# Seriously, heckle the President and get taken out. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 15, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279 "2012-06-15T20:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/1 "2012-06-15T20:20:22Z")
Would this be such a terrible rule? (By taken out I mean ejected from the event.) [Another example of the President being disrespected.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/15/obama-immigration-reporter-heckles-speech_n_1600860.html) I guess it’s just a coincidence he happens to be black. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/2 "2012-06-15T20:25:35Z")
I don’t really think that an objection to his complexion has all that much to do with it. Remember how they hated Horndog Bill? I think it has more to do with gaining the attention of a fairly narrow audience, which is now divided up by Fox News, Freepers, Tea Parties, World Nut Daily, and so forth. There’s only so many to divvy up, so the one who hates him the most, and the loudest, gets the eyeballs, the clicks, and the money. Its that simple. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/3 "2012-06-15T20:45:38Z")
Meh. I like Obama, and I’ll vote for him again, but I just don’t care when journalists heckle the POTUS. Hell, Bush had a shoe thrown at him by some Iraqi journalist, and I thought that was hilarious. Journalists don’t, and probably shouldn’t, operate under the same rules of decorum as, say, the Senate. And yes, it probably is a coincidence that he happens to be black. The race card shouldn’t be your first go to, **Shakes**. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/4 "2012-06-15T20:46:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I don’t really think that an objection to his complexion has all that much to do with it. Remember how they hated Horndog Bill? > > I think it has more to do with gaining the attention of a fairly narrow audience, which is now divided up by Fox News, Freepers, Tea Parties, World Nut Daily, and so forth. There’s only so many to divvy up, so the one who hates him the most, and the loudest, gets the eyeballs, the clicks, and the money. Its that simple. Did you read the article? Because your post make no sense. > [@Huffpo](#): > > During his remarks, Obama suddenly addressed a person in the crowd, telling him that he was not yet taking questions. “Excuse me, sir, it’s not time for questions, sir,” Obama said. “Not while I’m speaking.” > > At the end of his speech, Obama referred back to the person who interrupted him. “And the answer to your question is sir, and the next time I prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question, is this is the right thing to do for the American people…I didn’t ask for an argument. I’m answering your question,” he said, speaking over the man’s protests. “It is the right thing to do for the American people.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/5 "2012-06-15T20:49:00Z")
Didn’t read the article, though I’m a regular fan of _Talking Points Memo_. Saw the video, don’t see anything particularly racist about it, just the usual frothing hatred. Thought he handled it pretty coolly. Bigger fish are frying. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/6 "2012-06-15T20:49:14Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Meh. I like Obama, and I’ll vote for him again, but I just don’t care when journalists heckle the POTUS. Hell, Bush had a shoe thrown at him by some Iraqi journalist, and I thought that was hilarious. Journalists don’t, and probably shouldn’t, operate under the same rules of decorum as, say, the Senate. > > And yes, it probably is a coincidence that he happens to be black. The race card shouldn’t be your first go to, **Shakes**. Please tell me the last President, besides Obama, that was called a liar while he was addressing the House. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/7 "2012-06-15T20:52:20Z")
This idiot should’ve been fired before the press conference went off the air. He works for The Daily Caller, though, so I assume he’ll either get a raise or a job at Fox. > [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Journalists don’t, and probably shouldn’t, operate under the same rules of decorum as, say, the Senate. No, this is 100% inappropriate for a journalist. It’s not even within light years of acceptability. You might get into an argument during an interview, but you don’t go to a public event and interrupt someone when you’re supposed to be _reporting_. It’s hard to report on the president’s comments when you’re shouting over them and it’s not the best way to get your questions answered either. The guy wanted to make a spectacle of himself and he did, and since he’s apparently a partisan hack, he isn’t hiding that. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/8 "2012-06-15T20:54:39Z")
Its not racism, but it is further proof that Tucker Carlson is a dick. The “reporter” did not think the President was finishing and it was question time. The “reporter” thought he could get some airtime by interrupting a presidential speech. He was unprofessional, rude, and like his boss, a dick. But this was a publicity stunt for the Daily Caller, and look, people are talking about it. Too bad the talk won’t be how nice it is the President handled it in a professional and respectful manner and that if he were the dictator the Right wants him to be the reporter would have been dragged off and beaten. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/9 "2012-06-15T20:55:00Z")
Shakes, did the reporter call him a liar? Or was that some Southern knuckle dragger? Race card isn’t invalid all the time, but it’s hardly relevant all the time either. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/10 "2012-06-15T20:57:49Z")
In the video I saw, you can’t hear what he said, only what Obama responded. With far more respect than was due. He called the reporter “sir”, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/11 "2012-06-15T20:59:44Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Shakes, did the reporter call him a liar? Or was that some Southern knuckle dragger? That was and is (respectively) Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina. I am not sure what Munro said. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/12 "2012-06-15T21:01:16Z")
Boy, he better get out of the country before Obama calls the New Black Panther Party to take him out. (I’m kidding. So if you see this line reflected by _World Nut Daily_, its their own idea, they didn’t get it from me!) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/13 "2012-06-15T21:04:11Z")
I’ll admit, this is my own armchair theory, so take that for what it’s worth. There are different levels a racism. I don’t think these people out right hate blacks. I do believe (And again, this is just my theory) that on a subconscious level, some of these folks don’t give the President the respect he deserves because he is black. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/14 "2012-06-15T21:10:02Z")
Can’t the White House revoke the _ **Daily Caller** _’s press credentials? That seems appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/15 "2012-06-15T21:13:55Z")
Munro and Hannity are obviously trolling here, but for the record, Munro says he thought Obama was done speaking. I guess he thought maybe Obama was going to pull a _Sopranos_ and just end the speech in mid-thought. The tension was so unbearable he accidentally started yelling questions to Obama, and then when Obama said he wasn’t done, he accidentally kept yelling and then by mistake began arguing with Obama when Obama began to answer his question when the speech was over. What a crazy series of misunderstandings that was. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/16 "2012-06-15T21:16:03Z")
Don’t they usually tell reporters in advance if there is going to be a “questions” period? And doesn’t the President usually say something like “OK, now for your questions”? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/17 "2012-06-15T21:19:20Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Don’t they usually tell reporters in advance if there is going to be a “questions” period? And doesn’t the President usually say something like “OK, now for your questions”? I believe the press secretary tells them ahead of time if there will be questions, and yes, when he’s done speaking he’d say “I will now take some questions.” In this case Obama was just giving the speech and was not taking questions. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/18 "2012-06-15T21:20:45Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Please tell me the last President, besides Obama, that was called a liar while he was addressing the House. What Rep Joe Wilson did still pisses me off. But he’s an elected rep, not a journalist. The expected decorum is, and should be, different. > [@Marley](#): > > No, this is 100% inappropriate for a journalist. It’s not even within light years of acceptability. You might get into an argument during an interview, but you don’t go to a public event and interrupt someone when you’re supposed to be reporting. It’s hard to report on the president’s comments when you’re shouting over them and it’s not the best way to get your questions answered either. The guy wanted to make a spectacle of himself and he did, and since he’s apparently a partisan hack, he isn’t hiding that. I have no problem with escorting the guy out of the room if he is interfering with other journalist’s ability to ask questions, or the President’s answers, but journalists have been heckling the POTUS throughout the entire history of the United States. The idea that the press owes the POTUS some kind of decorum didn’t develop until the second half of the twentieth century, and now it’s fading again. And I’m just “meh” about that. Rep Wilson was a _complete_ douchebag and deserved to be censored for heckling the POTUS, but he’s not a private citizen. Carlson is. There is a fundamental difference there. A press conference operates under different rules than a congressional address. Carlson’s a douchebag, too, but… meh. At least he didn’t throw a shoe. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/19 "2012-06-15T21:23:31Z")
I am so very grateful that the Prez had enough dignity and self-esteem not to say, “You’re just hatin’ on me 'cuz I’m Black.” Didn’t he handle that well? Totally firm, dignified and on point. I am personally horrified when any American citizen makes rude remarks in public about any politician and miss the good old days when exposing one’s ugly side was saved for people’s spouses. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279/20 "2012-06-15T21:23:44Z")
This wasn’t a press conference, it was a speech in the fucking Rose Garden. You don’t fucking yell at the president (or anybody else) in the middle of the speech you’re supposed to be fucking covering. How basic is this? I don’t mind yelling questions at him during the question and answer period or as he’s leaving, but don’t interrupt the fucking speech. It’s not a president thing. It would be equally appropriate if it were a local politician. Hear the speech, _then_ ask questions. There is simply no situation in which that makes sense or is appropriate other than “I want to make a partisan point and call attention to myself.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-heckle-the-president-and-get-taken-out/625279.md?page=2)