Media concentrates on Perry’s gaffes, but what about Obama’s latest?

I read it at Heritage first, because, well, they’re about the only people I see reporting it:

It is gratifying to see President Barack Obama condemn the disgraceful storming of the British Embassy in Tehran by thugs acting at the behest of the Iranian regime. After all, Obama has been notoriously slow in the past to criticise the brutal actions of the Iranian government after initially extending the hand of friendship to it. But did he really need to make another embarrassing foreign policy gaffe while doing so?

In a press conference this evening, the president referred in stumbling fashion to the β€œEnglish Embassy” in Iran instead of the British Embassy. One can only imagine the kind of howls of derision that would greet any presidential contender if that kind of basic error were made before, say, the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can watch the video above.

In case the president is unaware, England forms part of Great Britain, which also includes Scotland and Wales, though not Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. There is no such thing as an β€œEnglish” embassy anywhere in the world, and there hasn’t been one for several centuries.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this latest slip-up by President Obama. After all he recently described FranceΒ as America’s closest ally, and famously declared that he has traveled toΒ no less than 57 states. But it would be nice if the leader of the free world bothered to look at a map once in a while, or even paid a visit to theBritish EmbassyΒ in Washington, currently housing the Churchill bust that Mr. Obama unceremoniously threw out of the Oval Office soon after his inauguration.

The President quickly recovered from the gaffe just seconds later, as shown in this short video, but that’s not really the point. Β The point is this President, alongside his “gravitas-lending” Vice President Joe Biden, are virtual gaffe machinesΒ – President Obama’s seem to happen most often when he doesn’t have the benefit of the TOTUS. Β  Yet the only gaffes the media seem intent on focusing intently on with round the clock coverage saturation are those made by Republicans, especially those running for President, like Texas Governor Rick Perry, and those who considered running but passed up the opportunity, like former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin – who has oftentimes been attacked for “gaffes” she didn’t even make.

MediaWhat’s even more infuriating is the differences in how the media characterizes via insinuation gaffes made by Democrats (when they are reported) versus Republicans. Β In the cases of GWB, Palin, and Perry (among others), their gaffes – in minds of the elite media, anyway – were/are strong indicators of a “profound lack of intellectual curiosity”, and were a flashing red siren that the politico who uttered them was unfit for even local political office, much less the highest office in the land (and let’s not forget about how country accents are mocked). Yet when Obama makes a gaffe, Β it’s because he’s “tired” and/or “overworked” – or “under a lot of pressure.” Biden’s gaffes? They’re “endearing.” Ya know, “his heart was in the right place, by golly!” Β The standard is rarely EVER the same for both sides when it comes to the mainstream media’s portrayal of flubs and slips of the tongue by people in positions in power.

In an ideal world, most political gaffes would get minimal to no coverage, no matter who they came from. Β Everyone makes gaffes, not just us regular folks but the people we elect to represent us as well. Β Most of the time, as is the case with Obama, they recover from it and move on. But the media and their Democrat allies Β have helped create this false sense of a candidate and/or politico having to be “perfectly well-spoken and articulate” in order to be considered qualified for elected office. Β But in the event that candidate/politico who is prone to gaffes is a liberal Democrats, as in the case of O’Biden, Β the same rules – of course – don’t apply.

Yeah, I know this is the world we live in and it’s a double standard that will Β never change, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Β Β [-x

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