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Top 10 political gaffes of the decade

Bush, Obama, Ignatieff, Harper: Mistakes, they’ve made a few

by macleans.ca on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 10:31am - 18 Comments
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  • http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

    Strange list of gaffes to be the "top 10 gaffes of the decade".

    Who really remembers Harper's Republic Day gaffe? It wasn't even him and he had many worse that had far more impact. Like saying Martin supported child pornography which moved votes. Or criticizing Iggy for something he didn't even say at a G8 event. Those were real and significant gaffes, but even those I'm not sure are "top 10 of the decade" worthy.

    Similarly, who remember's Ignatieff's comment to the Star. You didn't even quote it right – the comment was about, if he lost the leadership, whether the new leader wanted him to run or not. Like with Harper, he's had bigger gaffes that actually had impact: I think he lost the leadership over his "war crimes" miscue, for example. Certainly his comment to the Star isn't in the top 50 "gaffes of the decade worldwide".

    And Bush's biggest gaffe was the Merkel neck rub? There are literally dozens of full length books on his many gaffes.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

      Agreed completely. This is a rather strange list with some glaring omissions. The child porn gaffe was way bigger than this Indian one, which I don't even remember. Dion's botched interview with Steve Murphy and failure to produce a usable video response on time to the news networks during the coalition crisis were collossal blunders that cost him an election and his leadership, respectively. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" was collossally stupid as well…how on earth does the Merkel neck rub count as his most significant? The Obama gaffe that you chose also barely registers…bowing low to the Saudi king and then denying he did so despite the video evidence is one that will cost him way more votes; it is still used by his most ardent critics to this day. Even the "Special Olympics" bowling joke was a bigger gaffe than the one identified here…

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

    The others? They are all up there and definitely headline grabbers of significance (though I'm not sure Obama's is really a "top ten of the decade worldwide").

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

    What – did McLeans let their kids cover things during the Holiday season?

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

    (1) We will keep Harper on a tight leash
    (2) We are giving Harper an opportunity to present a report card to parliament and we will be keeping him to it.
    (3) Mr. Harper your time is up.
    … stay tuned …
    (4) We can and will not support the gov't …. the next words you hear from Iggy are – talk to Donnolly

  • Mel

    Wow. Total garbage. Who wrote this?

  • http://theplaceofbiff.blogspot.com biff

    Obama's "57 states"

    Obama's "I don't speak Austrian"…love that Austrian language

    Obama's "clinging to their guns and religion"

    Three off the top of my head.

    So many more – for one the media told us would bring the world together. We should have a seperate one for top ten media fawning over Obama: my favorite:

    "he's like a god".

    With over ten percent unemployment, nationalizing car companies, tripling the deficit, "extending his hand" to a brutal Iranian regime as it slaughters its people in the name of freeedom, "god" works in mysterious ways.

    • Jason

      Is it physically impossible for you to be objective and not a hyper-partisan 100% of the time Biff? That can't be healthy.

      • http://theplaceofbiff.blogspot.com biff

        Jason,

        No objections to the constant anti-Harper rants here??

        I guess the "correct" form of hyper-partisanship is healthy,
        I've just got the unhealthy kind.

    • jrt

      You are so correct. Perhaps you could find a bit of time to cover for MacLeans. Just may get me back to reading it again?
      R

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/YYZ YYZ

      The first two while stupid hardly qualify as major gaffes. Bush said stuff like that almost daily.

      The third, guns and religion, was a HUGE gaffe and it should have been Obama's, since this was clearly an equal opportunity list.

  • Craig

    What about Obama's Air Force One photo op? You know… the one where he thought it would be a good idea to fly-by at a low altitude, unannounced with jet planes in tow over New York City? Kind of hard to beat that one.

    And if Palin is up there for Couric's interview gaffes, one has to wonder where Dion's "do-over" interview question should be on this list.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/DerekPearce DerekPearce

      Their is HUGE CHASM between Dion not understanding a rambling question in his second language and Palin not understanding basic questions in her first language. Dion was totally uncharismatic, but to compare him in the same sentence to Palin shows how delusional Palin fans are.

      • Craig

        Another huge difference is that Dion's interview lasted a few minutes while Palin's lasted an ENTIRE DAY! You try and do an all day interview — especially with that hack Couric and her gibberish questions — and have enough focus to answer every question perfectly. Palin probably couldn't put up with her idiocy any longer and just zoned out. I know I would.

        You are right about comparing Dion and Palin in the same sentence. Palin has class and common sense. Dion is so vapid and twisted that there can be no comparison.

        • http://intensedebate.com/people/DerekPearce DerekPearce

          Yes you're quite right– I would zone out too. But I'm not trying to run for VP of the USA– you think it's easy to meet the press!? If she can't handle an all day interview session, she sure as hell can't understand international relations or the minutiae of economic policy. And calling Couric a "hack" and her questions "gibberish" and "idiocy" show how desperate you are to remain blind about Palin's basic incompetence. Heheh, I'm suspecting you're actually a left wing troll if you're going to hilariously assert that Palin is the one with class while Dion is vapid. Dion, vapid? Even if you disagree with his policies… well, enough said. Thanks for the laugh though ;^)

        • nana tirolese

          Sarah Palin has class? You've got to be kidding? She is ignorant, intolerant and hypocritical! She often uses fear-mongering to make her point- i.e. the "death panel" comments re. Health Care reform. She made George Bush look like a scholar where international issues were concerned and allowed her daughter to get pregnant, no doubt by endorsing abstinence instead of birth control.
          I find it baffling as to why people think she is so wonderful and worthy of admiration!

  • M Gough

    This list cannot possibly be correct without reference to Dion's video . . . or his "do-over" interview . . . or Ignatieff's attempt at a coalition . . . ah, so many Liberal moments to remember!
    : )

  • Dan F

    How can you list political gaffes without referencing the introduction of the economic update by Harper that nearly cost him his political life? Say what you will about the coalition, but to introduce confidence legislation in a minority parliament that has no hope of passing, simply as a way of poking a sharp stick in the eye of opponents that you just defeated, causing all of them to rise up against you and nearly topple your newly won government, and then only escaping by the skin of your teeth by shutting down parliament before the confidence vote can take place, has to rank as one of the biggest political gaffes of all time! If the GG had not granted his request to prorogue, it is unlikely that Harper would have survived as the leader of his party.

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