Blasting McCain’s latest ad, Obama meant to say the 30-second spot featured Britney Spears. Instead he said Hillary Clinton. Oops, he did it again. Check it out:
When McCain messes up, it’s because he’s old, he’s confused, and he’s possibly got Alzheimer’s. But when Obama makes a gaffe, it’s because he hasn’t gotten his beauty rest. Fawning journalists are awash with concern about how tireless the One is working — not just for the sake of America, but the entire world! Under the headline, “Is Obama Getting Enough Sleep,” CBS News’ Michelle Levi reports, “the Illinois senator is showing signs of fatigue.” Well, perhaps White House schedulers — I mean Obama’s campaign staffers — can work in a little nap time for Obama in between his trips to the gym. Last year, after saying Kansas tornadoes killed 10,000 people instead of the 12, Obama told reporters (eager to lap up his explanations), “There are going to be times when I get tired,” he said. “There are going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when I make mistakes.” Obama used the same explanation when he said only nine or ten people died in the Holocaust — omitting the crucial word million — and journalists once again lapped it up. When Obama said there were 57 states too, the media didn’t poke fun of him (was he thinking about varieties of ketchup?) so much as express concern with his physical well-being. Which isn’t to say Obama’s explanation is all that far-fetched. My problem is just that when McCain says Sunni instead of Shia, reporters leap on it as if it revealed a lack of expertise — as if it were some window into McCain’s soul.