# Worst Screw-Ups/Acts of Stupidity in the Public Eye. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2002, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300 "2002-12-17T10:34:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/61 "2002-12-19T19:32:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*“Space travel is utter blige.” > – Sir Richard Wolley, 1950s Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, obviously not keeping pace with the Colonies or Mother Russia. > \*\* There’s more to it than that. [From here](http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/aasmemoirs/woolley.htm) "Then there was space research. His ‘utter bilge’ comment that was provoked as he stepped out of an aeroplane after a delayed 36-hour flight from Australia should be forgotten. But sadly his subsequently rather obstinate attitude is reckoned to have held Britain back from playing an adequate role in ‘space science’. Of course his attitude was understandable. For year after year he saw money going into ‘space’ in Europe without much scientific return, money that could have transformed ground-based astronomy. Much of the fault was with the way, most calculated to antagonise the astronomers, in which the finance was administered. " A lot of these “Sketpcial scientists said something doubtful about something that turned out to be true” are often taken out of context or invented out of thin air. Lord Kelvin getting the worst abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/62 "2002-12-19T20:25:45Z")
The picture of Gary Hart with Donna Rice on his lap. On a boat named _Monkey Business_. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/63 "2002-12-19T21:05:42Z")
“I don’t think he’s read the report in detail. It’s five and a half pages, double spaced.” - Larry Speakes, when asked if President Reagan has read the House report on the latest Beirut truck bombing, 10/5/84 “I read every comic strip in the paper.” - Ronald Reagan, 10/25/84 * * * “(the Soviet Union) is the focus of evil in the modern world…an evil empire.” -Ronald Reagan, 3/8/83 “There is today in the United States as much forest as there was when Washington was at Valley Forge.” - Ronald Reagan, 3/5/83 “(Nazi soldiers) were victims, just as sure as the victims in the concentration camps.” -Ronald Reagan, 4/18/85 “How are you Mr. Mayor? I’m glad to meet you. How are things in your city?” - Ronald Reagan’s greeting to the only African American member of his cabinet, Housing Secretary Samuel Pierce, 6/12/81 ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/64 "2002-12-19T21:10:55Z")
Italian pop singer Laura Pausini appeared on stage one night in an outdoor theater in Monterrey, with TV cameras present and rolling. The spotlights all centered on her, a swarm of moths suddenly became attracted to her bright costume and started congregating on her. She made a comment to the effect of “I can’t work like this” and stormed off stage–of couse, the music track, including her voice, continued. Another one from Mexico: Britney Spears gives a universal one-fingered salute upon arrival, and then at concert time walks off stage after four songs. My favorite quip by Quayle (or “intellectual midget,” as Nixon called him) is the bit from Hawaii. Looking like he had one too many Mai Tais on Dinner Cruise Package “A”, Quayle offered this geopolitical insight: > [@](#): > > Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here. Also the falls from holy fortune by televangelists Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, both caught less pantaloons. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/65 "2002-12-20T03:17:13Z")
Richard Nixon, hung over (still a little bit drunk) “You won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore” 1962 after losing the race for California Governor. Sally Fields accepting Academy Award: “You like me. You really, really like me” That one was VERY hard to watch. I remember the audience clapping politely with amused, bewildered looks on their faces. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/66 "2002-12-20T05:26:49Z")
> [@](#): > > “(the Soviet Union) is the focus of evil in the modern world…an evil empire.” > -Ronald Reagan, 3/8/83 I’d hardly back up everything ol’ Ronnie said, but… you gotta problem with that? BTW, what _are_ the apparently edited portions of your quotations? ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/67 "2002-12-20T06:40:07Z")
Regarding the “evil empire” quote **Ringo** , [this article](http://www.remeberjohn.com/reaganbush.html) sheds some light on the subject. Among the highlights: > [@](#): > > “…Saudi born Osama bi Laden was recruited during the Soviet-Afghan war ‘ironically under the auspices of the CIA to fight Soviet invaders.’ With the active encouragement of (Ronald Reagan’s) CIA, and Pakistan’s ISI (Inter Services Intelligence), who wanted to turn the Afghan jihad into a global war waged by all Muslim states against the Soviet Union, some 35,000 Muslim radicals from 40 Islamic countries joined Afghanistan’s fight between 1982 and 1992. Tens of thousands more came to study in Pakistani madrasahs. Eventually, more than 100,000 Muslim radicals were directly influenced by the Afghan jihad. The Islamic ‘jihad’ was supported by the United States and Saudi Arabia with a significant part of the funding generated from the Golden Crescent drug trade. In March, 1985, President Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 166,…[which] authorize[d] stepped up covert military aid to the mujahiddin, and it made clear that the Afghan war had a new goal: to defeat Soviet troops in Afghanistan through covert action and encourage a Soviet withdrawl. The new covert U.S. assistance began with a dramatic increase in arms supplies – a steady rise to 65,000 tons by 1987,…as well as a ‘ceaseless stream’ of CIA and Pentagon specialists who traveled to the secret headquarters of Pakistan’s ISI on the main road near Rawalpindi, Pakistan. There the CIA specialists met with Pakistani intelligence officers to help plan operations for the Afghan rebels.” and > [@](#): > > “In camps near Peshawar [near the Afghanistan Border] and in Afghanistan, these radicals met each other for the first time and studied, trained and fought together. It was the first opportunity for most of them to learn about Islamic movements in other countries, and they forged tactical and ideological links that would serve them well in the future. The camps became virtual universities for future Islamic radicalism. None of the intelligence agencies involved wanted to consider the consequences of bringing together thousands of Islamic radicals from all over the world. ‘What was more important in the world view of history? The Taliban or the fall of the Soviet Empire? A few stirred up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War?’ said Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former U.S National Security Adviser.” also > [@](#): > > “The war’, wrote Samuel Huntington, 'left behind an uneasy coalition of Islamist intent on promoting Islam against all non-Muslim forces. It also left a legacy of expert and experienced fighters, training camps and logistical facilities, elaborate trans-Islam networks of personal and organization relationships, a substantial amount of military equipment including 300 to 500 unaccounted-for Stinger missiles, and, most important, a heady sense of power and self-confidence over what had been achieved and a driving desire to move on to other victories.” ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/68 "2002-12-20T06:41:09Z")
> [@](#): > > “Only in America!” > – Don King. [Actually commenting on the first Jewish leader of Ireland.] Sorry to nitpick but I think that quote is attributed to Yogi Berra (and, if so, it was hardly a career-killing screw-up but instead a case of Yogi being Yogi)\> ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/69 "2002-12-20T10:21:39Z")
Couild someone provide some info about the whole Farrah Fawcett thing? I’ve heard it referred to many times over the years, but I’m unclear as to what actually transpired. All I know is she went on Letterman and acted weird, but how? What did she do or say? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/70 "2002-12-20T13:55:16Z")
Have you ever tried to have a conversation with a woman who was stoned out of her mind? Imagine you try to start a conversation about, say, how badly the Bengals suck, and she laughs like a hyena for 30 seconds, then suddenly stops, thrusts our her hand and demands to know, in all utter seriousness: “Do you like my nail polish?” That would be Farrah with Dave. It was embarrassing to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Diff\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Diff\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diff_T)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/71 "2002-12-24T05:29:30Z")
I just saw Terry Bradshaw on Leno… The man’s out of his gourd! ---
**Author:** ![Protesilaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/72 "2002-12-24T08:31:10Z")
As for embarrassing Letterman moments, no one’s mentioned Drew Barrymore’s table dance yet. In a faculty meeting in 1994, Francis Lawrence, then-president of Rutgers University said: “The average SAT for African Americans is 750. . . . Do we set standards in the future so that we don’t admit anybody with the national test? Or do we deal with a disadvantaged population that doesn’t have that genetic hereditary background to have a higher average?” ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/73 "2002-12-24T21:15:17Z")
A jetlagged Gerald Ford stumbling on his way out of Air Force One. The real tragedy, of course, was that so little of note happened during his administration that _that’s the most memorable moment of it_. The entire damn Nancy Kerrigan debacle from start to finish. She gets sledgehammered into a ludicrous “Madonna” role (with the moronic sports media discussing this like it’s _normal_), placed on an impossibly high pedestal, and compared to a friggin’ angel in the Olympics. And then for winning the silver (which she most definitely deserved, if not bronze), she gets thrown into the most cheesy, manufactured backdrop in the world. Can I really fault here for displaying a little honesty, which she was no doubt _starved_ for at that point? The OJ Simpson trial prosecution. If they charge conspiracy to commit murder, which is almost certainly the crime he was guilty of, it’s a slam dunk. Instead, they get starry-eyed and go for the grand slam, murder one, this despite the fact that _they weren’t even able to find the murder weapon or bloody clothes_. Probably thought this would fit into the “fall of grace” which recently befell a bunch of sports stars, like Jennifer Capriati…wait a minute, what do you mean “she’s still playing?” Anyway, you know the rest. Michael Jordan’s 200th comeback. You know, MJ, future generations, who won’t be blinded by the aura of hype you built during the Bulls dynasties, are going to be watching your old games with open eyes, and they’ll see someone who got a ton of leeway from the referees that lesser players would never get, and who also had the benefit of one of the greatest coaches in history and a rock-solid supporting cast, including the best Bulls forward _ever_ who, incredibly, is treated like a pariah now, and they’re going to be a lot less forgiving of this constant career flipflopping than your current fans are. Keith Olbermann leaving Sportscenter for the bright lights of Noo Yawk…and proving that Dan Patrick Did It All By Himself. Roberto Duran saying “No Mas”. Oliver McCall bursting into tears. Andrew Golota fouling out of a fight he was _winning_. The Ear Bite. Sheesh, can’t anyone just take a dive anymore? Oh yeah, Bob Knight repeated that “relax and enjoy it” comment. It’s incredible the longevity some utterly moronic statements have. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/74 "2002-12-24T22:33:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > \*\*A jetlagged Gerald Ford stumbling on his way out of Air Force One. The real tragedy, of course, was that so little of note happened during his administration that _that’s the most memorable moment of it_. > \*\* The one I remember is the one where he praised the people of Israel at a dinner for Anwar Sadat. He quickly said “…uh, I MEAN EGYPT!” but everybody was already laughing at him, including Sadat. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/75 "2002-12-25T01:52:39Z")
Speaking of Letterman, how about that whole thing with Richard Simmons dressed up as a turkey? ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/76 "2002-12-25T02:57:53Z")
Does anyone else still remember Governor Bill Clinton’s 1988 speech to the Democratic Convention? I remember seeing that and thinking his national political career was dead after that stinker. He was scheduled to speak for a few minutes to introduce Michael Dukakis. Instead he goes on for about 45 minutes (it seemed like two hours) on his opinions on just about anything, and seems to forget that the event isn’t _his_ campaign speech. People start chanting for him to go away and walking out of the auditorium. The only applause Clinton got was when he stated “And in closing”… The speech was designed to introduce the then unkown governor to a national audience of Democrats. And all he did was bable forever and bore people far more than Dukakis ever did. That incident seems to have been forgoten, but it was really, truly, awful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/77 "2002-12-25T04:59:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by asterion \* > \*\*Speaking of Letterman, how about that whole thing with Richard Simmons dressed up as a turkey? \*\* That was damned strange, but I wouldn’t consider it too big a deal. They were basically goofing around on camera. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/78 "2002-12-25T05:14:18Z")
1886, James Blaine (Republican) is barely defeated for the presidency by Grover Cleaveland. Days before the election, a Protestant minster at a rally that Blaine is speaking at calls the Democrats a party for, “rum, Romanism and rebellion.” Blaine fails to refute the minsters claim, and alienates some of his support-base, costing him vital votes. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/79 "2002-12-26T01:50:26Z")
Re Louise Lasser on SNL: That era has been rerun a number of times in the past 15 or so years. As I recall, in all the times I’ve seen those reruns, that episode has always been included, including that fiasco of an introduction, followed by her retreat to her dressing room. Some cable channel (Nick at Night?) showed 30-minute editions of the shows. I don’t remember if her episode was one of them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if her intro was omitted. Re Rush Limbaugh: a member of the SDMB who actually saw the Chelsea incident [describes it.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1697857#post1697857) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300/80 "2002-12-26T04:29:21Z")
I don’t know who goofed, Parks (probably) or the director (possibly), but the names Parks was reading did not match with the people being shown. And the funny witticisms he was given banter with Gary Collins. Embarrassing. Collins laughed it up as best he could, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable about Parks’s bombing out after such a heralded return. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-screw-ups-acts-of-stupidity-in-the-public-eye/143300.md?page=5)