# Great diplomat Obama strikes again. "Ignorance and incompetence" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 30, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541 "2012-05-30T13:43:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/81 "2012-05-30T18:11:03Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Exactly what it says. “Once a hack, always a hack,” then? Usually that’s an insult thrown at someone rather than a personal admission, but I admire your honesty… ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/82 "2012-05-30T18:11:25Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > You haven’t been even once yet that I have seen. From someone who generally finds the more… aggressively liberal… side of the Dope maddingly and virulently hypocritical, argumentatively dishonest, and shrill, your willful and obstinate handle on the obtuse does the conservative side of this board no service. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/83 "2012-05-30T18:11:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I do, and it’s telling that you can’t see the difference between a blip in the political cycle and a major issue. It’s also telling that you can’t be bothered to defend your posting style- but even if you wanted to I don’t think you could. I don’t need to defend my posting style - I don’t consider it in need of defense. And of course it is not a major issue. It’s a minor issue. It will still cost him votes. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/84 "2012-05-30T18:13:08Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > From someone who generally finds the more… aggressively liberal… side of the Dope maddingly and virulently hypocritical, argumentatively dishonest, and shrill, your willful and obstinate handle on the obtuse does the conservative side of this board no service. Thank you for your opinion. I will give it the consideration it deserves. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/85 "2012-05-30T18:13:36Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I don’t need to defend my posting style - I don’t consider it in need of defense. These are two different statements. > [@](#): > > It’s a minor issue. It will still cost him votes. I doubt it. In the interest of fairness I’ll say that I would doubt it even if it were being said by someone with credibility. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/86 "2012-05-30T18:17:47Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Yup. You’re not worried at all - that’s why there is all this effort to deny and redirect in this thread - it’s like shining a light on cockroaches. > > Obama made a stupid remark. That’ll cost him votes in Polish-American community. You’re a hoot, Terr! I hope you stick around! I think a lot of people’s mistake in this thread is taking you seriously. This whole thread is satirical GOLD! It’s like that woman who debated Anderson Cooper about rounding up gay people into electric fences-- the Obama campaign should be PAYING people like you to keep this shit up in the public arena! ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/87 "2012-05-30T18:24:44Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I don’t need to defend my posting style - I don’t consider it in need of defense. > > And of course it is not a major issue. It’s a minor issue. It will still cost him votes. I don’t understand how this gaffe would be a deal breaker when “Obamacare” and a sluggish economy wouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/88 "2012-05-30T18:24:44Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Thank you for your opinion. I will give it the consideration it deserves. Son, you’re on your own - [Reverand Johnson](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/89 "2012-05-30T18:34:30Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Exactly what it says. When you say something, and somebody asks you what it means, and you say it means what it says, that doesn’t do a great deal to really clarify the situation. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/90 "2012-05-30T18:37:13Z")
His post is his cite. Hmmmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/91 "2012-05-30T18:51:24Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And of course it is not a major issue. It’s a minor issue. It will still cost him votes. Here are the top ten Polish-American states in our great country: [Quote=Wikipedia] [01. New York (986,141) 02. Illinois (932,996) 03. Michigan (854,844) 04. Pennsylvania (824,146) 05. New Jersey (576,473) 06. Wisconsin (497,726) 07. California (491,325) 08. Ohio (433,016) 09. Florida (429,691) 10. Massachusetts (323,210)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_American#Polish_Americans_by_state_totals) [/quote] I’m not worried. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/92 "2012-05-30T18:55:08Z")
By a remarkable coincidence, those are also the top ten states for bowling shirts worn as wedding apparel! ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/93 "2012-05-30T18:59:37Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Here are the top ten Polish-American states in our great country: > > I’m not worried. California, New York, and Illinois are probably a lock for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/94 "2012-05-30T18:59:45Z")
From the Maddow blog by Steve Benen > [@Maddow Blog](#): > > Obama’s detractors seem to be quite worked up about about this – a slow news day for the political world, I guess? – and the dividing lines already seem pretty clear. Those more sympathetic to the president see this as a harmless verbal mistake – the death camps really were in Poland, so the line was really about geography – while Obama’s critics are far less forgiving. > > But what seems most interesting to me is an observation from Steve M., who discovered just how common an error this is, including references to “Polish death camps” from journalists at CNN, ABC, CBS, and the New York Times. > > ``` > Also guilty of this have been Ha'aretz, USA Today, the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the Associated Press, The Buffalo News, Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper and broadcaster CTV, The Toronto Star, and the British comedian Stephen Fry. And that's just a list of people and organizations that have been reproached for it. > > Oh, one more: Fox News. > > Yes, it would have been better if the administration had avoided the gaffe, but it's quite a common gaffe. > > ``` > > Let those of us who have not made similar slip-ups cast the first stone. Tempest in a **Terr** pot ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/95 "2012-05-30T19:01:39Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Tempest in a **Terr** pot Ah but what happens when the tree falls in a forest and lots of people hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/96 "2012-05-30T19:06:42Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Ah but what happens when the tree falls in a forest and lots of people hear it. They find the guy who’s yelling “a tree fell over! It’s Obama’s fault!” and laugh at him. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/97 "2012-05-30T19:08:34Z")
I suppose they could lift the tree off of him. Really, they should. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/98 "2012-05-30T19:08:35Z")
If it lands on you, applause. No, Mods, this isn’t wishing death or harm to another poster. I’m quite sure that **Terr** ’s hard head would make quite a dent in the tree, not vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/99 "2012-05-30T19:09:51Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Ah but what happens when the tree falls in a forest and lots of people hear it. Then sensible people observe a tree fell down. Less sensible people run around trying to convince everyone the forest is doomed unless taxes are lowered. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541/100 "2012-05-30T19:13:18Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Ah but what happens when the tree falls in a forest and lots of people hear it. That’s no tree falling, that’s a bear taking a dump. And no one really cares. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-diplomat-obama-strikes-again-ignorance-and-incompetence/623541.md?page=6)