Legal Commentary

"I don?t know what the term is in Austrian"

By Beldar

One might think a degree in political science (with a specialization in international relations) from Columbia University, followed by service as chair of the European Affairs subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, might have given Barack Obama some clue as to the language spoken by the people of our NATO ally, Austria. But if so, one would then be disappointed (emphasis added):

At a news conference afterward, Obama said his debut on the international stage had convinced him that ?political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate,? where he served before entering the White House.

?There?s a lot of ? I don?t know what the term is in Austrian ? wheeling and dealing, and people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics,? he said in response to an Austrian reporter?s question.

Actually, I believe that the word "idiot" has the same meaning in both English and Austrian German.

But seriously, folks. Do I believe that Barack Obama genuinely doesn't know that they speak German in Austria, and that he'd make this same mistake in an unstressed setting with a moment to reflect upon it? No, I don't believe that. This was a silly and innocent mistake ? like the "57 states" comment during the campaign ? and any human being, no matter how well educated and genuinely knowledgeable, will be caught making this sort of mistake from time to time if subjected to constant and intense scrutiny.

I grew sick to death of those who seized upon every verbal misstep of George W. Bush's or Sarah Palin's and treated those missteps as if they were meaningful, as if they were worthy of anything more than mild mockery for purposes of amusement. They weren't. This isn't either.

No, my problem with Barack Obama isn't that he's stupid. It's that neither he, nor anyone else, is as smart as he thinks he is.

Full post as published by BeldarBlog on April 06, 2009 (boomark / email).