Obama is a jerk.........

I rarely go political without a good reason on my blog and I guess I technically won't be right now since this has nothing to do with politics. Last night's comment from Obama on Jay Leno just sent me off the deep end.

Towards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance, the president talked about how he's gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley.

He bowled a 129, the president said.

"That's very good, Mr. President," Leno said sarcastically.

It's "like the Special Olympics or something," the president said.

Are you kidding me? The leader of our country has been blessed with the ignorance to make this kind of comment?

1. I've seen some of the Special Olympics athletes and how hard they work at what they do. Many of them compete at a level that Average Joe on the street could only hope to achieve. Making a comment that implies that a low level of achievement is associated with Special Olympics is blatent ignorance at its finest.

2. I've had the privilege of knowing several kids who have various disabilities. Most people look at those kids and feel sorry for them because they don't think they can do or achieve anything. They're wrong to do that and lowering the standard for those kids is the exact opposite of what most parents of disabled kids do. Those parents expect a lot of those kids and, very often, they are rewarded by achievements far in advance of what was expected.

3. I work with many disabled people in the government, since disabled people are often given opportunities in the federal government offices that they aren't given in the private sector. Most of these people would shock you with how favorably their work compares with able-bodied individuals. I'll be the first to admit that some of them probably have better work ethic than me. I certainly don't feel bad in saying that.

I have no doubt that President Obama will arrange some PR outing where he goes bowling with Special Olympics athletes as a way to smooth this over, but it won't heal the wounds in any way. Disabled people have enough people trying to tell them that they can't do something. They don't need the leader of the free world to do the same thing.