Obama’s Gaffes and Nov. 6 Elections

Published in The Sankei Shimbun
(Japan) on 6 November 2014
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Maisha Kuniyuki. Edited by Kyrstie Lane.
The U.S. was filled with happiness in April 2009, three months after Obama became president. The captain of a cargo ship in waters off the coast of Somalia in eastern Africa had been safely rescued after being attacked and held hostage by pirates.

Navy Seal snipers reportedly shot and killed three pirates who had been holding the captain at gunpoint. The details of this incident would later also be adapted into a movie starring Tom Hanks. The president's ability to manage this crisis was widely praised.

Even Japan saw a boom in President Obama's popularity during this time, with phrases like "change" and "yes we can" becoming popular. The president, however, who is supposedly a "master of speech," made an incomprehensible remark at a press conference and said, "We remain resolved to halt the rise of privacy in this region." The correct term was not "privacy," but the similarly spelled "piracy."

According to Marie Nishimori, a resident journalist in the United States, President Obama was only reading what his speechwriter had written. Thus, he has repeatedly done things such as making astonishing gaffes in response to unprepared questions and misreading speeches at press conferences.

The Republican Party took the majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. midterm elections. The main reason for defeat lies in the president's lack of popularity. His habit of misspeaking does not seem to be the only reason. From domestic immigration policy issues to his response to the Islamic State group that continues gaining power, he has used up voters' good will with indecisive politics.

For the next two years, President Obama remains in power as a "lame duck" with a loss of influence. Looking at the confusion of politics in Korea, we can see there are serious issues with a presidential system.


オバマの失言 11月6日

オバマ大統領が誕生してから3カ月の2009年4月、米国中が喜びに沸いていた。アフリカ東部ソマリア沖でコンテナ船が海賊に襲われ、人質となっていた米国人船長が、無事救出されたのだ。

 ▼海軍の特殊部隊が、船長に自動小銃を突きつけていた海賊3人を射殺したという。事の顛末(てんまつ)は、後にトム・ハンクスさん主演の映画にもなる。大統領の危機管理の手腕も大いに評価されたものだ。

 ▼当時は日本でも、「チェンジ」や「イエス ウイ キャン」などが流行語になる、大変なオバマブームだった。ただ、「演説の達人」のはずの大統領は記者会見で、意味不明の発言をしていた。「われわれはあの海域での、プライバシーの台頭に終止符を打つ決意を固めています」。プライバシーは、つづりが似ているパイラシー(海賊行為)が正しい。

 ▼在米ジャーナリストの西森マリーさんによると、実はオバマ大統領は、スピーチライターの書いた原稿を読んでいるだけだという。それゆえに記者会見で読み間違えたり、あらかじめ知らされていない質問に対しては、信じられない失言を繰り返してきた(『オバマ失言で学ぶアメリカ』)。

▼米中間選挙の結果、上院・下院とも野党・共和党が過半数を占めることになった。最大の敗因は、大統領の不人気である。失言癖のせいだけではなさそうだ。移民政策などの内政から、勢いを増すばかりのイスラム国への対応まで、「決められない政治」に、有権者が愛想を尽かしてしまった。

 ▼今後2年間、オバマ氏は「レームダック」(死に体)状態のまま、大統領の職にとどまらなければならない。韓国の政治の混乱を見るにつけても、「大統領制」が抱える問題の深刻さが浮かび上がってくる。
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1 COMMENT

  1. I am a registered Democrat with a lifelong socialist ideal. I could not feel any euphoria over candidate Obama in 2008. I always thought he was being puffed up during the scary economic crisis by our shadowy ” Power Elite “. He still makes the New Deal liberal Franklin D. Roosevelt look like a flaming Bolshevik. And now he has betrayed his earlier promise on Iraq. A Nobel Peace Prize winner bringing more misery to that poor country! Even Obamacare was a shabby compromise. It would have been better to extend the Medicare system to ALL Americans. Still Obama is a cut above these Republican Tea Party fanatics. Here in America we face a profound crisis of the two party system. Of course, our ONE PERCENT plutocracy controls BOTH the Democrat and Republican parties. Most Americans have finally figured that out.( http://radicalrons.blogspot.com/ )