"Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?"

"Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (Full Version)

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Mercnbeth -> "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 12:57:42 PM)
Please note the quotation marks. That's not my assessment of the President nor his performance last night on 60 Minutes. However, if you work for, collect benefits, or have a business requiring a viable GM, Chrysler, or FORD; don't expect any more money from this Administration. The President thought the question was down right "laughable". While chuckling the President said; "The only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry," After a few more chuckles regarding the state of the economy the interviewer finally got a bit angry and said; "You're sitting here and you are laughing about some of these problems....Are people going to say, He's sitting there making jokes. ... Explain your mood and laughter. Are you punch drunk?" Link to Source which includes Video: PUNCH-DRUNK PRESIDENT What do you think...? Is he "punch-drunk" - Should you want to address the accusation label used in the question instead of the issues - feel free; but don't be mad at me; direct your calls and letters to that Conservative bastion '60 Minutes' and their correspondent Kroft. Do you think if the President spent less time preparing for and going on Leno or 60 Minutes, he would have been able to READ the Stimulus Budget and been able to eliminate some of Congress and Nancy Pelosi's Pork; or at least been aware of Dodd's inclusion of Bonus exempting language that he authorized by signing it, yet claiming he didn't know about it? However, there was some "good news" worth smiling about, if not laughing. Per the President's comments last night, all is well in Iraq; "If you had said to us a year ago that the least of my problems would be Iraq, which is still a pretty serious problem, I don't think anybody would have believed it." Credit where it is due; he has done well not "CHANGE!"-ing anything there hasn't he?

Lucylastic -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 1:25:28 PM)
Most punch drunk people I have had the pleasure of coming into contact with dont laugh a lot, in fact just the opposite, they turn on a dime and are unstable angry and "punchy" the symptoms of "punch drunk are .... The condition, commonly manifests as dementia, or declining mental ability, problems with memory, and parkinsonism, or tremors and lack of coordination. It can also cause speech problems and an unsteady gait. Patients with CTE may be prone to inappropriate or explosive behavior and may display pathological jealousy or paranoia. Individuals displaying these symptoms also can be characterized as "punchy," another term for a person suffering from dementia pugilistica. So basically hes saying the pres is demented, which...is his perogative and likely to appeal to anyone who disagrees with him, but the term is wrong, medically. They cant even insult him properly. Lucy Edited for mysterious O(the letter) problems

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 1:44:17 PM)
I think he does need to keep a shorter leash on his mouth, though. That smartass remark he made the other night on Jay Leno, about the Special Olympics bowling scores, was very tasteless and offensive to me. One of the things I've liked about him since Day One is that I could see immediately that he has a mean, nasty streak a mile wide; it's just that during the campaign he was very skilled at keeping it hidden. I think he'll be a much more effective president if he learns to control this caustic side of his personality a little better and a little more consistently.

Kirata -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 1:51:20 PM)
How about Biden's comment at the Gridiron? Biden explained Obama's absence by remarking that the President was busy getting ready for Easter, and then stage-whispered: "He thinks it's about him." This whole administration is turning into a regular travelling road show. K.

aravain -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 1:53:28 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ThatDamnedPanda I think he does need to keep a shorter leash on his mouth, though. Exactly. It's technically a way of 'trivializing' things to make people feel better... but for those who are more serious minded... it's important for concerns NOT to be trivialized. sigh

MadAxeman -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 1:56:21 PM)
He comes over as well balanced and with a sense of humour. Those that jump on every remark looking for controversy or a stick to beat him with seem less so. Bush had his own way of being funny, dancing, reinventing the English language and policy decisions.

Lucylastic -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 2:10:59 PM)
With all that the man has on his plate, with real fears of whats happening in the world not just at home, with all the support he isnt getting the fuck ups he has to deal with and get the blame for...so far!!! the guy needs a sense of humour, and there will always be those who dont like the way he expresses himself. Gallows humour is very edgy at times, the jokes that arise from it willl offend those who dont get it, but it is a way of getting thru the day and thru a problem, now admittedly I love gallows humour at all, it probably shows in some of my posts, I understand where it comes from. Yeah yeah I know he wanted the job, he should man up and take it or quit, wouldnt some people just love that. but sorry, He wont do it, he will catch flack for his sense of humour. Id rather laugh with him than at him like it was so easy to do with the previous one.

cpK69 -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 2:54:56 PM)
Par! Kim

DomKen -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 3:05:54 PM)
Looks to me like someone having a conversation reacting to the body language or facial expressions of the other participant. Anyway people laugh about all sorts of grim things. It's human nature. Watch people talking to or about someone who is dying. There will be laughter at some point. Yet more blowing anything and everything ou tof proportion.

slvemike4u -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 3:13:30 PM)
I believe President Obama characterized his chuckles as a case of whistling past the graveyard.....all in all much to do about nothing.

Raiikun -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 3:18:11 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Lucylastic Most punch drunk people I have had the pleasure of coming into contact with dont laugh a lot, in fact just the opposite, they turn on a dime and are unstable angry and "punchy" the symptoms of "punch drunk are .... The condition, commonly manifests as dementia, or declining mental ability, problems with memory, and parkinsonism, or tremors and lack of coordination. It can also cause speech problems and an unsteady gait. Patients with CTE may be prone to inappropriate or explosive behavior and may display pathological jealousy or paranoia. Individuals displaying these symptoms also can be characterized as "punchy," another term for a person suffering from dementia pugilistica. So basically hes saying the pres is demented, which...is his perogative and likely to appeal to anyone who disagrees with him, but the term is wrong, medically. They cant even insult him properly. Lucy Edited for mysterious O(the letter) problems To be fair, there is a less formal definition of "punch drunk" as well...(though interestingly I couldn't find it in the online dictionaries). Maybe it's a regional thing, I dunno. But I've long heard "punch drunk" used to describe that goofy state one sometimes finds oneself in where you can't help but laugh at things that normally you wouldn't laugh at. Maybe we should start using "Fruit Punch Drunk" for that to differentiate it from the medical condition that makes up the official definition, lol.

aravain -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 3:19:36 PM)
that's the definition I'm familiar with, too.

Vendaval -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 3:43:34 PM)
Having worked in social services/mental health for many years I certainly understand the gallows humor that comes into play when confronted with a steady stream of stress, crisises and human made disasters. You find the same type of humor with police and ER personnel.

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 3:59:24 PM)
Call it what you will, guys, it still represents a pattern I find unbecoming and disappointing. I don't care about the humor; what bothers me is the caustic, cutting, sometimes downright nasty edge to some of his wisecracks. Don't get me wrong, most of the people he's taking shots at - auto industry chieftains, AIG executives, various republican politicians - are people I dislike or downright despise myself, and in principle, it doesn't bother me in the least to see them getting skewered. No love lost here. It's just something I would like my President to be above, that's all. I'd like my President to have a little more dignity and a little more gravitas, and I don't think it reflects well upon him to keep slicing away like that every time he's on camera. To me, that's not effective leadership, and I'm disappointed. Also, as a former community organizer myself, I'm a little surprised to see it from him. One thing I learned pretty quickly when i was doing what he used to do for a living is that you never know when the guy you're having fun raking over the coals for the crowd is going to be the guy you need on your side when new issues arise. This shit may be playing well for the public right now, but he's already won the election, and he's not doing himself any favors with the people he's going to be needing to work with over the next 4, and hopefully 8, years. It's disappointing, and I would have hoped it would be beneath him. And more than anything, what troubles me the most is the way his apparent propensity for shooting from the hip leads to some very insensitive and hurtful remarks. That crack he made about the Special Olympics the other night was inexcusable, and if he has any sense he'll take it as a lesson to reign in that mouth. The press mostly gave him a pass on it, a honeymoon pass; but if that sort of thing becomes more of a pattern there's going to be a point where the press decides he's no longer their fairhaired boy, and they're going to light him up. And if it comes to that, he'll damned well deserve it. He should know better.

Vendaval -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 4:10:12 PM)
The Special Olympics comment was in poor taste. At least he has apologized for it.

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 4:13:39 PM)
I agree, and I give him credit for that at least. And I know it's not in any way a true reflection of how he feels about the disabled. I'd just like to see him use that episode as a starting point to sort of ease away from the type of behavior that leads to that sort of an incident in the first place. I hope he looks back in a few months and sees that as a lesson learned.

Vendaval -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 4:21:43 PM)
That would be a wise move on his part and no doubt the PR staff are making that very suggestion.

rulemylife -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 4:24:14 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth However, if you work for, collect benefits, or have a business requiring a viable GM, Chrysler, or FORD; don't expect any more money from this Administration. The President thought the question was down right "laughable". While chuckling the President said; "The only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry," I thought you would be ecstatic over this since we shouldn't reward failure, as you have said endlessly.

paul12000 -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 4:28:53 PM)
In most of those cases where he has a blunder of the mouth, he doesn't have his TOTUS (Telempromper Of The United States) with him to tell him what to say, and then there are times where he has the thing, and it makes him blunder up his words anyways. There are plenty of teleprompter stories in the archives, and some news reporters are getting tired of the thing following him around all the time. I'm very curious to see if all his speeches and jokes get that sort of blunder when he doesn't have his travelling read along book.

rulemylife -> RE: "Mr. President; Are you 'Punch-drunk'?" (3/23/2009 4:38:50 PM)
You know, this was brought up here during the campaign as well. And I fail to see the difference between using a teleprompter and using note cards or sheets of paper, other than yet one more ridiculous attempt to discredit the man over nothing.

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