...where he looked for WMDs behind his desk...

...if Bush had gone on Leno and said this, there would have been so much venom spewing. Heck, even if he hadn't said anything like that, every lefty blogger would have a minute by minute analysis of the interview, supported with reasons why Bush sucks coinciding with every sentence he said.

Be truthful, it obviously is not a big deal to say this, but if you're gonna go on Leno as PRESIDENT, you better be damn sure you don't slip up.

It comes off as "Amateur Hour" once again.

Please explain the Jack Tapper reference. He formerly wrote for Salon, right? That's about all I know of him. Don't remember his articles and haven't watched him on ABC. Thanks!

"we're all handicapped, somehow. Every single one of us."

I bet most people didn't really hear it. He kinda mumbled it while he and Leno were taking over each other. The entire interview was so full of substance, it's a shame this is what you chose to focus on. What impressed me about this interview was how Obama used the opportunity to reach a large audience to talk seriously about how he wants to deal with this crisis, but also to keep showing us his human side. This is the real story to be told about this interview.

Broken down to its essence, we forgive the Prez because we like him and loathe George. OK?

Amateur hour? Really? After 8 years of a clueless, clown.... a legacy that couldn't even be bothered to show up to fly his jet airplane? The collective conservative angst after only 3 months is more than I can believe. Suck it up, Nancy. It's gonna get worse for you neocons. Your party has shown itself to be so morally and ethically bankrupt that our nation will be lucky to pull out of the last 8 years of reckless financial and Constitutional abrogations....So, nothing gives me greater pleasure than watching the apoplectic contortions that you angry white guys are having. Cheers!

/ 4 more years sucka....

He is a former Salon reporter, yes, but that's not what I was referring to.

My point was just that Sheppard was asking if the media would ignore a story he himself only knew about because of the media.

if Bush had gone on Leno and said this, there would have been so much venom spewing.

If a confirmed asshole acts like an asshole, we're going to treat him like an asshole. If a nice guy acts like an asshole, we're much more willing to consider it a slip-up and give him the benefit of the doubt. And that's the difference.

I watched the Tonight Show last night and never even caught the president's off-hand "throwaway" line about the Special Olympics. I do recall watching a total of about 20 minutes of his discussion on the economy, AIG and other pressing and important topics.

So the throwaway line is all you can talk about? I find it interesting that in your article you concede it was a silly lame attempt at a joke (about himself, I might add) that even conservatives are letting slide. The President himself apologized immediately after his appearance. Why isn't that good enough for you?

This trivialization of the news is a major disappointment coming from Salon. I expect it from a Limbaugh or Beck.

If this is what you think is important to spend your time and attention discussing, then I will have to look elsewhere for real news and real discussion of the important news of the day.

it won't have much of an impact, because it doesn't fit what we think, and is pretty clear, about Obama: he clearly is NOT a mean prick who doesn't care about the disabled.

If bush said it, his supporters would dismiss it, and his detractors would use it as an example of his heartless world view.

in the end, like any chatty joke, it will not have an impact on much of anything.

I think Eric Cantor should resign over this.

Now they are ahead of the curve for a change. Everyone else who isn't asleep welcomes them.

As for the rest of you, keep dreaming.

it's kind of a sticky comment and will most likely not be forgotten in the near future.

I think it's forgivable on the basis that Obama is maintaining his promise of transparency by the very fact that he appeared on Leno at all; he is the first sitting president to have done so. and if he intends to remain visible and in contact with the us on a un-scripted basis, then we should expect the occasional human err.

Obama should stay away from lame and embarrassing quips. Remember the Nancy Reagan seance remark that also required a quick call to the former first lady?

There were a few others like this (can't recall what they were at the moment) that exhibit a certain callous attitude that doesn't line up with that nice guy image that he wants to project.

At some point we have to begin to let our elected officials speak off-the-cuff without turning it into news. They are people, after all, not gods.

Bush's jokes about finding the WMD, for instance, were prepared remarks with an accompanying slideshow. The outrage at those remarks was deserved. Dick Cheney swearing into an open mic, on the other hand, was the kind of accident anyone might make, and never deserved to be news.

The reason that only the people with the most enormous egos and insufferable god complexes choose to run for public office these days is because we continue to treat every single gaffe, non-sequitur and bad joke that comes out of their mouths as news. Treat them like human beings, on the other hand - don't obsess about their every utterance - and then maybe, just maybe, they would spend more time doing real work for their country.

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton offered something of an apology almost immediately, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, "The President made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics.

Yes, it was an offhand remark, but to argue that it "was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics" is patently false. The whole POINT of the joke he was trying to make is that his bowling is so bad, its worse like someone in the Special Olympics. The joke DEPENDS on the fact that he is "disparaging" the Special Olympics. A far better statement about this would have acknowledged that Obama realized the joke depended on that disparaging depiction, and that it was a stupid thing to say, with no justification.

To say that it was never intended to disparage the Special Olympics is false at best, and outright lying at worst. The joke depended on disparaging the Special Olympics. Obama, and the Press Secretary should acknowledge that.