Obama calls kanye west a jackass

[kawi kid]

for once i was actually glad to read an obama quote.

[Fonzie]

This can't be real. Funny though.

Ohhh.....

It's real alright.........

President's opinion of Kanye West sparks debate

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer David Bauder, Ap Television Writer – 2 hrs 58 mins ago

NEW YORK – President Barack Obama's candid thoughts about Kanye West are provoking a debate over standards of journalism in the Twitter age.

ABC News says it was wrong for its employees to tweet that Obama had called West a "jackass" for the rapper's treatment of country singer Taylor Swift. The network said some of its employees had overheard a conversation between the president and CNBC's John Harwood and didn't realize it was considered off the record.

The network apologized to the White House and CNBC.

Harwood had sat down with the president to tape an interview following his appearance on Wall Street on Monday. Although they are competitors, CNBC and ABC share a fiber optic line to save money, and this enabled some ABC employees to listen in on the interview as it was being taped for later use.

Their attention was drawn to chatter about West, who was widely criticized for interrupting Swift as she accepted an award at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards to say that Beyonce deserved it.

During what sounds like informal banter before the interview begins, Obama is asked whether his daughters were annoyed by West's hijacking of Swift's acceptance statement, according to an audio copy that was posted on TMZ.com.

"I thought that was really inappropriate," Obama says. "What are you butting in (for)? ... The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person. She's getting her award. What's he doing up there?"

A questioner chimes in, "Why would he do it?"

"He's a jackass," Obama replies, which is met with laughter from several people.

The president seems to quickly realize he may have gone too far, and jovially appeals to those assembled that the remark be kept private. "Come on guys," he says. "Cut the president some slack. I've got a lot of other stuff on my plate."

E-mails shot around among ABC employees about Obama's comments, said Jeffrey Schneider, ABC News spokesman. Before anything was reported on ABC's air or Web site, at least three network employees took to Twitter to spread the news.

One was Terry Moran, a former White House correspondent. He logged on to Twitter and typed: "Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a 'jackass' for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT'S presidential."

When ABC News authorities found out about it, they had the tweets deleted after about an hour, Schneider said. Moran declined a request to comment.

But the news was out.

Harwood said there was no explicit agreement with the president that those comments were off the record. But he said it is broadcast tradition that such pre-interview chatter is considered off the record until the formal interview begins. Harwood is holding to that: He would not discuss what the president said before their interview and has no plans to do so on CNBC.

He said he was aware that it was likely someone outside of CNBC was listening to his conversation with the president.

"It's one of those things that's unfortunate," he said. "But I think it's an honest mistake."

There was no immediate response to requests for comment from White House spokesmen.

Twitter, a technology that's a natural tool for reporters who love to tell people what they know whenever they know it, has raced ahead in usage before many news organizations have developed policies to govern its use, said Richard Wald, a former ABC News executive and professor at Columbia University.

"You need to reinforce the sense that you have to verify before you publish," Wald said. "The policies may be very comprehensive, but they may not be adequate to the technology that news organizations have."

The incident is reminiscent of past "open-mic" incidents involving politicians. President Ronald Reagan, while waiting to make a speech in 1984, joked that he had outlawed the Soviet Union and that "the bombing begins in five minutes." During the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush turned to running mate Dick Cheney to point out a reporter from The New York Times and used an obscenity to describe him.

"If you're sitting there with a microphone on, you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy," said Kelly McBride, an expert in journalism ethics for the Poynter Institute. "If you're a governor or president, you know that."

She also questioned whether news organizations should be agreeing to go off the record with the president.

Judging by the things written by other Twitter users since West's action, Obama wasn't in the minority, she said.

"The president calling Kanye West a 'jackass' is perfect information for a tweet," she said. "In fact, that's the ideal format. You can do it in 140 characters. There's not much else to say."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090915/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_obama_tweet

That quote of Reagan's never fails to crack me up!!

[smashweights]

smart move by obama. after all, the most politically important issue to most americans is pop culture.

[Fazerlady]

Obama said out loud what everybody else said or was thinking. That makes him more likable in my eyes.

[McLovin]

...so because he's the president, he can't call a jackass a jackass?

[alab32]

What post in this thread gives you that impression? Or' date=' were you just referring to the media spin?[/quote']

I would hope he is referring to the media, because i dont see a problem with it. He is human too and has to speak his mind once in a while. Granted, i dont agree with him on many things, but this, 100% CONCUR!

[McLovin]

What post in this thread gives you that impression? Or' date=' were you just referring to the media spin?[/quote']

Media...I think where Obama went wrong was when he didn't say, "Hell yeah I called that Jackass a Jackass!!"

"He's a jackass," Obama replies, which is met with laughter from several people.

The president seems to quickly realize he may have gone too far, and jovially appeals to those assembled that the remark be kept private. "Come on guys," he says. "Cut the president some slack. I've got a lot of other stuff on my plate."

...now people will think he can't stand behind his own words, amongst other things.

[Zach]

http://kanyelicio.us/http://www.ohio-riders.com/showthread.php?t=34537

[V4junkie]

http://kanyelicio.us/http://www.ohio-riders.com/showthread.php?t=34537

Dammit!!!!

[Zach]

Does fishdick have an album coming out soon? this thing is givin him way too much publicity.

[Todd#43]

...so because he's the president, he can't call a jackass a jackass?

If he's going to DEMAND respect from Congress and the American people, he should at least conduct himself in a manner worthy of receiving that respect.

Calling someone a "jackass" doesn't dovetail too well with that whole "respect the office" thingy.

[Dave]

If he's going to DEMAND respect from Congress and the American people, he should at least conduct himself in a manner worthy of receiving that respect.

Calling someone a "jackass" doesn't dovetail too well with that whole "respect the office" thingy.

he spoke the truth tho... that detaches the statment from politics all together.

[Todd#43]

he spoke the truth tho... that detaches the statment from politics all together.

Oh, so he only has to "act" presidential when the cameras are "rolling'?

The statement is attached to politics because of WHO said it - not WHAT was said.

[McLovin]

If he's going to DEMAND respect from Congress and the American people, he should at least conduct himself in a manner worthy of receiving that respect.

Calling someone a "jackass" doesn't dovetail too well with that whole "respect the office" thingy.

I guess...it's not like he called Kanye a dick sucking faggot. As far as I'm concerned calling someone a dumb mule should not jeopardize respect, especially if the person is exactly that...it appears to me, some of the media and those in congress that are making an issue of this tuthful categorising of Kanye should probably be called jackasses too.

[Todd#43]

I guess...it's not like he called Kanye a dick sucking faggot. As far as I'm concerned calling someone a dumb mule should not jeopardize respect, especially if the person is exactly that...it appears to me, some of the media and those in congress that are making an issue of this tuthful categorising of Kanye should probably be called jackasses too.

Now it makes a difference WHAT he called him? Would it have been ok if he called him an asshole?

The asking the president what he thought of it was ridiculous in the first place. Beyond that, he could have said "what he did was rude", or "his actions were inappropriate". Either statement would have conveyed the same thought without stooping to that level.

[alab32]

Now it makes a difference WHAT he called him? Would it have been ok if he called him an asshole?

The asking the president what he thought of it was ridiculous in the first place. Beyond that, he could have said "what he did was rude", or "his actions were inappropriate". Either statement would have conveyed the same thought without stooping to that level.

Ill be honest, it doesnt really bother me that he called him a jackass. Whether i think it is true or not means nothing. What does matter is that he is a human, he still has his opinions and he is entitled to him. It just sucks that the media was there to put it out there. But i still dont see it being an issue.

[McLovin]

Now it makes a difference WHAT he called him? Would it have been ok if he called him an asshole?

The asking the president what he thought of it was ridiculous in the first place. Beyond that, he could have said "what he did was rude", or "his actions were inappropriate". Either statement would have conveyed the same thought without stooping to that level.

As odd as it may sound, I could probably understand people making a big deal if the word asshole was used instead of jackass. Even though Kanye is an asshole...either way you look at it, he was asked for his opinion about something dealing with the ridiculous entertainment industy and not the leadership of some country. Does that make it different? I think so.

...but...no matter what he said, I'm sure someone would think he should have said it differently.