a guy he had seen before at press briefings -- whom he had answered questions from before and knew well enough to address by first name -- a guy who is a regular WH reporter for a major paper and whose blindness was known to everyone there -- everyone but Bush, that is. So it's not so much that he insulted the guy personally but that it is just another comedic example of what an embarrassingly clueless ass Bush can be.)

Oh? good thing clinton was smart enough to not make fun of a bind man. Specialy when he was wearing an obvious marker like dark sunglasses in doors.


Youd think a smart feller like you would have noticed it was outdoors.

Keep looking. It is pretty subtle. Even Bush missed it.









(Hint: It was the assumption that the guy had no reason to be wearing dark glasses -- a guy he had seen before at press briefings -- whom he had answered questions from before and knew well enough to address by first name -- a guy who is a regular WH reporter for a major paper and whose blindness was known to everyone there -- everyone but Bush, that is. So it's not so much that he insulted the guy personally but that it is just another comedic example of what an embarrassingly clueless ass Bush can be.)


How did you come to the singular conclusion that the guys degenerative eye disease was known to everyone there?

Youd think a smart feller like you would have noticed it was outdoors.
You would think so ... thank god I am not in charge of a country ...

You would think so ... thank god I am not in charge of a country ...I can see you in charge of a small country.

Tell ya what. If this megalomaniac thing I have works out for me like I hope it does I'll either let you be in charge of Monaco or carve Delaware out of the States and you can run that.

Keep looking. It is pretty subtle. Even Bush missed it.









(Hint: It was the assumption that the guy had no reason to be wearing dark glasses -- a guy he had seen before at press briefings -- whom he had answered questions from before and knew well enough to address by first name -- a guy who is a regular WH reporter for a major paper and whose blindness was known to everyone there -- everyone but Bush, that is. So it's not so much that he insulted the guy personally but that it is just another comedic example of what an embarrassingly clueless ass Bush can be.)

Soo ummm yea, this is basically about nothing isn't it? This is not news worthy is it?

"In today news, Bush jokes with a blind guy, more detail at 11..well...that was it really, so yea."

And yet, Clinton's approval rating during impeachment (http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/20/impeachment.poll/)is more than double that of the butthead that you love to defend.
For the last fucking time: I don't defend Bush! He's an idiot and chooses other idiot-cronys to run things. But I do have a problem when OTHER idiots in the media leap with glee on anything he says that remotely resembles a gaffe, whether it is or not! Get fucking REAL, for God's sake! :headbang:

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."


heheh never! He don't deserve one!

It isn't clear from the written transcript but the video clip of this on the Daily Show showed Bush was just being a douche - to everyone, and especially the blind guy. He looked like his speech writers and coaches were all sick that day and he had to stand up there and make shit up himself.

heheh never! He don't deserve one!

Lets give Dubya a break.
Which bone?

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."

Eh, my issue isn't that he mistakenly poked fun at a blind person. He obviously didn't know (or didn't remember) that said reporter had any sort of vision loss. As much as I dislike the man, I don't think he's a cruel person, and it takes an awfully cruel person to pick on a blind person about being blind. It's one thing to joke with a close friend; it's another to try to humiliate a subordinate.

My issue is that during a press conference, while being asked a serious question, the President has no place commenting about fashion.

I do think that it's getting way more air-time than it ought to have, for what that's worth.

When I was growing up, there was a blind kid in the same grade as me. Her blindness was the result of a birth defect, so she had some deformities on her face and around her eyes, and there were some prime a-holes who would tease her whenever the teachers weren't looking. This went on from about 4th grade until the end of middle school.

Then she got a seeing eye dog. A very large German Shepard seeing eye dog.

I will spare you all the gory details of what happened to the unlucky fellow who was dumb enough to taunt her in the presence of her dog. It will suffice for me to tell you that there are tender portions of human anatomy, and that angry German Shepards appear to know where all of them are located.

Do not mess with blind people.

Eh, my issue isn't that he mistakenly poked fun at a blind person. He obviously didn't know that said reporter had any sort of vision loss.

My issue is that during a press conference, while being asked a serious question, the President has no place commenting about fashion.

I do think that it's getting way more air-time than it ought to have, for what that's worth.


Lets be fair.

If the Press wanted to get a straight answer out of Dubya, they would have been asking him about Pet Goats.

Eh, as much as I hate the Scrub, that's just a faux pas that could have happened to anyone, assuming they didn't know the person in question well.

What I don't get, though, is how he knew the man's first name - which seems to imply that he is one of the regular white house press reporters - yet didn't know that he was blind. Huh?

But eh, maybe he really just forgot about it. Personally, I wouldn't even be able to remember the *names* of all those reporters, so I can't really judge him for forgetfulness, even though forgetting that your ol' buddy Peter is blind obviously makes the gaffe just that much more embarrassing.

I'm more interested in how long it took someone to explain it to Bush. And how many sock-puppets were required.
Probably about thirteen.

Just a thought, how do we know that Dubya and Peter (the reporter) aren't friends, or at leats aquaintences (sp?). And seriouls, don't give me that 'cuz bush doesn't have friends' bs. It could have been friendly banter between a couple of guyz who work together.

Just a thought, how do we know that Dubya and Peter (the reporter) aren't friends, or at leats aquaintences (sp?). And seriouls, don't give me that 'cuz bush doesn't have friends' bs. It could have been friendly banter between a couple of guyz who work together.

The President's own words?


Wallsten said Bush called his cell phone later in the day to apologize and tell him that he didn’t know he had [Stargardt’s] disease. Wallsten said he interrupted and told the president that no apology was necessary and that he didn’t feel offended since he hadn’t told anyone at the White House about his condition.

Apparently Peter isn't as offended as everyone else, though.


“[Bush] said, `I needle you guys out of affection,’” Wallsten said. “I said, ‘I understand that, but I don’t want you to treat me any differently because of this.’”
Wallsten said the president said he would not treat him differently, so Wallsten encouraged him to “needle away.”

“He said, `I will. Next time I’ll just use a different needle,’” Wallsten said.

Wallsten said he thought that was a pretty good line. And his only complaint is that the president didn’t answer his question at the news conference.

Eh, as much as I hate the Scrub, that's just a faux pas that could have happened to anyone, assuming they didn't know the person in question well.
No, he was just being a douche to everyone. He should have never brought up the sunglasses how he did or kept on about it. No one that is a orator as part of their job would have fucked up like that.

Oh? good thing clinton was smart enough to not make fun of a bind man. Specialy when he was wearing an obvious marker like dark sunglasses in doors.

I mean in a frigging highschoo well maybe you will see people wearing sun glasses just to look "Cool" even indoors

But at a press confrence with the president of the USA? you would have to be an idiot to not catch something like that


They werent indoors. The guy was the only one visible at the press conference wearing sunglasses. The President ad-libbed a comment, meant to be light humored, having no idea the reporter was blind.

Would anyone that wasnt aware expect a blind reporter ?

The blind reporter was a gentleman and took it very well, instead of shrieking that he was blind.

The President was later advised of the fact and called the reporter personally and appologized.

A minor error, quickly corrected. Certainly not an issue and will likely never happen again.

What I don't get, though, is how he knew the man's first name - which seems to imply that he is one of the regular white house press reporters - yet didn't know that he was blind. Huh?




I think the President has a sheet on the lectern in front of him with the reporter's positions and first names- I saw the video of this and he seems to glance down at something as he calls on the reporter.

I guess it makes it more personal,especially when its not regulars he's dealing with.

I don't think anyone can accuse me of being a Bush supporter, but even I have to stick up for him on this one. He had no way of knowing the guy was blind and, because he isn't completely blind, he didn't even manifest the physical characteristics - you know the Stevie Wonder, ray Charles swinging of the head. When I saw the video I had no idea he was blind until they said so afterwards. I'm all for picking on Bush because I think he simultaneously runs the most arrogant, secretive and incompetent administration this country has ever seen, but I'll reserve my condemnations for more substantive issues.

Whatever.

At least Bush has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!
ah...the usual comeback by a rabid neocon.
When it's pointed out they're wrong, they bring up Clinton's sexual indiscretions and inability to keep it trousered as the excuse for allowing/ignoring/forgiving whatever Bush is doing to screw up whatever he's screwing up.

Nice to see some things don't change.

Delete whichever isn't appropriate for whatever argument you're facing:
"Bush might have:
Invaded Iraq on flimsy/false pretences
Lied to the American public
Cozied up to Big business
Screwed the economy with an unmanageable, unimagineable deficit
Made fun of a blind man
Alienated the World against the US
Hid during the Vietnam war
Screwed medical advancements with his religious intolerance
Refused to recognise the threat of Global warming
etc etc etc

But at least he has enough sense to not fuck a goddamned intern in the fucking Oval Office! Jeeze!"

repeat as and when necessary until you stop thinking rationally.

It's sad that Bush-Haters can turn a minor error that could have happened to anyone into a huge bash-fest. Bashing over something so minor also dilutes the message when Bush does something that DESERVES a bash-fest.

It's sad that Bush-Haters can turn a minor error that could have happened to anyone into a huge bash-fest. Bashing over something so minor also dilutes the message when Bush does something that DESERVES a bash-fest.

Exactly.
That's over 50% of Americans for you.
Bush is a fun guy from what I've seen, such as the documentary on him when he was campaigning.

Meh, he probably didn't know he was blind.

Meh, he probably didn't know he was blind.
I second that "Meh".

Meh.

ah...the usual comeback by a rabid neocon.
When it's pointed out they're wrong, they bring up Clinton's sexual indiscretions and inability to keep it trousered as the excuse for allowing/ignoring/forgiving whatever Bush is doing to screw up whatever he's screwing up.

If there is one iron-clad rule of American conservativism, it's that all roads lead back to the Clenis.

Economy stinks? It's probably because the Clenis used all our money to buy whores.

Children uneducated? They probably can't concentrate because they're too busy being traumatized by the antics of the Clenis.

Global warming? Doesn't exist, but if it did it would be caused by the hot, hot action that went down in the Oval Office while the Clenis was getting busy.

Meh, he probably didn't know he was blind.
That still makes him an incompetent public speaker, and a dick.
His speech coaches should have taught him not to harp on dumb stuff. And to be cheery about it. In the video he looked like he was pissed that he even had to show up.

The difference between Clinton doing something like this and Bush doing something like this is that Clinton is a showman - a person familiar with public speaking and being in front of a crowd. Bush isn't in touch with the get in front of people and be cool side of himself.

Soo ummm yea, this is basically about nothing isn't it? This is not news worthy is it?

"In today news, Bush jokes with a blind guy, more detail at 11..well...that was it really, so yea."
Well, if you support Bush, it's no surprise that you miss the point of this. You'd have to in order to keep taking him seriously as a politician.

The story is a joke -- at Bush's expense, yes, but so what? He won't melt from it. And what makes the joke worth telling -- the serious part of it -- is that we voters need to know what a blithering idiot looks like so we don't put another one in charge of our military and foreign policies.

Some group of some kind was offended? Oh noes!
Not the reporter, anyway. Brian Williams bent over backwards to point out that this gent took the comment in the spirit it was given. As a joke. Fortunately, he wasn't a professional victim, like so many people seem to be.

How did you come to the singular conclusion that the guys degenerative eye disease was known to everyone there?
Well, let's see ... because he worked there? Was a regular in the press pool? Which means WH security had to be aware of his existence and would have passed him through a metal detector once or twice and maybe asked him or someone else (suspiciously) why he was wearing dark glasses all the time (possible answer: "Uh, 'cause he's blind, dude."). (Security people don't like it when you wear dark glasses all the time because it makes it hard to identify you from security videos. That's why many banks after 9/11 made rules requiring customers to remove sunglasses upon entering. But if you're blind, you don't have to -- if you're blind, which means they'll ask you if you're blind.) And maybe because it would be a good thing for the WH staff to know there is a blind guy wandering around the place, for safety reasons, so maybe, just maybe, security (or even the guy's newspaper or the guy himself) would have alerted them about it. You know, "special needs" and all.

It is unlikely that nobody in Bush's staff knew the guy was blind, but let's say they did know but didn't tell Bush. There is still no excuse for him to give the guy a hard time about his glasses, unless Bush is also blind. I see plenty of blind people wearing dark glasses, and I don't have to ask them if they are blind. I can tell by the way they move and the kind of glasses they wear. So I don't see why Bush would not have looked at this guy and just assumed from his appearance that he was blind. If he had a question about it, he could easily have asked a staffer to check it out before opening his big mouth. But no, typical of King George II, he did not stop to consider that the guy might have a good reason to be wearing dark glasses during the briefing. He just started needling him for wearing the glasses, exactly the same way one might needle a kid to make him take off his hat in church. He was assuming the guy was being rude to him and set in making an example of him in front of the group.

To me, this is just another example of Bush's self-centeredness. I put it in the same category, though not as egregious, as the incident during his first campaign, when during a commercial break on the Letterman show, he was caught on camera sneakily using a woman's clothing to clean his glasses without her realizing it.

Not the reporter, anyway. Brian Williams bent over backwards to point out that this gent took the comment in the spirit it was given. As a joke. Fortunately, he wasn't a professional victim, like so many people seem to be.
Too bad Bush was just being a dick and his tone didn't give that he was joking. The blind guy is going along with it because Bush is the fucking president. But he was still being a dick and he wasn't joking.

I don't think anyone can accuse me of being a Bush supporter, but even I have to stick up for him on this one. He had no way of knowing the guy was blind and, because he isn't completely blind, he didn't even manifest the physical characteristics - you know the Stevie Wonder, ray Charles swinging of the head. When I saw the video I had no idea he was blind until they said so afterwards. I'm all for picking on Bush because I think he simultaneously runs the most arrogant, secretive and incompetent administration this country has ever seen, but I'll reserve my condemnations for more substantive issues.
Um, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles only waved their heads while they were playing the piano. They did not do it while just walking and talking. Blindness is not like CP or Parkinson's; it doesn't cause uncontrollable muscle movements. I have never seen any blind person, other than Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles at pianos, wave their heads about.

Um, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles only waved their heads while they were playing the piano. They did not do it while just walking and talking. Blindness is not like CP or Parkinson's; it doesn't cause uncontrollable muscle movements. I have never seen any blind person, other than Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles at pianos, wave their heads about.
I have. They do it because hearing becomes their primary sense. If someone is not completely blind they can still look at you, even if all they see is a blob that sound is coming from. When someone is in complete darkness they often wave their head from side to side as they use their hearing as a means of facing you and keeping you centered. I grew up with a blind kid who as completely blind and he did that alll the time. His head would always just keep moving.

Um, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles only waved their heads while they were playing the piano. They did not do it while just walking and talking. Blindness is not like CP or Parkinson's; it doesn't cause uncontrollable muscle movements. I have never seen any blind person, other than Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles at pianos, wave their heads about.

*thumbs up*

the man has a form of macular degeneration. he may well not be so blind that he wears sunglasses all the time. he may only wear them outside because even overcast skies are painful for him. sunlight can also cause people with his conditions a temporary blindness when they go indoors because their eyes cant adapt to different light conditions as quickly as average.

bush wondered why anyone would be wearing sunglasses on such an overcast day and the man referred to his condition by saying that bright is relative. he was just being "chatty" not mean. it was a gaffe that he had the good grace to apologize for.

Liasia']Meh, i can imagine having that conversation. Shame the president didn't do his research

What, and ask everyone why they are wearing sunglasses?

Well, let's see ... because he worked there? Was a regular in the press pool? Which means WH security had to be aware of his existence and would have passed him through a metal detector once or twice and maybe asked him or someone else (suspiciously) why he was wearing dark glasses all the time (possible answer: "Uh, 'cause he's blind, dude."). (Security people don't like it when you wear dark glasses all the time because it makes it hard to identify you from security videos. That's why many banks after 9/11 made rules requiring customers to remove sunglasses upon entering. But if you're blind, you don't have to -- if you're blind, which means they'll ask you if you're blind.) And maybe because it would be a good thing for the WH staff to know there is a blind guy wandering around the place, for safety reasons, so maybe, just maybe, security (or even the guy's newspaper or the guy himself) would have alerted them about it. You know, "special needs" and all.

It is unlikely that nobody in Bush's staff knew the guy was blind, but let's say they did know but didn't tell Bush. There is still no excuse for him to give the guy a hard time about his glasses, unless Bush is also blind. I see plenty of blind people wearing dark glasses, and I don't have to ask them if they are blind. I can tell by the way they move and the kind of glasses they wear. So I don't see why Bush would not have looked at this guy and just assumed from his appearance that he was blind. If he had a question about it, he could easily have asked a staffer to check it out before opening his big mouth. But no, typical of King George II, he did not stop to consider that the guy might have a good reason to be wearing dark glasses during the briefing. He just started needling him for wearing the glasses, exactly the same way one might needle a kid to make him take off his hat in church. He was assuming the guy was being rude to him and set in making an example of him in front of the group.

To me, this is just another example of Bush's self-centeredness. I put it in the same category, though not as egregious, as the incident during his first campaign, when during a commercial break on the Letterman show, he was caught on camera sneakily using a woman's clothing to clean his glasses without her realizing it.

So you know more about it than the reporter himself who declared that they did not know about his condition. Congratulations. You are omniscient. With the exception that you didnt bother to know about the reporter's declaration.

You certainly write much about it though.

This is funny.

I think it's a mistake that could have happened to anyone since the reporter didn't tell anyone. Even if Bush did know and just forgot, being a bad public speaker doesn't really say much about capability to lead. Being a good public speaker just means you can manipulate the masses. You should all be happy he sucks at this.

For the last fucking time: I don't defend Bush! He's an idiot and chooses other idiot-cronys to run things. But I do have a problem when OTHER idiots in the media leap with glee on anything he says that remotely resembles a gaffe, whether it is or not! Get fucking REAL, for God's sake! :headbang:
Yeah, but Bush is your idiot......you voted for him. :p

I also have noticed that you have opted to use the full blown vernacular rather than the other frakkin word. I must say that it makes your arguments so much more forceful!! :rolleyes:

So you know more about it than the reporter himself who declared that they did not know about his condition. Congratulations. You are omniscient. With the exception that you didnt bother to know about the reporter's declaration.

You certainly write much about it though.
It's true. I am omniscient. Which is why I didn't bother to pay attention to the reporter's declaration. Because it doesn't matter, viz, my "unless Bush is also blind." statement. But since you're not omniscient, I guess you missed that part. :p

PS: Since I'm omniscient, I also know and use ALL the words in the world. Now you know what heaven is going to be like. ;) :p

That still makes him an incompetent public speaker, and a dick.
His speech coaches should have taught him not to harp on dumb stuff. And to be cheery about it. In the video he looked like he was pissed that he even had to show up.

The difference between Clinton doing something like this and Bush doing something like this is that Clinton is a showman - a person familiar with public speaking and being in front of a crowd. Bush isn't in touch with the get in front of people and be cool side of himself.

Well, he is incompetent at public speaking, and a dick. But really, that's all insignificant taken in context with the policies of his administration...

Hence "meh".

Why do you care? Does absolutly nothing for how good a president he is(for the record, he's not good at all). Why do you care about this? Especially since he's done stupider stuff then this. (locked doors in China, anyone?)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And oral sex isn't sex, and Clinton didn't get cum on her dress. I've heard it all.

Actually, here, oral sex isn't really considered sex around here. Oral sex is "fooling around," and vaginal/anal is "real" sex. Depends on your perspective.

For the record, neither Clinton getting a blowjob nor this latest Bushism have much, if any relevence to them carrying out the duties of the President of the United States of America. What matters is policy and politics, not one's sex life or missing the fact that someone is blind.

Oh? good thing clinton was smart enough to not make fun of a bind man. Specialy when he was wearing an obvious marker like dark sunglasses in doors.

I mean in a frigging highschoo well maybe you will see people wearing sun glasses just to look "Cool" even indoors

But at a press confrence with the president of the USA? you would have to be an idiot to not catch something like that
It looked outdoors to me...
--------------------------------------------------------------

Bush made fun of someone wearing glasses not a blind person a local news service claimed that he was forced to apologise when he chose to apologise it was just a joke of course the sensationalists and Liberal subversive elements are going to turn it into something stupid.

Why are people still hung up on this? The reporter did not inform the white house of his condition. You don’t automatically assume every time you see someone with sunglasses on that they are blind. Bush even called the man to apologize, if he was just being cruel he would never have done that. Will all of the reporters the man talks with how do you expect him to personally know every single one of them?

who cares, we all accidently make fun of the handicapped sometimes

...oh wait IT'S BUSH! uhh..yeh...HE'S SO...UH....STUPID!!!!

Wallsten said Bush’s comments did not offend him at all. “I never advertise it to him. I’ve never told him.”
President Bush was not poking fun at a Blind Man but commenting on the man's sunglasses. He (Bush) did not ask the man to take em off, nor did he make any comment about Peter's condition. (Something he did not know about.)

what about everyone else... do you automatically assume that someone wearing sunglasses means they are blind?

Why are people still hung up on this? The reporter did not inform the white house of his condition. You don’t automatically assume every time you see someone with sunglasses on that they are blind. Bush even called the man to apologize, if he was just being cruel he would never have done that. Will all of the reporters the man talks with how do you expect him to personally know every single one of them?Exactly.

Or perhaps it's just that I'm a stupid bastard too, for having accidentially attempted to sell a newspaper subscription to a blind guy.

Shit happens. I don't understand this character fixation in US politics. The administration is up to all sorts of shit, yet you worry about how the president addresses some random blind guy?
No wonder your government's shite.

I dont care if the guy was blind. He shouldnt have been wearing sunglasses when addressing someone who deserves great respect, like George Bush. The President was right to call him on it and he shouldnt have to apoligize.

Jesus Christ! Give the man a fucking break, willya? If Clinton had done this, the fucking media would have fallen all over themselves to point out that "he didn't know the reporter," or "he forgot that the reporter was blind," or "Clinton shares chuckle with reporter."

This isn't about Clinton. You can't make excuses for one person on the basis of a what if for another. Blame shifting is a bad arguement.

I dont care if the guy was blind. He shouldnt have been wearing sunglasses when addressing someone who deserves great respect, like George Bush. The President was right to call him on it and he shouldnt have to apoligize.

And the stupid will speak with the wisdom of Republicans

Well, that does it. What an idiot. I mean, seriously, if he can't tell people are blind just by looking at their sunglasses, he's not qualified to lead this country. I mean, any of us mere commoners would have known straight away that he was blind. It's so obvious, right?

The press is vicious. As someone said on the first page, this should have been "President shares a chuckle with reporter," and not "President is stupid for not knowing sunglasses-sporting reporter was blind." Unless it's The Onion.

And the stupid will speak with the wisdom of Republicans
How iis it stupid? Hes probably not even a real journalist. Hes probably a plant by liberals to make the president look bad. How is the guy supposed report when he cant see what going on. whats he gonna say, 'today in a Iraq a black shadow blew up a white shadow'? No, that would be stupid. I think you need to get all the facts before you jump to crazy conclusions.

How iis it stupid? Hes probably not even a real journalist. Hes probably a plant by liberals to make the president look bad. How is the guy supposed report when he cant see what going on. whats he gonna say, 'today in a Iraq a black shadow blew up a white shadow'? No, that would be stupid. I think you need to get all the facts before you jump to crazy conclusions.

LMAO

Who's puppet are you?

You realize Bush has done this before. He waved at Stevie Wonder. This is nothing.

I'm more interested in how long it took someone to explain it to Bush. And how many sock-puppets were required.

Sweet.

Blindess only affects godless liberals

Hold on while I get my list of comedy shows and comedians that have made fun of blind people...
Meh, too lazy. Most of them, anyway.

But, as somebody previously said in the thread, it seems to be that a good number of blind people are willing to roll with it. I knew a blind kid in High School, he used to joke that the best part of being blind was 'accidentally' groping girls and getting away with it.
He didnt wear sunglasses though.

LMAO

Who's puppet are you?
I am no ones puppet. Whos puppet are you sir?

So, Dubya had a little meeting with the press. Then he called on a reporter wearing sunglasses. He poked a bit of fun at the man in sunglasses. Turns out, the man was blind. Its actually rather cruel when you read the transcript:

Alright, the original link didn't work. You can link to it through this Yahoo article on the same subject.

President Bush's "Oh, **** " Moment of the Day (http://news.yahoo.com/s/wonkette/20060614/en_wonkette/presidentbushsohmomentoftheday)

BUSH MAKES FUN OF BLIND GUY!!!!!!! EVERYONE LOOK!!!!! OUR PRESIDENT MAKES FUN OF BLIND GUY!!!!!

Dubya had a little meeting- er, wait, who's Dubya and where is Mr.Bush? What?

I am no ones puppet. Whos puppet are you sir?

You got three guesses.

Make 'em count.

Blindess only affects godless liberals

Do note that "godless liberal" means everyone who does not ascribe to the true faith, which as everyone knows is mormonism.

I object! The true faith is that cleverly hidden in my own name.

Hence, why I am not blind. I'm a goddessed (I think I just made up a word, cool!) liberal.

aha. more proof that bush is evil.

I wonder what bushanomics has to say about this event.

aha. more proof that bush is evil.

I wonder what bushanomics has to say about this event.
Please, blindness is Gods way of punishing Kitten molesters in a past life.

And the stupid will speak with the wisdom of Republicans
*psst* UNA is a parrot.

Blind Man makes fun of George Bush.

AP Washington - This morning President Bush became entangled in the cane of a Blind man while on his morning Presidential jog. Clarence Johnson, who has been blind since birth, good naturedly ribbed the President by saying "Good Job, Dumbass!"

On finding out that he had just insulted the President, Mr Johnson was very apologetic. President Bush, however, said that he was not offended. "Clarence didn't know he was talking to a real dumbass"