Not funny: Barack Obama laughs at Wanda Sykes "joke" about wanting Rush Limbaugh dead
Posted By: Toby Harnden (U.K. Telegraph)
What was Wanda Sykes thinking? Perhaps more to the point, what was President Barack Obama thinking when he laughed and smiled as the comedienne wished Rush Limbaugh dead?
Although the Left is reporting her White House Correspondents' Dinner speech as "taking shots" at Limbaugh and mocking everyone, that's a gross misrepresentation of what turned into a hateful and disgusting diatribe.
I was at the dinner and I began by laughing at Sykes's gentle teases about the press loving Obama so much they never capture him on film smoking but often seem to get him on the beach.
It was amusing when she quipped that Obama trying so hard to be all things to all men that the next thing is he'll be seen mowing the White House lawn.
But the speech took a very ugly turn when she laid into Limbaugh.
This is what she said: "Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails, so you're saying, 'I hope America fails', you're, like, 'I dont care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq'. He just wants the country to fail. To me, that's treason.
"He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight."
She then concluded: "Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs." Obama seemed to think this bit was pretty hilarious, grinning and chuckling and turning to share the "joke" with the person sitting on his right.
There's not much room for differing interpretations of what Sykes said. She called Limbaugh a terrorist and a traitor, suggested that he be tortured and wished him dead.
What was his crime? Hoping that Obama's policies - which he views as socialist - will fail.
That's way, way beyond reasoned debate or comedy and Obama's reaction to it was astonishing.
Imagine if a comedian "joked" that Obama was a terrorist who was guilty of treason and should be tortured and allowed to die. There would justifiably be an outcry.
But when the "joke" comes from a liberal, Obama-supporting comedienne and the target is a right-winger then the likes of Hilary Rosen and Donna Brazile are on CNN saying it's just comedy and Limbaugh is "fair game".
And Obama laughing when someone wishes Limbaugh dead? Hard to take from the man who promised a new era of civility and elevated debate in Washington.
Watch the video. What do you think?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_harnden/blog/2009/05/10/not_funny_bara...
No Romeo
Isn't amazing how badly the press is in the tank for Obama, that you have to go to a British paper to find someone in the press to express outrage, let alone dismay, over wishing someone dead in a press dinner, and have the President chuckling like.. can't find the appropriate word to express a combination of disgust and dismay. We have a nation of Pravdas in the MSM. The party line, and support of the dear leader, no matter what.
1Limbaugh is not a member of the press, and he was not in attendance. How does he end up the target of a "joke" in the first place? I believe that is not in keeping with the history or tradition of that dinner, where roasts are targeted at solely those in attendance.
2So many things to say here. Aside from wishing someone dead and the President not being able to contain his amusement,
1. When was the last time anyone got THAT upset about something Rush Limbaugh said? It's like someone started paying attention about 10 years too late.
2. If all else fails and you need some filler, insert joke about addiction to prescription drugs.
3. Woman with annoying voice and tired act makes fun of man with annoying voice and tired act. So fresh! Sometimes she's funny, and sometimes he makes a good point, but we've heard it before. Pick a sitcom from the last 40 years and you'll find a Wanda Sykes and a Rush. Mama from Mama's Family, Archie Bunker. George Jefferson. The grandpa on Everybody loves Raymond. Annoying! Done and done! I hardly want either of them to drop dead though. Just shutting up would be fine!
3Its a black thing. Its a liberal thing. Its a black liberal thing. Its okay when they do it but not when it's the other way.
4***************
"I will marshall all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
I agree GPa. I noticed this piece was from the UK. It is interesting that other members of the press outside of the US agree that Sikes was way out of line but you can't find anyone in the US press corp that will say that.
5One of the techniques which has been commonly employed since the election is the creation of a kind of bogeyman, in this case Rush Limbaugh saying things he didn't say. I wouldn't bother to defend Rush because one either seems to enjoy what he says or discard what he says, but it is the constant misquoting of people that seems grossly unfair here: the concept of the straw man reminds me of when Hitler created his own press against his enemies by orchestrating something and then attributing it to them.
Mr. Obama has said similar things which no one in the press bothers to correct concerning "the same old economic policies tat got us in this mess." It's clearly untrue that our economic problems had anything to do with tax cuts. Our problems go much deeper than that and are essentially concerned with our lack of manufacturing base in this country and our concern for the generation of profit out of very little of substance indeed. During our latest issues with the mortgage bankers, this had to do with people making money on essentially nothing and then disappearing so that only the ones at the bottom were hurt. The solution to this crisis hasn't been any better because it is inarguably true that the government money, paid for by the tax payers (or rather deferred to the tax payers) which has been released to the banks is still sitting in the banks because they refuse to loan it out until the economy improves!!
I also tend to think that perhaps the greater the mean-spiritedness, the closer the person being criticized is getting to a grain of truth about economics. You can't put money into the economy unless you get it out of the banks!
6It's a black thing? interesting...
7This story makes me soooo mad.
8wishing someone would die? ever heard of Karma Wanda?
9what a classy lady.
i rarely use this word, but all i can think of is "what a f-ing c%nt",
excuse my language.
~~~~~
The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.
10you're excused. :)cause I know I thought it.
11***************
"I will marshall all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
Oh, for f@ck sakes! It's not supposed to be serious! That's the point.
12wishing someone's death is never nice even in jest. I think we all know she attempts to be a comedian.
13***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
rock, those very same folks in that audience who laughed and clapped, went ballistic in the MSM when McCain and Palin did not immediately jump on some guy at an election rally for a perceived hateful remark shouted out by some person attending the outdoor rally. The President represents us all, and should be setting a better example.
14exactly Grandpa, laughing about a civilian dying of kidney failure is not funny. especially since i'm sure kidney failure is MUCH worse than waterboarding.
~~~~~
The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.
15It is, a friend of mines father died of kidney favor a few years back. Another very close friend of mine died of cancer, but was on Dialyses the last three or four tragic years of her life. She was the most giving caring woman next to my wife that I have ever known.
16I *used* to think Sykes was funny.
Wishing death on a person and targeting them by name is never good manners.
There's good-natured mocking, and there's hate speech, covered with a thin veneer of "humor". These remarks crossed the line.
To top it off, the White House--two days later--has apparently claimed that 9/11 is not an appropriate topic for humor. The belated butt-covering is the nearest they've come to true "transparency" yet.
More left-wing hypocrisy.
17===================================
Conservative in exile
Washington and Sacramento: Stealing our children's futures.
I watched the whole thing and I was in shock that she was even aloud to get up there, she is notorious for making jokes about issues that arent funny, I loved the one about how buff michelles arms are and all the "white women" before her shouldnt have ever shown theirs and worn ponchos instead, and how they better nail down the statue of sojourner because the next "white guy" that comes along will put her in the kitchen.
Its tolerated because she is black, because she is a lesbian and because she is a democrat.
18it is tolerated because those listening are either like minded or cowards.
19***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
the 9/11 joke was appalling.
A person with class would immediately wipe the smile off their face and take a very somber and reproachful look...
20"A person with class"- key phrase and point.
21***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
I find it interesting that there happens to be a new social trend which evidently allows certain behavior if someone belongs to some particular group. For example, if someone is being loud and obnoxious in public, if he happens to be black, no one asks him to calm down and mind his manners. Years ago this was explained to me by a well-meaning superior that this was part of their cultural heritage. As always my mouth moved before I could prevent it and I said that the person needs to forget his culture and start finding some manners. I received a shock look of disgust in return and I knew I had done a bad thing.
22On another level, look at how, say, that moron president of Iran (who looks like he should be running a 7/11, doesn't he? Why doesn't he ever wear a tie??) rants about exterminating Israel. Once again, no one thinks of telling the little rodent to shut up and find some civility if he ever wants to deal with civilization again. If someone from Israel were to say some similar thing about another group, that wouldn't be tolerated. Why do we allow some groups to hide their bad behavior behind a cultural excuse? To me it's just sad.
Frankly I am sick of the cultural excuse, especially in our own country. if you want to dress like a mummy at home, that's fine, but you're in America now...no hyphenated Americans are allowed. pick which one you want to be and try and blend in the best you can. If you need help, please ask, but please stop defending your stupid behavior by the first amendment. At the very least, the first amendment protects me from having to listen to garbage when it has clearly crossed the line. The term "edgy" is just another word to describe inappropriate behavior.
Sorry for the ad hominem at the Persian guy: I lived with a liberal for a while.
BRAVA
23***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
Eleu
24whoa! great comments eleu!
25why is it the biggest whiners are the most likely to turn around and be hateful, judgmental and vengeful? (I guess they're just "-ful" of something....)
26===================================
Conservative in exile
Washington and Sacramento: Stealing our children's futures.
I thought Eleu's comments sounded bigoted... Well, the black yelling thing is a tricky subject, i was more offended that the professor said it was their culture to yell. But the 7-eleven thing seems really racist, no matter how evil a politician is. and on the mummy look?Obviously the majority of non-middle eastern people do not find the way some middle eastern people dress particularly attractive or fashionable, however, what's the point of having a free democratic country if we're going to expect people to dress to fit in with 'real americans'? Lots of 'real americans' wear stuff that looks horrible too but there's just no room in the budget for a fashion police. And some Americans become muslim too and start wearing muslim outfits...its a free country...i know mao made everyone dress the same in china for a while and people were not happy about it! Even in the middle east tourists have to dress in certain ways that we don't here, and its an inconvenience for us just as tourists, if we accept immigrants, how they dress should be the last concern.
"no one thinks of telling the little rodent to shut up and find some civility if he ever wants to deal with civilization again" when he talked about exterminating israel.... i don't get this either, sorry im not trying to start a fight but your whole comment really shocked me and then everyone agreeing with it also shocked me. but you must know that some leaders actually boycotted the conference that he made those remarks at (including obama) because they knew he was going to talk about that again as its one of his favorite subjects. THEN other western leaders protested by leaving the room as he was speaking. the reason nobody gets to boss this guy around is because he has nukes and we don't want to get bombed. so its kind of the wrong time to tell him he needs civility... would you want to be the one to tell him that and put your country at risk? i just wish people would have respected the fact that it was a discussion and verbally criticized his ideas instead of walking out, implying that he is not worth their time. but maybe they are scared to criticize his ideas as like i said he has nukes
27I don't know. As someone who takes OxyContin on a regular basis (and I'm guessing mixes those pills in with a nice alcoholic cocktail), I'm guessing he's gonna do the job of killing himself without anyone jokingly hoping that he dies.
28that avatar looks like someone has been hitting the steroids em.
****************************************
29"Cinco de Cuatro,"
President Barack Obama
The man was detoxed 6 years ago, isn't about time to let it go? I wish they could have caught te likes of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, John Belushi, Dorothy Dandridge, Elvis Presley, Gerry Garcia, Billy Holiday, Frankie Lymon, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, heck even Sigmund Freud. The list is endless.
30you said it GP.
No one is making fun of Al Gore Jr or Joe Biden's daughter. Drug addiction and alcoholism are not funny.
****************************************
31"Cinco de Cuatro,"
President Barack Obama
snowy we have no problem with people wearing what the want but expecting others to dress the same. It was not western society that stated if a women wore a short skirt it was okay to rape her. Modern muslims or those not fanatic wear what the want but travel to a predominately religious muslim nation and that stops. You will be covered one way or another and you can kiss a lot of "your" ways goodbye. As for a little sh*t having nukes - that is not an excuse not to tell him to shove it up his ass besides he keeps saying its for power when his oil runs out, when he is not threatening the only democracy in the region.
the point is, if a republican president had laughed at say: gee maybe someone will bite mike tyson's tattooed head off or anderson cooper will choke on his own closeted ego or that STD that Obambi gave Matthews will spread like cancer and kill him; the MSM would have been going after him and the comic - here because they are liberals and possibly because they are black - zip. It is okay for liberals to be venomous but that can't take it when its given right back at them. They sit and cry for days about it on the tv and radio. or form witch hunts.
32***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
Snowy:
I think that you may miss my point: the issue is, indeed, partially that of racism, I agree. However, I believe that it is the height of racism to NOT mention issues when they reside like the proverbial elephant in the room. It was not, for example, lacking in any racism to encourage self responsibility in the black communities by Bill Cosby: it was somehow acceptable (and in that barely so) because he was black. To me, this doesn't make any sense. I will state categorically that it is the failure to correct bad behavior or speak up for acceptable behavior which has created this issue.
Further, emphasizing differences, especially with the growing problem of Sharia law being implemented in various communities, I maintain that this is being fed by the insistence of Muslim dress, almost exclusively for women. I also maintain that when you come to our country, you agree to abide by our rules. No one would tolerate or fail to castigate a white man who was abusing his wife by restricting her behavior the way it is traditionally done in many Muslim customs. Although unpopular and you have the right to be shocked, I maintain that a wife is entitled to her freedoms under our system. Thus I regard this manner of dress as part of the chattel system Muslim tradition employs.
I find it also significant that it is the Muslim tradition which maintains this unbalanced relationship between men and women. I recall Benazir Bhutto in her book Reconciliation drawing heavily on the specifics about equality. They killed her for saying things like this. I am thoroughly glad that while we (women) may have overreacted to a kind of equality of rights, our treatment is somewhat more in accordance today with what is actually said in these religious tomes than has been practiced. Thus I only maintain that equality of rights be provided to those who are under the stigma of rebellious behavior.
As for the president of Iran, you seem to agree in suggesting that he be publicly reprimanded. However I think there are better reasons why we don’t rather than fear of retaliation. I maintain that western civilization has been rendered somewhat inert by a collective guilt over various iniquities we have perpetrated. I think accepting responsibility for the past is important, but wringing our hands and asking "Who are we to make judgments after the things we have done?" is pointless and self-defeating. One cannot prosper by sticking his or her head in the sand and throwing up hands in despair. This is exactly what I believe the liberal agenda has brought us in our modern world. It takes courage to move forward and on occasion stand up for what we believe is right. Screwing things up and being guilty is just part of life. So is ensuring that others have an equal right to make their own decisions.
Lastly, I still think the Iranian weasel whose name I cannot spell should wear a tie and I still think he looks like a manager of a 7/11.
33If Wanda Sykes told that joke and used Obama's name rather then Limbaugh. She would have committed a federal crime, could have very well been arrested, and definitely visited by a Secret Service agent. You can not threaten or even speculate on the death of the POTUS in office.
34I agree, drug addictions aren't funny. When you are seriously injured or have a major surgery or something, it is SO easy to become addicted. That doesn't excuse illegal behavior, like stealing or falsifying prescriptions, of course. Those drugs change your personality. You need more and more of them just to feel in a good mood, not just to relieve the pain. And I know first hand when you've got 4 or five doctors treating you for different things (but from the same accident) they all offer you prescriptions. And the docs don't necessarily consult with one another, which is why I can see how Heath Ledger got into the trouble he did.
35Limbaugh is already paying a terrible price he is completely deaf due to that drug use. he has implants to allow him to hear, but there is no nuanced inflection of those words, and he will never he music or singing ever again.
36Really grandpa? I had no idea.
~~~~~
The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.
37He had cochlear implants, after he came back to work from his rehab.
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