Get FREE NRO Newsletters

 

June 11 Issue  |  Subscribe  |  Renew

Close

New on NRO . . .

The Corner

The one and only.

Print   |  Text
 

‘If it was me, I would resign’

President Obama weighs in on Weinergate:

In an exclusive interview with TODAY’s Ann Curry that will air on Tuesday’s show, President Barack Obama said that if he were Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner right now, he would resign in the wake of the scandal in which Weiner admitted to sending explicit photos of himself to women online.

“I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,’’ Obama told Curry.

Weiner has been the talk of the nation since he was caught sending lewd photos of himself to various women on multiple social media platforms, prompting the head of the Democratic National Party to call for him to step down and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to demand an ethics committee investigation.

“When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to, at the time when people are worrying about jobs, and their mortgages, and paying the bills — then you should probably step back,’’ Obama said.

Obama added that what Weiner did was “highly inappropriate’’ and that he has “embarrassed himself” and his wife and family, but said it will ultimately come down to a decision by Weiner and his constituents as to whether he will continue in office.

New on The Corner. . .


COMMENTS   24

EXPAND  

   06/13/11 18:29

Considering his marvelous educational background, shouldn't one of incandescent brilliance know it should be "...if it were me, I would resign."?

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
Annie G.
   06/13/11 18:35

So if the president were caught in Congressman Weiner's situation, he would resign because exposure of his perversion would be personally distracting. Uh-huh

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 18:37

“When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to, at the time when people are worrying about jobs, and their mortgages, and paying the bills — then you should probably step back,’’ Obama said."

Physician heal thyself.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 18:44

Notice how he can't even answer THAT question without slipping in pre-programmed boilerplate pap?

Yeah, what a genius!

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
cjfloyd
   06/13/11 20:36

HA! Best comment so far.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 18:46

Re: "...if it was me..."!?!?

If it were me!

Cripes, Harvard smart guy and he doesn't know the subjunctive mood!

Next thing you know, our grammar impaired President will implement policies that are logically incoherent.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
DLP
   06/13/11 19:02

Good grief ... the proper construction is "if it were I" not "me". So much for degrees from Columbia
and Harvard.

If you listen closely, unless he's reading from a script, the President's grasp of grammar is pathetic.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 20:04

Touche'! I stand corrected.

I thought that "me"replacing "I" after the verb to be has been accepted as a standardized grammatical evolution.

But you are indeed correct. Or as my dear old Dad (RIP) would say:

"Ya done good."

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:54

"a buncha stuff" -Barack Obama

He's brilliant, remember...

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:00

Uh, if it was you, Mr. President, there would be a whole series of Lifetime movies detailing the events that led to you not being physically able to resign.

(Spoiler alert: Michelle goes to jail.)

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:17

CBS News helpfully corrected the President's challenged grammar for him: External Link 

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:32

RE: CBS News helpfully...

CBS is either correct OR is displaying the most spectacularly clear-cut bias that it is humanly possible to possess.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:40

I recognize the paradox the former presents. It is impossible for CBS to be correct since they quoted Obama one way, but headlined it the other.

So, that leaves...

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
td
   06/13/11 19:29

Hmm. Resigning to protect the people you serve is now honorable and the right thing to do. Sarah Palin, call your office.

The only thing missing is that Palin didn't do anything wrong. Still, Alaskans were the victims of a ramping up of frivolous ethics complaints costing tax payers millions and crippling the effectiveness of Alaska's executive branch.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
GJG#9
   06/13/11 19:34

Seriously: Bravo.

Grammar Caveat: Were it I

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
GJG#9
   06/13/11 19:36

Eh, on 2nd thought, "Were I he"

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:43

The One delivers the Chaicago-style coop de grass after the underlings have softened him up a little. And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution does quote him accurately in its online piece, yet renders the headline grammatically.

External Link 

In terms of Obama's education and culture, would it were true.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:52

If it really was an intentional attempt on the part of CBS to give President Obama a leg-up, it backfired.

A lot of people would not have noticed the grammatical error without the discrepancy. If they were consistently wrong, it would have looked more like an honest mistake. Transcriptions are butchered all the time.

Now, though, O'Reilly will have Bernie Goldberg shoving this stuff through their respective megaphones. w00t!

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   06/13/11 19:49

That's a big no-brainer there Ace- thanks for weighing in. How about if someone discovered your wife was working a 350K a year no-show job?

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
 Bugg
   06/13/11 19:53

So he would resign because it's distracting to take photos of your frank and beans and then text them to young women who are not your wife. A distraction is not a discernment of right and wrong, merely an expression of political expediency. The One is so wedded to moral relativism that he cannot call this behavior wrong. I would expect nothing else for the state senator who voted present when ever he could.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
Load More Comments

Add a Comment

Already Registered? Log In Here.


The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.


* Designates a required field.
© National Review Online 2012
All Rights Reserved.
Subscriptions
NR / Print
NR / Digital

Gift Subscriptions
NR / Print
NR / Digital
NR Apps
iPhone/iPad
Android

NRO Apps
iPhone
Support Us
Donate
Media Kit
Contact