Looks like Obama made a gaffe on Leno many are taking to be an insult to the disabled.

given the trailblazing display of incompetence by the bush administration, for the past 8 years, if this is the worst fumble by obama, i think i can look beyond it.

yes, it was poor, but i understood what he meant. he could have chosen his words better, but i expect everyone will get over it.

aside from that, i thought it was one of the best shows leno has done. unlike many "journalists", mr. leno seemed to have an actual grasp of the big issue at hand, and asked intelligent questions.

pres. obama's responses were, for the most part, equally intelligent, reasonably well articulated, and not at all condescending. certainly a refreshing change from the last oval office occupant.

Instead, you said "he pointed out much of what the financial companies did was legal and we'd be better off changing the laws." For me is a very poor example, or impression from Obama with time to explain just simple good pre-emptive rules in practice, to current in motion AIG business goals, to future business practices. In simple suggestions in front of the public was deficient. The integrity of just blowing off deception and fraud with the notion of "much of what was done was legal" needs to be played out up front, what is the much of what. For me billions of dollars for screw ups is a lot of "much of what".

Please understand that I feel Obama came across very good in his appearance on the Leno show. I'm even a supporter and voted for him. But totally disagree with the conclusion that the criminal justice system does not have to be used. Sorry but a huge amount of trust just dropped at this time.

That's sort of like how America is debating the water boarding stuff. For me it is wrong, there is no debate that water boarding actions could very well create volume and blood pressure stress in any part of a persons system perhaps not braking bones but very likely distressing organs and tissue that will not work the same.

Looks like Obama made a gaffe on Leno many are taking to be an insult to the disabled. A kinder assessment is here. [Added: Now having seen it, it was a big nothing.]

How much better it would have been if he had just said, "Well, what can I say?  Bowling's just not my thing."  

These unscripted moments - like so many others he's had - reveal essential information about him that is not particularly appealing, and explains why he and the TelePrompter usually go everywhere together.

And I am still trying - in vain - to deal with his wholly disingenuous comments about how "stunned" he was about AIG bonuses that his own administration lobbied Congress to provide a loophole for, that his Treasury Secretary knew about, and which they thought they could shrug off with talk about the sanctity of contracts.

I, too, raised an eyebrow when he discussed the legality of what the financial community has wrought - because it sounded like practice for explaining why Bush and Cheney and their cohorts will never be held accountable for their actions of the last 8 years - I mean, after all, the likes of the brilliant John Yoo and the dazzling Alberto Gonzales found all kinds of reasons why what they did was legal.

I understood what he was trying to say about the economy and AIG...and I felt reassured that if it can be fixed, he'll see that it gets fixed.

See Villanova/American