Dr. Charles Krauthammer is a doll. Great guy. Great story behind his accident, neck injury, finishing med school. Smart man. Knows his way around a sentence. But in this brand spanking new feature “Dear Dr. Krauthammer: Ode to the Obama gaffe” we will highlight Obama’s many moments of sheer genius and brilliance. The type Washington insiders and politicos went all Beatlemania over (including Dr. K, who on many occasions in ’08 praised Obama for useless skill we never thought were useful in a President. We’re more partial to any knucklehead who can, I dunno, actually create a job, make a payroll, balance a budget. We’re less interested in philosopher kings who pull Hamelet-esque soliloquies out of their ass questioning their existence and purpose. We find that stuff…what’s the word? Absolutely USELESS.
Here we present Obama’s classic 57 state gaffe. For those under 25, there are — how many states? How many states are there in the U.S.? Do you know? No googling. That’s cheating. Give up? I’m pretty sure it’s 50. I KNOW! I’m a genius. Actually, I remember that from Kindergarten I believe. The funny thing about that question is that it never actually showed up on any exam or testing apparatus. I assume because the California Achievement Test folks assumed that question was “too easy” and a waste of time. So, fifty states, and Obama says 57.
Here’s what to look for. First, Obama actually ponders how many states there are. It looks like he’s looking for confirmation (maybe he’s wondering what the exact number is). He says, “I’ve been in fifty….seven? states”.The thing is, any normal human being would be able to auto-correct themselves within three seconds. ‘Did I say ’57’ states? Is that right? That can’t be right. Aren’t there 50 states? 57 seems too high..’
Mountain out of a molehill? Sure. But if a certain you-know-who Governor from Alaska had made the same mistake, all hell. Right? Opening story on the nightly news, death threats on facebook, wall to wall coverage on MSNBC for days, and Matt Damon with “I need to know if this woman actually thinks there are 58 states in this country! I need to know that!”
Without further adieu…
The Darjeeling Express 