Obama apologizes for "sweetie" comment

[NYCGirl]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Obama_apologizes_Sweetie_a_bad_habit.html

Obama leaves a voicemail for a Detroit TV reporter he called "sweetie":

Hi Peggy. This is Barack Obama. I'm calling to apologize on two fronts. One was you didn't get your question answered and I apologize. I thought that we had set up interviews with all the local stations. I guess we got it with your station but you weren't the reporter that got the interview. And so, I broke my word. I apologize for that and I will make up for it.

Second apology is for using the word 'sweetie.' That's a bad habit of mine. I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front. Feel free to call me back. I expect that my press team will be happy to try to make it up to you whenever we are in Detroit next.

[Liberal Veteran]

1. That was very thoughtful

Good for him.

[roguevalley]

40. that remark is not paternalistic or whatever. its sweet and charming

and a thing everyone in my family does. regionalisms.

[LiberalAndProud]

80. I suspect for a Hillary supporter

Obama calling you "sweetie" would be akin to McCain calling me "his friend" (fingernails on the chalkboard). And even if not a Hillary supporter, to be brushed off with a "sweetie" is belittling. I'm glad he recognized that.

I think it's great that he called her to apologize.

[DefenseLawyer]

2. And yet Hillary still hasn't apologized for the IWR

I'm just sayin'...

[Faygo Kid]

4. DUzy. Too true not to win one.

Bingo.

[Bucky]

7. Nah, DUzys aren't political.

Also, they're not strident. Also, they have to be a demonstration of wit, not snarkery.

[Cha]

25. Nevertheless it was true whether it

gets a DUzy or not.

[C_U_L8R]

3. the real deal

classy

[Bucky]

5. Thanks for posting this, sweetie.

Ooops. I mean "Thanks, NYCGirl".

[grantcart]

9. now thats a DUzy

[NYCGirl]

17. No problem. Happy to do it!

:hi:

[anonymous171]

6. Whoah, talk about crisis management.

[cici4691]

8. And made it public for who's consumption???

He apologized only to avoid a potential problem otherwise his apology would be kept private.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

10. He didn't make it public, the station she works at did.

Sorry.

[FrenchieCat]

13. He probably calls his daughters sweeties, and a lot of other folks....

I'm sure he'll break that habit.

At least he's not banging any interns. :shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

14. Actually, it appears the recipient made it public to the station she works for.

Casting aspersion on someone who took time to apologize for something relatively minor is bad form.

[Cha]

29. Yeah, you sound like you know a whole lot

about Nothing.

[Window]

68. Oh please.

[sniffa]

11. More condescending SEXST BULLSHT

[FatDave]

28. *yawn*

[sniffa]

57. Yuor misogny is duley noted

[PassingFair]

66. As is your scarcasm.... n/t

[sniffa]

71. .

;)

[FatDave]

82. My apologies. It's hard to tell these days.

[sniffa]

88. Don't sweat

We're on level 2, and my avatar and sigline are absent. :hi:

I just assume my "notorious reputation" here is well known. :P

[Heather MC]

47. Hey sweetie, I am sure my honey didn't mean anything by it, ok darling

Gee Whiz,
I am a lady I call everyone Honey when I can't remember their names and usually I say,
"Honey, can you give me your name again, thanks baby."

OH dear lord I'm Sexist
Yah me!!!

[GoesTo11]

62. I like your habit

Always just makes the day a little more cheery.

[Heather MC]

72. Thank you, Baby!

[beachmom]

60. That is sarcasm, right?

[sniffa]

65. POSSBLY

:D

[busymom]

12. not ready for prime time.

[FrenchieCat]

15. He would have to ask for a BJ instead, right?

Then he'd be ready for his closeup? Is that what you mean? :shrug:

[MonkeyFunk]

37. ah

you never tire of spewing freeper shit, do you?

[Cha]

51. Too bad bil clinton never got tired of BLOW JOBS.

And you never get tired of SPEWING HILARY'S SHIT, do ya?

[MonkeyFunk]

79. After all this time

if you're still obsessing about Bill Clinton's penis, you should seek help.

It's so bad you can't even bring yourself to spell "Bill" or "Hillary". No penis should have that kind of effect on your life. Just keep repeating to yourself "It's only a cock. It's only a cock."

[beachmom]

59. Um, not that I am into mentioning THAT affair, but it is not freeper stuff. It is the truth.

It happened. If you want to call it something, you could maybe call it Ancient History or something. But it is not the making of freeperville, but Bill Clinton.

[MonkeyFunk]

81. Yes it happened

mentioning it during a discussion of a totally unrelated subject is freeper shit.

It's only a cock.

[TwilightGardener]

19. Yeah, not like the ever-smooth Hillary "Sniper Fire" Clinton, the one

who touted her creds with "hard working people...WHITE people.." and makes jokes about Ghandi working at a gas station in St. Louis, and compares the Prime Minister of New Zealand to a cockroach. She IS ready for prime time, dammit!

[Liberal Veteran]

21. Believe me, if saying "sweetie" to someone is worse gaffe he ever makes...

....he's MORE THAN READER for prime time.

[Cha]

46. Not like bil clinton who got sentenced for perjury and unable to

to practice law for 5 years..all because of a stupid BLOW JOB.

And, now he's still out there lyin' his fookin' head off in the back of a pickup truck.

[MonkeyFunk]

93. Another freeper lie

Bill Clinton was never convicted of perjury.

Seriously, after all this time, if Bill's penis still weighs so heavily on your mind, it's time to get help.

[NewHampshireDem]

16. Oh, so he thinks he can just apologize?

Haven't we learned anything at all from this primary? The only people who can apologize are those who have done nothing wrong in the first place. If you have anything to apologize for, you can just take your apologize and stick it up your ...

/sarcasm

[K Gardner]

18. He's such a sweetie ! Thanks for posting, sweetie :-) K&R

[Emillereid]

20. Why does someone have to apologize for saying sweetie - I use it all the time

and I am a woman. Obviously I don't mind being called sweetie either and I would love it if Barack called me sweetie!!! I don't see it as the least bit sexist. What have we become when people can't use a term of endearment.

[Liberal Veteran]

23. It's a bit too familiar perhaps, but hardly on par with a sexist epithet.

There are some bruised egos right now who are magnifying everything into a major character flaw.

It's best to just remember where they are coming from.

[NeedleCast]

38. Because Some People are ALWAYS Ready to be Offended

[NewHampshireDem]

39. If you want to understand, I can offer you a sample of 'Mock Outrage'

You apply it twice a day to your brain, and before you know it--bam!

Be warned, though, side effects may include hypocrisy, hysteria, and an inability to think for yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you.

So, did you want the spray or the roll-on?

:evilgrin:

[boppers]

101. "Mock Outrage!"

"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
"Apply Directly to the Forehead."
...

[smalll]

100. Honestly, I think no one has a problem if a woman says it -

it's perfectly OK for the cashier at the supermarket, if she is a woman, to call her customers "sweetie" or "hon." It's when a man does it that it's a little sleazy and demeaning.

[Cha]

22. That's usually the way good things happen..

when mistakes are made and good people try and make them right.

Sweeties:)

[Thrill]

24. I don't get it. My wife said its not offensive at all

Oh well. I guess it is for some people

[NashVegas]

49. Does Your Wife Work in Broadcasting?

[Liberal Veteran]

56. Crisco, 10000 people died in an earthquake in China, maybe 10 times that in the Myanmar cyclone...

...try to have a sense of proportion about things that are really important in this world.

[NashVegas]

74. Name One

[Liberal Veteran]

78. AIDS. Darfur. Climate change. Food shortages. A tanking economy. Foreclosures.

Tornado season. Crumbling infrastructure. War on two fronts. Torture. Gitmo. Overcrowded prisons. Violent crime. Homelessness. Poverty. Health care costs soaring. An aging population. A corrupted justice system.

You know why nothing ever seems to get done? Because we spend so much time obsessing about meaningless bullshit.

Let's get these other problems solved first and maybe we'll have time later to obsess over protocol. Maybe we can appoint Miss Manners to a cabinet position, but that's so far down the "to do" list, it beggars the imagination.

[NashVegas]

84. I Meant, "Name One Person"

All these world tragedies are horrible, but I don't get to vote on them.

But what a great way to be dismissive to complaints of sexism on the campaign trail, and straight from Obama's lips. No baiting needed, unless you consider her speaking to him to be bait.

[Liberal Veteran]

90. "Complaints of sexism"??? From where? A few people looking for anything to latch onto?

I beg your pardon most humbly for assuming you were above this kind on silliness.

[NashVegas]

94. I'm Sorry

I mistook you for someone who had a clue about what's been going down on GD: P these last four months.

[JI7]

26. he is a real sweetie isn't he

[TwilightGardener]

31. He's MY sweetie!

[gabby garcia]

44. no mine!

ok - we can share!

sweetgg

[Heather MC]

53. I'm His Boo!!!!

AND I DON'T SHARE:P

[jefferson_dem]

27. AUDIO of classy apology here --

http://www.wxyz.com/news/story.aspx?content_id=13d1f66a-488b-46d3-9d3b-6632e0a8f1f7

[Cha]

54. Thanks, Obama is always classy and

makes lemonade outta lemons which there've been more than a few.

[ecstatic]

30. I will enjoy a president who knows how to apologize

Who has integrity.

[Cha]

55. Yeah, how sweet to live in a reality based world

where people make mistakes and feel like they want to apologize.

[Bluebear]

32. Thank you for posting this, honey.

:)

[NYCGirl]

45. You're welcome, dear.

:)

[DU GrovelBot]

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[DemGa]

34. Clearly an apology of political calculation ---nt

[Liberal Veteran]

52. Since we aren't all gifted with your amazing long-distance telepathy...

...we'll just have to take this at face value that he went out of his way to offer an apology for a remarkably inoffensive gaffe.

[alcibiades_mystery]

35. Let's review

Bill Clinton received oral sex on numerous occasions from twenty-four year old intern while he was President of the United Fucking States. Obama called a reporter "sweetie." Clearly, one is a despicable sexist pig and the other is just a flawed man. Obama, you fucking sexist pig!!!!

:sarcasm:

[FrenchieCat]

50. 22 years old, not 24.

[Heather MC]

36. Obama hey over here, you can call me Sweetie

and any thing else as long you call me!!

[WeDidIt]

41. I get called "sweetie" by waitresses all the time

in Chicago.

It's common enough.

"Hon" is, too.

[kwenu]

42. I'm from Texas no apology is needed for the words "sweetie" or "honey" here. It is polite language.

[neverforget]

43. Thank God he can apologize unlike the asshole currently in the White

House. That arrogant fuck doesn't know what apology means.

[graycem]

48. How ridiculous..

it is only offensive if you're a jackass who is looking for permanent victimhood. My GOD I'll be glad when January gets here. :P

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

58. Just when it seemed impossible, American politics just became sillier.

[Liberal Veteran]

61. Exactly. It ranks somewhere between Hillary's cleavage and Obama's flag pin on the importance scale

[Fox Mulder]

63. It takes class to apologize like he did.

[Hobarticus]

64. See, I like to see that kind of thing...

I know there will be a chorus of true believers here saying "he didn't even need to do it"....but he did, and that's the difference, to someone like myself.

[Window]

67. Now, that is a thoughtful, sincere man. What a sweetie.

[ShortnFiery]

69. Very thoughtful of him. Obama is truly The Genuine Article. eom

[Willo]

70. I say Hon and Babe all the time. But, I have to say

if the reporter felt like she was getting the brush off (and video does give that appearance), then being called sweetie would not feel to good in mental or visual replays.

Kudos to Obama for the apology.
Kudos to WXYZ for acknowledging his apology publically. That was really the right thing to do at this point and I'm impressed.

Kudos, in advance, to all media outlets that followed WXYZ's example and posted the follow up.

[hokies4ever]

73. I saw a picture of that lady doing an interview

and trust me, she hasn't been called sweetie in a VERY long time. :rofl:

[gal]

75. It's not sexist..

Unless you have a complex as a woman. Did Hillary Clinton every apologize for calling the bartender "dear"?
I don't remember seeing anything on that.

[Evergreen Emerald]

87. Of course it is. It is putting that person --who is not a familar--below you

reducing, demeaning.

[gal]

91. It is not.

I'm a woman and I know how it does or doesn't make me feel. I don't feel demeaned by it in the least.
IF you do think it makes them feel less than you, then it would be belittleing, not sexist.

[Evergreen Emerald]

97. In business it is absolutely off-limits. The guy would be required to take a class

on how to treat co-workers.

[my3boyz]

76. Ridiculous! Obama says BOO and people jump down his throat

It is not like he said hold on bitch! Sweetie?!?! How is that bad? Ugh! Classy apology by Obama though.

[democrattotheend]

77. I read another story about him using the word "sweetie" during a factory tour

So it sounds like he does say it all the time...I can see how it can be viewed as sexist but I don't think he means it that way. I have a coworker who uses that word all the time and even though I am a young woman and he's an older man it doesn't bother me, because I know he doesn't mean anything by it.

[NashVegas]

85. This Is Something Like the Third Time

I think the other one was in a diner or something like that.

[democrattotheend]

86. Sounds like it is a bad habit, as he says

Probably doesn't mean anything by it, but I can see how it could be construed and he needs to break the habit.

[Liberal Veteran]

92. The press has thicker skin. Think about the barf inducing nicknames Chimpy used....

....and they still continued to give him a tongue bath. They ain't gonna get that upset by an occasional "sweetie".

[RBInMaine]

83. He didn't intend any disrespect with the "sweetie" thing. He said sorry, now please move on. It's

pretty trivial with two wars, costs going through the roof, 47 million without health ins., 37 million in poverty...let's keep our eye on the important issues please.

[Evergreen Emerald]

108. I just saw the incident on the news. He was dismissive. Demeaning

He should have apologized.

[burythehatchet]

89. grace and class

[AtomicKitten]

95. Thanks for posting this, sweetie.

:hi:

K&R

[EffieBlack]

96. John Edwards calls women "Darlin'" all the time

I think it really all depends on who's saying, although maybe that's not fair. Hearing Obama or Edwards saying it would just roll off my back. Hearing certain other people say it would give me the creeps.

It probably shouldn't make any difference who's saying it, but . . .

[AnnieBW]

98. It's like Baltimoreans calling someone "hon".

It's a way of addressing someone that isn't "hey, you".

Personally, Obama could call me "Sweetie" any time he likes!

[smalll]

103. But isn't that mostly WOMEN using it? When a man uses hon/sweetie/etc. to a woman, it's different -

it gets a little sleazy and demeaning in that case.

[ObamaKerryDem]

99. I'd love it if he called ME sweetie..

haha :p

[OzarkDem]

102. No thanks

His actions speak louder than words. Obama obviously has issues about women, going back to his mother and maternal grandmother.

He should get some counseling.

[jillan]

104. How patronizing.

[otohara]

105. He Has Called Kids Who Ask Him Questions - Sweetie

as I'm sure he calls his little girls....sweeties...

[CreekDog]

106. this might help him with that demographic he's having trouble with

:shrug:

[Beausoir]

107. Once again, the sexist Snob gets busted.

What a pig.