President Obama Sorry for 'Insensitive' Special Olympics Dig on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno
BY Bill Hutchinson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
President Obama's historic appearance on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" was accompanied by a foot-in-the-mouth quip about the Special Olympics he later regretted.
Talking about his dismal bowling skills, Obama said he'd been practicing and had gotten his score up to 129.
"Oh, no, that's very good," Leno told Obama.
"It was like the Special Olympics or something," Obama joked, drawing laughter from the funnyman and his audience.
Conservative bloggers instantly seized on the President's remark, calling it "insensitive."
Before the pre-taped program even aired, White House officials were issuing a mea culpa.
"The President made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics," Obama spokesman Bill Burton told reporters on Air Force One after the taping.
Obama's unfortunate comment came just hours after he appeared with California First Lady Maria Shriver, whose mother founded the Special Olympics.
It's not the first time Obama's humor has gotten him in trouble. He apologized to former First Lady Nancy Reagan for making a crack about her consultations with an astrologer.
"I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any séances," Obama said at the time.
Reader Comments
I'M in special olympic's bowling
I'M disabled and have cerbral palsy my name is Katherine a Robideau yes i go bowling for special olympics area 27 Malone New York at lucky strikes we practice until novmeber we have tournment with other disable adult's then we get ribons or metals gold silver bronze i have a really great friend we bowl together we both use a ramp to put our bowling ball on and enjoy for every thing we do for ourself's plus my friend name is Joanne Yelle we both work together at North Star Industries.
obama
I think it jus tcame out wrong. We have all been there. In the heat of the moment said something out of contects, I'm sure we've all wished that we could take it back as well as I'm sure he does.
He was trying to make fun of himself,not anyone else. Get over it and move on.
If it were Bush who said it...
OMG the press would have been all over it! You Obama supporters would have crucified him for it. I wasn't a Bush fan but the press wouldn't have buried this story if it were him.
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