perhaps a little context here...
the discussion of ethnic slurs by political leaders had to do with the double standard that is de rigueur in politics these days...
another poster chimed in to reinforce the acceptability of the slur...(something clinton himself did not do)
and it seems you are happy to perpetuate what clinton apologized for....
i think irish-americans have a fine sense of humor....
are you going to ask about the lack of sense of humor of american blacks? not that i see *anyone* perpetuating the inappropriate words of lott.....but if they did....would you be applying the same standard to them?
clinton's disparaging remarks were made as peace talks were ongoing and were directed to the principals involved....lott made his remarks at a birthday party...
the context was what are fair and reasonable expectations of political leaders who should unquestionably have a higher standard than buddies trading jokes in a private setting..
clinton wasn't making a private joke....he was making public comments on a very serious issue and used a trite and worn stereotype to justify his assertions.
s-t.com
Clinton recants metaphor about Irish
By Anne Gearan, Associated Press writer
OTTAWA -- President Clinton was forced to apologize yesterday after he remarked that the Northern Ireland peace process had stumbled because the two sides are "like a couple of drunks" who can't leave the bar.
The remark riled tempers in Belfast and hours afterward the White House issued a statement in Clinton's name acknowledging that the comment had been inappropriate.
"Earlier today, in a discussion of the Irish peace process, I used a metaphor that was inappropriate," said Clinton in the statement. "I want to express my regret for any offense my remark caused."
It all began during a speech inaugurating the new U.S. Embassy building here in which Clinton spoke of a need to heal religious and ethnic differences.
"I spent an enormous amount of time trying to help the people in the land of my forebears in Northern Ireland get over 600 years of religious fights," Clinton said.
"And every time they make an agreement to do it," he continued, "they're like a couple of drunks walking out of the bar for the last time. When they get to the swinging door, they turn around and go back in and say, 'I just can't quite get there."'
The remarks drew a mixture of murmurs and laughter from the crowd.
It also drew a sharp retort from across the Atlantic from the Rev. Ian Paisley, leader of Northern Ireland's most hard-line Protestant party, the Democratic Unionists.
"This is a highly offensive and insulting remark to the people of Northern Ireland," said Paisley, whose party opposes the Good Friday peace accord, but is entitled to posts within the Protestant-Catholic administration that local politicians have been struggling for more than a year to form.
The major Catholic-supported party in Northern Ireland, the pacifist Social Democratic and Labor Party, said in a statement that Clinton's remarks were "obviously off the cuff" but "reflected the reality that the president, like so many of us, is justifiably frustrated with the slow pace of progress in implementing the Good Friday agreement in full."
National Security Council spokesman David Leavy said in Washington that Clinton was expressing his frustration at all sides in the Northern Ireland dispute.
"Clearly the president didn't mean to cause offense to any group of people, but he is clearly frustrated that both sides can't seize this moment of peace and make progress in implementing the Good Friday accords," Leavy said. He said the peace process has been "mired in issues for far too long." |
