Obama Calls Navy Corpsman 'Corpse Man'
President Obama pronounced "corpsman" as "corpse man" twice in the same address. This mispronunciation has caused quite a bit of ridicule about a man who ascended to the presidency based upon his rhetorical skills.
To be fair, President Obama has yet to approach former President Bush in his tendency to mangle the English language. President George W. Bush actually invented a couple of new words, "strategery" and "misunderestimate." The problem is that one expected George W. Bush to stumble over words some times. Rhetoric, as he would admit himself, is not one of his strong points. Barack Obama has been compared to Cicero and Churchill in his skills at oral delivery.
On the other hand, it is clear that the Commander in Chief is sorely lacking in his knowledge of things military. (Question: Does he pronounce it: "Marine Corpse?")
Most people who have just seen war movies know that the ps in corpsman is silent, so that it is pronounced "corman."
It may be a minor point, to be sure, and maybe even unfair to harp on it. But with President Obama declining in the polls, every little thing is going to be scrutinized, analyzed, and then, if possible, laughed at. Treating the president as a figure of fun may be disrespectful, but it is covered by the First Amendment. Besides, considering how some people regard this president's actions, humor may be the best balm for an otherwise aggravating administration.
On the other hand there is a theory that some White House staffer loaded the teleprompter with the incorrect phonetic pronunciation of the word "corpsman" and President Obama duly read it without thinking about what he was saying. This suggests that some poor staffer is going to get a chewing out and that the president is going to reflect on what happens when one reads what is presented without thinking about it.
Either way, President Obama has suffered an embarrassment that he certainly doesn't need at this moment in his administration. To mispronounce may he human, but a president survives as much by his gravitas and the respect that entails as he does by his power of veto or the nuclear button. The more Obama becomes a figure of fun, the less power he will have to influence events.
Source: At National Prayer Breakfast, Obama Calls for 'Civility', Mark R. Whittington, Associated Content, February 4th, 2010
President Obama honors Navy 'Corpse-Man', Tony Gallardo, American Thinker, February 5th, 2010
Published by Mark Whittington
Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington... View profile
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37 Comments
Post a CommentGW Bush did not say the word, "strategery." It was a joke from a Saturday Night Live skit.
Phony. He also calls himself a "real White Sox fan", but the liar called the Sox's home field "Kaminski Field" whereas the original name Comiskey Park is now U.S.Cellular Field. He wouldn't even name his favorite player for fear of losing some voters. Phony (or perhaps Obama prefers "foney") as a 3 dollar bill! Go Sox!!!
What an absolute embarrassment. How can you be commander-in-chief, and never have heard of a corpsman? He might be the dumbest president in history. More like the male spokesmodel of the the United States.
Why is this a surprise? Politicians do not have to be intelligent (Quayle) nor do they have to speak well (W) or think about what they are saying (Biden).
The press had a field day with W because he daily (or so it seemed) tripped over his tongue, but Clinton/Bush 41/Reagan/Carter/etc. all looked like idiots at times. Why should Obama be any different?
big deal! so the busiest man in the world forgot the "p" in corpsman was silent?!?!
i do not care and neither does anybody else with half a brain.
george bush butchered the english language constantly and also (if you'll remember), started an unnecessary and bloody war (iraq) based on lies and trumped up "intelligence". it was a sales job to a public scared after 9/11.
god damn george w. bush to hell for the 4,500 dead us soldiers, 1M dead iraqis, 50K wounded us soldiers, 3M iraqi refugees.
i support president obama.
President Obama, unlike the "silver coke-spoon baby George W. Bush", is a real man from a real blue-collar background. He rose to the Presidency based on his talent.
If it weren't for George W. Bush's Daddy & Granddad, you would NOT know his name or he he was. It's only because of NEPOTISM that "W" got into college or ever got a job.
I'm a political independent and I'll take Obama over "shrub" ANY DAY OF THE WEEK..for ALL THE OBVIOUS REASONS.
I am embarrassed by this president. What a moron. He thinks there are 57 states in the US, he's sorry that he can't speak Austrian, he makes fun of special olympians, and now he doesn't have a clue how to pronounce corpsman. If any Republican had done that, he or she would be so blasted from the left, that he would not dare show his face in public for a while. We know that Palin has been characterized as a light weight idiot. Obama makes Palin look like a brain surgeon. And by the way, Bush never said "strategery" you fool!
Bush never said strategery. That was from a Sat. night live show. Funny how our author's reality gets warped with fiction. No matter, it still bashed Bush and made his point so it's cool to say it. But he still pardoned Obama with a word made up by Sat. night live.
You can still do a President drinking game. When Obama says, "let me be clear", down the hatch.
The author of this article diminishes Obama's gaffe, and a small gaffe it is although it does highlight his astonishing lack of awareness of all things military. Thing is, Sarah Palin looks sideways and the pundits are howling about her incompetence, and when Obama visits Austria and laments not being able to "soeak Austrian", it just goes away. I'd like to see both Democrats and Republicans get the same treatment, not the unevenhanded pro-Democratic treatment that is so obvious.