IT’S HARD to understand how anyone could make this particular mistake, first reported by Buzzfeed. The only way it breaks down is that the death camps were in Poland, so they were “Polish death camps.” It’s ridiculous to anyone knowing history, which I’m certain Pres. Obama does.
It’s a lot easier to understand making a gaffe like this if you know what it’s like to speak often, have a packed daily agenda, going from one daily crisis to another.
However, if you’re someone who never or rarely speaks in public it’s impossible to relate.
It’s unfortunate, but it happens to the best of them.
Sean Hannity regularly makes fun of Pres. Obama whenever he misspeaks. It’s a favorite tactic of the right, but considering all the flack they took during George W. Bush’s gafferiffic presidency it is obviously too hard to resist.
The Poles were not amused. The gaffe by Pres. Obama now leading news on the Polish Prime Minister’s website.
This post has been updated.
Although, it appears, from his head movement, the he is reading off of a Teleprompter rather than speaking extemporaneously, as would be expected in this type of situation. So, even though it is likely that Mr. Obama knows his history, the recent poly-sci grads that write his speaches for him do not.
As they say in political ass-covering, it was a STAFF ISSUE.
Meh… I didn’t get rankled at Bush’s gaffes and I don’t get rankled at Obama’s gaffes. Especially with the amount of speaking they have to do. Can’t be perfect. But I guess it’s fun to “get the gaffer”. I guess…
“Sean Hannity regularly makes fun of Pres. Obama whenever he misspeaks.”
I’m waiting to see if OLielly, you knoe…the history teacher who claimed even after being shown the error of his claims that the US troops committed atrocities at Malmady France says anything.