President Obama isn't a smart-ass Jerky the Jokeman like the previous guy. But that hasn't stopped some people from jumping to the false conclusion that he is.
In his NBC interview over the weekend, the following exchange has been widely quoted. Lauer holds up an US Weekly cover with Mrs. Obama and the Obama girls on it. The sidebar is a photo of Jessica Simpson with a headline having to do with her apparent weight problem.
LAUER: You got replaced by Jessica Simpson.
OBAMA: Yeah, who’s losing a weight battle apparently. (LAUGHTER) Yeah. Oh, well.
Hoo-hoo! What a dick! Everyone from Michelle Malkin to Karen Tumulty ripped into the president for being a misogynistic fat Nazi.
But wait. That's not what he said. Boehlert corrects the record:
LAUER: You got replaced by Jessica Simpson.
OBAMA: Yeah, who’s in a weight battle apparently. (LAUGHTER) Yeah. Oh, well.
Right! So the president was merely repeating the content of the headline which read: "Inside Jess's Weight Battle." On the US Weekly website there's a whole photo feature documenting her alleged weight gain over the years.
Obviously, the president was dryly poking fun at America's voyeuristic obsession with celebrity lifestyles. Malkin, naturally, hasn't corrected her blog. Tumulty kinda-sorta corrected her blog but inexplicably added: "But in the future, Mr. President, just don't go there." Go where? Commenting on ridiculous US Weekly headlines? Sheesh. In the comments under her post, Tumulty wrote:
will fix the transcript if someone can prove that it is wrong. i didn't hear it, and those network mikes are usually pretty sensitive.
It's pretty damn clear.
Go read Boehlert's report for an especially super stupid reaction by the far-right blog Gateway Pundit. And prepare to scream.