Tropic Hypocrisy: Shriver Calls Obama "Sincere and Heartfelt" After Special Olympics Insult

We’ve all seen the tape from Jay Leno by now. For the record, I’m not slamming President Obama for his Special Olympics faus pas. Who can blame him? He didn’t even have TOTUS with him. And, more importantly, as a culture we need to get over this hyper-politically-correct-gotcha attitude. However, for those who trade in political correctness and gotchas, we should at least expect consistency. Public condemnations shouldn’t be distributed based on whether you are liberal or conservative, or have a “D” or “R” after your name.

On Thursday night, after news of the Leno taping broke but before it actually aired, I made two predictions. First, I predicted that NBC would edit the tape so that the President’s Special Olympics insult wouldn’t be seen in public. I was wrong. They aired it as is. Good for them. Now if only the mainstream media would release the tape of Obama reading the wrong speech off his teleprompter and thanking himself for inviting himself to the White House, my faith my might be fully restored.

My second prediction was spot on. I noted that when the comedy film Tropic Thunder came out last summer, Timothy Shriver, a prominent member of the Kennedy clan and President of the Special Olympics, denounced the film because of a brief dialogue about actors playing “retards.” Here’s what Kennedy said then:

Mockery in any form, or for any purpose or directed at anyone, especially those least able to defend themselves, is neither funny nor acceptable. We must work together to bring it to an end. As chairman of the Special Olympics, I am inspired to be as vocal as possible about this important matter to effect positive change and to generate support for those who deserve our respect . . . Ridicule is a subtle but malicious practice that only serves to exclude and marginalize people with intellectual disabilities.

Note the language he used. He promised to be “as vocal as possible” in denouncing “mockery in any form.” Strong words. Big promises.

As I suspected on Thrusday night, however, he didn’t live up to those words when it came to President Obama. Here’s his official press release on the matter:

President Obama called last night and expressed his regret and he apologized.  He said that he did not intend to humiliate Special Olympics athletes or people with intellectual disabilities.  He was sincere and heartfelt, and said that he is a fan of our movement and is ready to work with our athletes to make the United States a more accepting and welcoming country for all people with special needs.

He then went on to call this “a teachable moment for our country,” and to promote the unquestionably outstanding work that the Special Olympics does.

So, just to review, a comedy film referencing “retards” is “malicious,” but a sitting President of the United State ridiculing Mr. Shriver’s very organization is “sincere and heartfelt.” Wow. What have we come to?

This is the problem with political correctness. It’s a sham. If you have the “correct” political beliefs, then you are exempt from from the code. If you have “incorrect” poitical beliefs, then you better watch what you say and lawyer-up when you make a mistake—and you will make a mistake at some point.

The real irony is that Tropic Thunder was never really making fun of the handicapped. It was making fun of political correctness and those who trade in it selectively, like Mr. Shriver.