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Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Obama: ‘I Don't Know What the Term Is in Austrian’

U.S. President Barack Obama continues making statements that raise questions about his foreign policy credentials.

While touring Europe, Obama, a former chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on European Affairs, had the misfortune of saying this:



It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. There's a lot of -- I don't know what the term is in Austrian -- wheeling and dealing -- and, you know, people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics. [1:17-2:16]


Perhaps President Obama should appoint Arnold “The Governator” Schwarzenegger as his advisor on Sports and Austrian Affairs.

In the meantime, how about a Sprechen Sie Austrian?” bumper sticker?

Sources:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/04/07/europe-obamas-visit/
http://motls.blogspot.com/2009/04/barack-obama-in-prague.html
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/04/news_conference_by_president_obama.php

3 comments:

John Kalitka said...

Yes, unfortunately our President did not have his teleprompter available. Although he also thinks Arabic is the language spoken in Afghanistan....

Perhaps President Obama was attempting to channel Llyod Christmas.

Foxwood said...

I keep thinking of Chevy Chase and "European Vacation" when I hear of Obama in Europe. It would be funny if it weren't so deadly serious. We in the States are in serious trouble and most of the public (in the States, anyway) are oblivious to it.

Taras said...

John,

It’s one hell of a gaffe season.

Agreed, we all make mistakes once in a while and learn from them. But some mistakes beg the question of how much learning needs to be done to prevent further and bigger mistakes from happening.

It looks like a lot of learning needs to be done.


Foxwood,

Thank you for dropping by!

There’s a similar, more recent, movie called Eurotrip.

I think it’s a must-see for senior administration officials and diplomatic personnel who visit Europe.