Barbara Walters Attacks Sarah Palin to Cover Obama's "Special Olympics" Gaffe

On the 3/23/09 edition of ABC's "The View," Barbara Walters (filling in for the sick Whoopi Goldberg) introduced the topic of President Obama's omnipresence on TV lately. Elisabeth Hasselbeck said she watched Obama being interviewed on "60 Minutes" the previous evening and that it was "good," but she said he shouldn't have compared his poor bowling skills to those of Special Olympians on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

In response, apropos of nothing, Barbara Walters criticized Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a mother of an 11-month-old Downs Syndrome baby, for her statement criticizing Obama. To draw moral equivalency with a mother of a Downs child, Walters spoke of the discrimination her late "developmentally disabled" sister had to endure, claiming to have sufficient sensitivity to say that Governor Palin should be faulted for not letting the gaffe go upon his apology.

Hasselbeck responded that regardless of the apology, the statement itself was offensive enough to be hurtful. To illustrate her point, she spilled her cup of water on the table at which the cast sits, and the water quickly streamed across to Walters and Joy Behar. She apologized for spilling the water on the other panelists (it appears she didn't intend to get them wet), but her point was made well to anyone who was listening: If she had unintentionally spilled the water, the water was still spilled. Even if she apologized immediately afterward, THE WATER WAS STILL SPILLED.

If the other ladies "got it," it wasn't immediately evident. In response, all three shouted that Obama had apologized. Sherri Shepherd asked, "Where's the forgiveness?" Behar quoted the Lord's Prayer's reference to forgiveness of others. Hasselbeck said, "I forgive him, I'm just saying, why are we on Sarah Palin for responding to his comment?"

Illustrating her total cluelessness to the logic of Hasselbeck's three-dimensional analogy, Barbara Walters, who got wet from the water dripping over the edge of the table, said "I forgive Sarah Palin," but then (half-jokingly) said to Elisabeth as she announced a commercial break to clean up, "I am not sure I forgive YOU because I'm getting soaking wet!"

Really, Barbara? So Elisabeth did some damage and immediately apologized to you, but you didn't immediately forgive her.

Now you know how Sarah Palin felt.

P.S. - As Joy Behar came to Obama's defense, she made reference to Republican pundit Tony Blankley's summation that taking into account Obama's known record, the gaffe was not indicative of any untoward feelings he has about "the retarded, or however you want to call them now" (Behar's words, not Blankley's). In doing so, she said that Obama had not "cut funding for Special Olympics." I cannot read Joy's mind (and wouldn't want to if I could), but just in case she was making a wink-and-nod reference to false stories spread by Keith Olbermann, ThinkProgress.com and other leftist outlets that Governor Palin had cut funding for Special Olympics in Alaska, I inserted a link to evidence disproving that charge.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Barbara
• Walters
• attacks
• Sarah
• Palin
• The
• View
• Elisabeth
• Hasselbeck
• Special
• Olympics
• bowling
• Sherri
• Shepherd
• Joy
• Behar
• Barack
• Obama
• Steve
• Kroft

[writersblock26]

Thank you for posting this, LNSmithee.

[LNSmithee]

@writersblock26 Thank YOU for watching! Please spread the word to other people who will appreciate it!

[Greekboy92C]

you're so stupid i hope there isn't going to be any republican in the white house ever again!!!!!

[LNSmithee]

@Greekboy92C Oh, really. Tell me why you think I'm stupid. If you're like most of the people who have posted negative comments on this video, you aren't good at analytical thinking, and will just spit out new insults.

[SISTAHMEEH]

WHOEVER MADE THIS VIDEO WE CAN ALREADY TELL WHAT SIDE YOU'RE ON SO IT'S NOT EVEN WORTH WATCHING I STOPPED AT 2:38 JUST SHOW THE CLIP AND LET THE PPL SEE FOR THEMSELVES.

[LNSmithee]

@SISTAHMEEH Hey, if you're afraid of the truth, that's your problem.

[billywish]

elisabeth is an idiot! .... she left her brain in australia when she was on survivor!

[tealmarlin]

@billywish elisabeth needs to get fucked...either by a man or a women, in her case maybe both at the same time.

[alonzo9772]

I agree with Elisabeth...(gulp) because Obama only apologized after the interview, if he was really sorry he would have apologized right after he made that flub.

[TheVivaLaZiva]

It's especially rude that Barbara is defending the comment and bagging on Sarah Palin, while Sarah has a special needs child!

[hansson2000]

the view debater are wayyyyyyyyyy to kind to the special debater elisabeth

[bjsafari]

i feel so sorry for elizabeth!

[bluegsp]

So they admit that Obama made a "mistake", but they want to give him a pass. Meanwhile, they make up lies about Palin and repeat them over and over again.

I would hate to have to lie and practice hypocrisy all of the time to defend my ideology.

[writersblock26]

@hotnsassy84 Nice one.

[hotnsassy84]

@writersblock26 clothes...