Can you imagine, if Bush had did this? The media would be howling and straining at their leashes. PF progressive Hive Mind'ers would all be buzzing on the same insect frequency about Bush's stupidity and insensitivity. But, since the One did it, the only insects that we will hear will be the crickets.
possum got no comment either... Mum's the word as Myanmar's Suu Kyi starts military rapprochement 3 Dec.`15 - Myanmar's opposition was tight-lipped on Thursday about talks between leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's top general, citing the need for goodwill with its future government partners to ensure a smooth path to office.
Bush ran on being a simple everyman and denegrating intelectuals and intelectual curiosity, so yes, when Bush made these faux pas it reinforced that notion to his opposition. Obama ran on being smart. Conservatives scour the mediaverse looking for proof of the contrary, and are desperately trying to make it stick. Not sure that it's working. Either way, presidents often get unfairly reduced to simple memes. And opposition and supporters desperately try to shape these images throughout the presidents term. Ford will always be remembered as klutz, despite the fact that he was an outstanding athlete, while Bush who choked on a pretzel, fell off his bike, fell off a segway somehow escaped that label. Go figure.