[DRB]

Okay not really but I'm practicing for my headline writing career....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13335238/

President Bush, who often teases members of the White House press corps, apologized Wednesday after he poked fun at a reporter for wearing sunglasses without realizing they were needed for vision loss.

But even though the sun was behind the clouds, Wallsten still needs the sunglasses because he has Stargardt’s disease, a form of macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss. The condition causes Wallsten to be sensitive to glare and even on a cloudy day, can cause pain and increase the loss of sight.

Wallsten said Bush called his cell phone later in the day to apologize and tell him that he didn’t know he had the 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.

“He 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.

Sometimes you just put your foot in it.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

Huffington's take.

 

[DRB]

Huffington's take.

Oh Jesus....

 

[Old Man G Funk]

Oh Jesus....

Which part?

 

[DRB]

Which part?

The part about "no joking allowed" when there is a war going on.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

The part about "no joking allowed" when there is a war going on.

I think it's OK to have a rapport with reporters and joke with them, although there are times to be somber as well. It is an interesting point that is raised though about the psychological aspects.

 

[pixelninja]

While I think that W is a horrible president, I'd call this an honest mistake.

 

[DRB]

I think it's OK to have a rapport with reporters and joke with them, although there are times to be somber as well. It is an interesting point that is raised though about the psychological aspects.

If reporters are influenced by the "clowning" around or fear of being the butt of a joke then they are the ones with the problem not Bush. It is highly unlikely that someone who is affected by such things would be capable of writing a story that was factual and balanced.

It actually does explain a lot of what gets passed for journalism today.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

If reporters are influenced by the "clowning" around or fear of being the butt of a joke then they are the ones with the problem not Bush. It is highly unlikely that someone who is affected by such things would be capable of writing a story that was factual and balanced.

It actually does explain a lot of what gets passed for journalism today.

I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't good politiking by Bush. He should most definitely use it to his advantage. He would be stupid not to.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

While I think that W is a horrible president, I'd call this an honest mistake.

I think that's been pretty well established. Bush called and apologized. For his part, the guy on the receiving end was pretty cool about it.

 

[Echo]

I think that's been pretty well established. Bush called and apologized. For his part, the guy on the receiving end was pretty cool about it.

In politics, the one fact that is almost always true is that people generally whine the loudest about something they have nothing to do with.

 

[DRB]

In politics, the one fact that is almost always true is that people generally whine the loudest about something they have nothing to do with.

That should be the motto of the PWN.

 

[pepe]

The part about "no joking allowed" when there is a war going on.

 

[Silver]

I think that's been pretty well established. Bush called and apologized. For his part, the guy on the receiving end was pretty cool about it.

I'm sure he's heard the part about wearing sunglasses when it isn't sunny before. It's not like Bush is the only insensitive asshole in the world, y'know?

 

[pixelninja]

It's not like Bush is the only insensitive asshole in the world, y'know?

I'm not going to defend Bush on anything else, but how can he be an insensitive asshole (in this instance) if he didn't know the guy was blind?

 

[BurlyShirley]

Yeah, here's another classic example of people looking for something to bitch about. Who ever thought of a blind reporter? How can he even see what he's writing about anyway? Does he have a brail computer screen?
How the crap does that work?

 

[Silver]

I'm not going to defend Bush on anything else, but how can he be an insensitive asshole (in this instance) if he didn't know the guy was blind?

Well, a normal non-retarded person may think in the same situation that maybe, just maybe, a reporter from the LA Times may have a reason for wearing sunglasses when it isn't sunny out. (Edit: If he was talking to the entertainment media, none of this would apply. He wasn't, these are the normal political guys. They aren't wearing ripped jeans and a Von Dutch shirt...)

Much like when I see someone with a cane, I usually assume they need it to walk, and it's not merely a fashion statement, especially at work. The guy is wearing a suit, and he's not asking a joke question. There's also a bit of history with Bush here:

http://www.local6.com/news/9183711/detail.html

"You look mighty comfortable." To a guy in a wheelchair. Like I said, he's an insensitive asshole. And I'm sure it's not the first time, nor will it be the last time that Wallsten will deal with it.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Well, a normal non-retarded person may think in the same situation that maybe, just maybe, a reporter from the LA Times may have a reason for wearing sunglasses when it isn't sunny out. (Edit: If he was talking to the entertainment media, none of this would apply. He wasn't, these are the normal political guys. They aren't wearing ripped jeans and a Von Dutch shirt...)

Much like when I see someone with a cane, I usually assume they need it to walk, and it's not merely a fashion statement, especially at work. The guy is wearing a suit, and he's not asking a joke question. There's also a bit of history with Bush here:

http://www.local6.com/news/9183711/detail.html

"You look mighty comfortable." To a guy in a wheelchair. Like I said, he's an insensitive asshole. And I'm sure it's not the first time, nor will it be the last time that Wallsten will deal with it.

Posts like these make it hard to take you seriously.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

Yeah, here's another classic example of people looking for something to bitch about. Who ever thought of a blind reporter? How can he even see what he's writing about anyway? Does he have a brail computer screen?
How the crap does that work?

As I understand it, he's not 100% blind. He has a form of macular degeneracy that causes extreme sensitivity to incoming light. A cloudy day to him is like looking directly at a 100W light bulb. He can still see some though, as long as the incoming light is filtered down to lower levels of itensity.

 

[BurlyShirley]

As I understand it, he's not 100% blind. He has a form of macular degeneracy that causes extreme sensitivity to incoming light. A cloudy day to him is like looking directly at a 100W light bulb. He can still see some though, as long as the incoming light is filtered down to lower levels of itensity.

Oh wow. You guys are totally right. Bush should've known that from the get go

 

[DRB]

Oh wow. You guys are totally right. Bush should've known that from the get go

Other than Silver (though I'm not exactly sure what the hell he's talking about) no one is panning W for it.

 

[sanjuro]

Hey, he made a bad, but unintentional joke. He apologized. End of story.

Why don't we focus the criticism just on the war, economy, environment, invasion of privacy, lack of leadership, poor ratings, world opinion....

 

[Old Man G Funk]

Oh wow. You guys are totally right. Bush should've known that from the get go

Are you reading the same thread as the rest of us?

 

[Echo]

If I was GWB, I would do something exceptionally stupid about once a week, just to take everyone's focus off the fact that I started an illegal war that has killed thousands of innocent people, cost billions of dollars, created thousands of terrorists, caused the entire world to hate the USA, and accomplished none of the goals stated at the outset.

He's not as dumb as people think.

 

[N8 v2.0]

Posts like these make it hard to take you seriously.

Who even would attempt to take his post seriously anyway!

!

 

[N8 v2.0]

Hey, he made a bad, but unintentional joke. He apologized. End of story.

Why don't we focus the criticism just on the war, economy, environment, invasion of privacy, lack of leadership, poor ratings, world opinion....

Yes, were is all the news of the insurgency starting to crumble..???

 

[ohio]

Yes, were is all the news of the insurgency starting to crumble..???

They're waiting until the insurgency starts to crumble to release it.