One year in office, and the Obama Administration is getting itself into trouble by being too blunt and outspoken, and not carefully considering what is said. This could be called Foot In Mouth Disease!
President Obama said that in order to be responsible and prepare for college for one’s child, one should avoid going on vacation to Las Vegas and spending the money on gambling. He actually is correct, but Nevadans were angry over the remark, and Senator Harry Reid protested.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that Hurricane Katrina forced a reassessment of education in New Orleans, and that therefore, it was greatly improved because of that tragedy. This caused an obvious uproar in New Orleans, and Duncan apologized for his use of language.
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel complained about liberal groups who criticized and refused to cooperate with the President, calling them “retards”and using foul language, and ended up apologizing to Tim Shriver, head of the Special Olympics, but was still bitterly criticized by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who has a Downs Syndrome child. This time, Sarah Palin actually was correct in her response to Emanuel’s thoughtless statement.
In the first two cases, the reality is that Obama and Duncan were correct. In the case of Rahm Emanuel, he has never been noted for diplomacy or clean language, and in that sense, often is a detriment to the President.
When one is a public official, he needs to think clearly before he speaks, but since all human beings have this fault, we can be critical, but still have realization that Foot In Mouth Disease is a normal trait! 🙂