Stretch

I have raved and I have ranted about the miserable failure (who, as far as I'm concerned, has given the word "failure" a bad name!) for as long as I have published this blog. The man has done to this country (not to mention Iraq) pretty much exactly what he has done with every other enterprise he's gotten his hands on in his lifetime — driven it straight into the ground.

But beyond his more cataclysmic, er, achievements, I am really pissed and annoyed at this — from his August 21 press conference in which, by the way, he also admitted that Iraq had nothing to do with September 11:

THE PRESIDENT: Last question. Stretch. Who are you working for, Stretch?

Q Washington Examiner.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, good. Glad you found work. (Laughter.)

Q Thank you very much. Mr. President...

"Stretch"!!

This is — as far as I'm concerned — a perfect illustration of the lap dog nature of the press. The President of the United States apparently feels that it's okay to call people he hasn't met yet by nicknames, and as has been the case since this lamebrain took office over five years ago, the press has allowed him to get away with it.

At the very least, why didn't this reporter say, "Excuse me, Mr. President, but my name is _________________________"?

One of my closest friends is a journalist, and she happens to be less than five feet tall. What if he were to address a reporter as "Shortie"? How about "Chubby"? I mean, isn't that really what we're talking about here? This pathetic excuse for a public official can't demonstrate one of the basic skills of public discourse — that to give respect is to earn respect.