Much of the media and entertainment world spent the last eight years ridiculing President Bush's verbal communication -- Saturday Night Live made up “strategery” to make fun of him -- and lack of reading skills with jokes about Bush reading children's books or his barren library. But Monday night, CBS and NBC used President Barack Obama's first full day of vacation as a pivot to spin his “wee wee'd up” miscue, which certainly would have been widely mocked if uttered by Bush, and supposed summer book reading list -- into admirable positives.
“Mr. Obama,” Couric contended, “has continued a presidential tradition, what Thomas Jefferson called neology, making up a new word or giving new meaning to an old one.” Do you recall anyone in the media ever hailing Bush's “misunderestimated” as advancing “a presidential tradition”? After recalling how President Jackson “popularized the expression 'dead duck'” while Warren Harding came up with “bloviate,” she touted how “President Obama has introduced us to 'wee wee'd up.'”
Meanwhile, NBC's Brian Williams trumpeted how “we also learned the President's reading list.” He proceeded to list the five books the White House said he brought “to read on vacation,” including New York Times columnist Tom Friedman's advocacy of a “green revolution” in Hot, Flat and Crowded. “When you add it all up, that's 2,300 pages of reading,” Williams noted, but “then again, he does have ten days of vacation.”
Audio: MP3 clip (1:02)
From the Monday, August 24 CBS Evening News:
KATIE COURIC: President Obama spent his first full day of vacation on Martha's Vineyard not testing the way the political winds are blowing but testing which way the wind might take his golf ball. Mr. Obama, by the way, has continued a presidential tradition, what Thomas Jefferson called neology, making up a new word or giving new meaning to an old one.Couric's the one who should be embarrassed, embarrassed by such a sycophantic approach to Obama.Jackson popularized the expression “dead duck,” using it to describe political rival Henry Clay. For Harding, it was “bloviate.” He both used it and demonstrated it as he talked on and on. Now talking about the fuss over health care reform, President Obama has introduced us to “wee wee'd up.”
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, AUGUST 20: There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all “wee wee'd up.”
COURIC: Puzzled reporters asked for a definition.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS, AUGUST 21: I think “wee wee'd up” is when people just get nervous for no particular reason.
COURIC: In other words, they lose control. We'll have to see if “wee wee'd up” makes it into the cultural lexicon or goes the way of Jefferson's “debarrass” which means to un-embarrass yourself, something folks in Washington rarely do.
Brian Williams on the NBC Nightly News:
The Obama family vacation is under way. Today it already featured golf and tennis. And today we also learned the President's reading list. The White House says he brought along the following books to read on vacation: Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded, David McCullough's great John Adams, Lush Life by Richard Price. Last two books are Plainsong and The Way Home. When you add it all up, that's 2,300 pages of reading. Then again, he does have ten days of vacation.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center





Jackson popularized the expression “dead duck,” using it to describe political rival Henry Clay. For Harding, it was “bloviate.” He both used it and demonstrated it as he talked on and on. Now talking about the fuss over health care reform, President Obama has introduced us to “wee wee'd up.”
The Obama family vacation is under way. Today it already featured golf and tennis. And today we also learned the President's reading list. The White House says he brought along the following books to read on vacation: Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded, David McCullough's great John Adams, Lush Life by Richard Price. Last two books are Plainsong and The Way Home. When you add it all up, that's 2,300 pages of reading. Then again, he does have ten days of vacation. 














Editor at Large
Comments Policy
O-M-G!
August 24, 2009 - 19:50 ET by Indiana JoeTwo things:
"Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 1
In my wildest dreams, I
August 24, 2009 - 22:03 ET by motherbeltIn my wildest dreams, I never imagined having a President who would use the phrase "wee-wee'd up" and not be ridiculed by the media, and in fact, be admired for it.
Talk about classless.
I don't want to EVER hear another single word about Presdient Bush's lack of sophistication from ANY of them!!
Mother
August 24, 2009 - 22:08 ET by NorthCoasterI've thought the same about "The Barack and Joe Show". Dan Quayle, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush were lightyears ahead of these two JOKERS, in their command of the English language.
Neither do I mb. I am
August 24, 2009 - 22:16 ET by bigtimerNeither do I mb.
I am feeling the same as you are regarding this, I have noticed the media as a whole have stayed away from this from day one... hypocrites being what they are, we expect nothing different.
...but now... to have the so-called brilliance/audacity from the so-called smartest talking heads, attempt to skew these immature words as somehow wondrous, something to marvel at, is beneath contempt.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
bt it probably took them a
August 25, 2009 - 07:46 ET by TruthMongerbt it probably took them a couple of days of meetings to come up with something this time
but shame on us - how could we even possibly THINK the media is biased:)!!!
Palin/Prejean 2012
:)
August 25, 2009 - 07:49 ET by TruthMongeri believe we have really misunderestimated them
Do you think
August 25, 2009 - 13:29 ET by DEVILDOCMOMhis teleprompter said that...no, I don't think so either. That's what happens when you let bho out on his own. In fact he and joe biden make a great pair with their misstatements.
Seriously, will the msm EVER stop covering for him?
Nattering Nabobs
August 24, 2009 - 19:51 ET by SATerpI don't recall the press being so thrilled about Spiro Agnew's "Nattering Nabobs of Negativity" comment...
But then, he WAS a Republican.
SAT... ....and he was
August 24, 2009 - 19:54 ET by bigtimerSAT...
....and he was dead on target!
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Also
August 24, 2009 - 20:06 ET by jdlybrandAgnew once described some of his opponents as an "effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectals". That guy was obviously way ahead of his time!
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
jdly.... I like that...a
August 24, 2009 - 21:13 ET by bigtimerjdly....
I like that...a lot...another bulls-eye.
Way ahead of his time indeed.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Dude, I've wee weed up my
August 24, 2009 - 19:57 ET by 10ksnookerDude, I've wee weed up my whole term in 6 months. Is that what she meant?
Or is it, Obama is all wee weed up, like the 70s stoners were called.
Interesting point,10ksnooker
August 24, 2009 - 19:59 ET by GalvanicMaybe that's what actually popped into his head.
Shoes on the other foot now . . .
August 24, 2009 - 19:57 ET by GalvanicIf Bush-43 or Palin had said it, Couric & Crowd would be ridiculing them all week.
Watch for Tina "Sarah" Fey to utter it in another SNL sketch.
When Couric first came on
August 24, 2009 - 19:59 ET by celatorWhen Couric first came on board as an anchor, she announced, "There will be a new kind of news" or words to that effect. Now we know what she meant. It's Wee Wee news.
No citizen's right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, or property is safe as long as Obama is President of the United States.
Harvard Educated?
August 24, 2009 - 19:59 ET by BlondeGood lord....he'll save parents millions from that one comment alone.
I'd imagine a street gang rapper could have come up with a better addition to the lexicon.
All the while not plagiarizing an enemy on the "right" side of the aisle....who accused the dems last week of bed-wetting.
JUST FREAKIN' PATHETIC.
I hope he fails, too.
just because the press says
August 24, 2009 - 21:01 ET by jkwtradingjust because the press says he went to Harvard does not mean he wasn't a street rapper..
we...ed up wonldn't get him too far..as a rapper
I doubt he's going to read
August 24, 2009 - 20:07 ET by Radical1979I doubt he's going to read those books, to busy crying about health care. I do wish he'd read "John Adams". Politicians would do well to find out where the term "public servant" came from. Men who really sacrificed for their country.
As for "wee weed up" the MSM needs to get a grip.
Another Book for Obama's Reading List
August 24, 2009 - 20:51 ET by FeynmanFanAtlas Shrugged.
Book list
August 25, 2009 - 04:42 ET by AgnosticOr Chapterhouse for Sci-Fi fans. Heck, most any book written by Frank Herbert shows a better understanding of social dynamics than found in the current crop of government manipulators.
A person may be won over with logic and reason but the masses must be bought with spectacle and platitudes. - 2008 Elections
Radical1979
August 24, 2009 - 22:09 ET by easygoerI agree. It's all for show. And the press just lap it up. I'd wager he won't read a single one
If he does read, it will
August 25, 2009 - 06:40 ET by FranksamIf he does read, it will take time away from his daughters. Since he's the Dad-in Chief, he ought to be playing mini-golf with his kids.
bo's reading list
August 25, 2009 - 09:21 ET by east tennessee johnHow about "Wealth of Nations"?
i am going to use an old
August 24, 2009 - 20:08 ET by JAJTi am going to use an old valley girl term, Gag me with a spoon! Katie Couric is so full of it, i am so over it!JAJT
Lemonade?
August 24, 2009 - 20:20 ET by BarkerSo the new name for the StateRun MSM should be: The Wetters
Barack Obama: Bringing Stupid Back (though it never really left)
Wee-Wee'd Up
August 24, 2009 - 20:36 ET by NorthCoasterYeah the "O" could have just said, "they were getting all pissy", and been done with it.
Ruh-Roh
August 24, 2009 - 20:44 ET by BarkerObama's Book List Impresses Williams
I wonder how the President's gonna react when he finds out Archie proposed to Veronica.
When you add it all up, that's 2,300 pages of reading. Then again, he does have ten days of vacation.
Here's an idea: Read the Bill....Twice!
Barker - spew alert
August 24, 2009 - 20:53 ET by FeynmanFanI'm glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read that! Good one!
heck read it once...
August 24, 2009 - 20:57 ET by jkwtradingheck read it once...
How 'bout..
August 24, 2009 - 23:08 ET by AmmoManCharlie Rangel sending his two lawyers over to explain what's in it.
They've got to be comic book nuts too.
I mean, come on, they do work for Rangel...
(Remember, Conyers couldn't get two lawyers to explain it to him)
“Mr. Obama,” Couric
August 24, 2009 - 20:53 ET by GregE“Mr. Obama,” Couric contended, “has continued a presidential
tradition, what Thomas Jefferson called neology, making up a new word
or giving new meaning to an old one.
Yep he's also making up new words and phrases by his mere actions along......
"Grande Fubar"
Thomas Jefferson and Obama
August 24, 2009 - 20:56 ET by FeynmanFanAs an avid student of Thomas Jefferson, I am dismayed that anyone would mention his name and Obama's in the same sentence. Absolutely no comparison.
... giving meaning to an
August 24, 2009 - 21:15 ET by ThisnThat... giving meaning to an old one.
Socialism. That's a pretty old word.
___________________________________
"Tax the rich" is a basically unstable way of governing - The NYT
I think you misread....
August 24, 2009 - 22:11 ET by motherbeltCouric actually said give new meaning to an old one.
However, his socialism is the same old thing.
Well, I don't know what words other Presidents made up, so I have no idea where Katiekins got that idea...
But I'm sure "wee-wee'd up" will be at the top of the list from now on.
\sarc off
Hey, liberal SNL writers....here's your chance...you said there wasn't anything to make fun of about him....
How about you do a skit every week about him, using that phrase!
Come on...show some guts.....
A lot of our parents are
August 24, 2009 - 21:08 ET by mostlymoderateA lot of our parents are gonna get "wee weed" all over by the Government if Obama's health care system passes.
Boy, Brian Williams is easily impressed, ain't he?
August 24, 2009 - 21:17 ET by R D Helm-Dave
Wussy....Little Miss
August 24, 2009 - 21:21 ET by bigtimerWussy....Little Miss Priss.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Pathetic, ain't he?
August 24, 2009 - 23:37 ET by R D HelmLOL.
-Dave
Yes he is a regular
August 24, 2009 - 21:28 ET by JAJTYes he is a regular Bed-wetter, just like bammy and Gibbsy.
JAJT
LOL
August 24, 2009 - 22:42 ET by R D Helm-Dave
i think 'Wee-Weed Up" really
August 24, 2009 - 21:46 ET by JAJTi think 'Wee-Weed Up" really came from VP biden, imean that is something he would say and Obama ran with it (probably came out of his mouth unexpectlly after hearing Biden say it daily..) oh where in the world is Joe Biden!! JAJT
~Where's Waldo?
August 24, 2009 - 22:01 ET by choselife3x"The Vice-President is in an undisclosed location" aka bound and gagged in the special VP underground bunker.
Or tied to a tree in Martha's Vineyard with a 40 pound bag of kibble.
Dissent: It's not just for liberals anymore.-kudzupolitics, USA Today
choselife3x
August 24, 2009 - 22:52 ET by BarkerOr tied to a tree in Martha's Vineyard with a 40 pound bag of kibble
Last I heard, Biden was the featured guest in a $2 Dunk-a-Joe booth at some festival being held in Spud, Idaho.
But, again, who knows?
JAJT
August 24, 2009 - 22:15 ET by Barkeroh where in the world is Joe Biden!!
Great question!
I was wondering that earlier today: Where is Joe Biden? Chained up and duct-taped in the bunker was my first thought. But, who knows?
By the way, JAJT, You have a wonderful profile.:'^)
Thanks Barker- have a
August 24, 2009 - 22:18 ET by JAJTThanks Barker-
have a great evening:) JAJT
Nice he vacations durning Ranadan
August 24, 2009 - 22:26 ET by upcountrywaterWhy oh why.. maybe next year he will go to Mecca...
tennis , golf,and bowing to the east ....
get weeded up too..
IT'S A DRYYY COLD Niagara Falls froze over,jpg
Obama needs to read "How to Resign and Disappear Forever"
August 24, 2009 - 22:44 ET by R D HelmYeah, I know it hasn't been written yet, but I am still holding out hope that somebody who types really, Really fast will, well, you know...
-Dave
Dave...............................
August 24, 2009 - 23:44 ET by BEGRUNTHe'll be on that midnight plane to Kenya............He's got to go.....he's got to go......into exile............LMAO!!!!
BEG,
August 25, 2009 - 00:03 ET by R D HelmROFL! Yeah, I am kinda hoping that Noel, who types far faster than us mere mortals, will pick up the mantle of my idea and run with it.
Besides, I am guessing he could write the whole damn thing sans notes or even a rough outline.
Heck, Barry could move in with his bro into that hut over in Kenya, and nobody would ever hear from him again.
:-)
-Dave
Dave you know..................
August 25, 2009 - 00:09 ET by BEGRUNTas farcical as it sounds.......I would not be surprised that this would be the first president to fly into exile.......like a banana republic dictator.
Beg,
August 25, 2009 - 00:20 ET by R D HelmLOL-I would willingly drive to D.C., at my own expense, and gladly volunteer to help with the move, as well as the loading of the luggage onto the DC-3.
After all, aren't old sputtering DC-3's what all of those exiled banana republic types always seem to flee in?
-Dave
LOL!!!! with anti aircraft batteries...........
August 25, 2009 - 00:20 ET by BEGRUNTgoing off, explosions.....people screaming....random machine gun fire....LOL!!!
BEG,
August 25, 2009 - 00:34 ET by R D HelmROFL! Yeah, and a dirt runway with banana trees lining both sides, too.
Heck, fergit the book, I think we is headed fer silver screen territory here.
I wonder how fast Noel could write a full-blown screenplay?
Dayem, I am such a horrible human being. LOL.
-Dave
Beg,
August 25, 2009 - 00:43 ET by R D HelmLOL-And in the final scene, have Robert Gibbs running behind the accelerating DC-3, exhaust smoke blowing in his face, briefcase under his arm, waiving frantically with his free hand and screaming, "Wait! Wait! Don't leave me! Don't leave meeeeeeeeeee" as the wheels leave the runway.
-Dave
Dave........LMAO!!!!!!!!
August 25, 2009 - 00:48 ET by BEGRUNTThat would be classic............like the movie "Wild Geese".......LOL
Noel......we gave you all kinds.......
August 25, 2009 - 00:12 ET by BEGRUNTof ideas......it is now time to write the book!!! LOL!!!
I think his time would be
August 25, 2009 - 00:35 ET by SnappyI think his time would be better spent reading the health care legislation he is trying to hide from. Maybe next time he holds one of his canned town halls he might actually know what he is talking about, or at least have some intelligent spin to put on things.
"Ask not what your country
August 25, 2009 - 03:21 ET by Jack Bauer"Ask not what your country can do for you ..." John Fitgerald Kennedy
"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" Sir Winson Churchill
"All we-weed up...." Barack Hussein Obama (Greatest orator ever)
It must be hard to read books when you have special editions where every right hand page is a mirror.
I'm Surprised
August 25, 2009 - 04:53 ET by Tugboat PhilThat the dinosaur media hasn't tried to spin this into "He didn't say "wee-wee", but "Wii-Wii ", which shows just how really cool he is.
Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean that people aren't actually plotting behind your back.
The msm
August 25, 2009 - 05:32 ET by well99Is like a bunch of school kids who hear the cool kid say something stupid and they start tittering.They know it was stupid but since he is the cool kid they dont want to say it.
I think this is great. I
August 25, 2009 - 05:54 ET by muh-oonI think this is great. I would like history to forever associate this president with the "cool" new phrase he made up. Instead of just ignoring it as a mis-speak they want to hold it up for the world to see as a sign of greatness. The only problem is that the phrase sounds stupid and weak and juvenile to anyone who is not under the spell.
Wee Weed Up ??
August 25, 2009 - 06:13 ET by jacktheripperThat has to be the dumbest thing ever uttered by a sitting POTUS
BW had better roll WAY over in that bed of Barry's
"I LOVE DEAD KENNEDY'S"
Dumbest?
August 25, 2009 - 06:49 ET by motherbeltHow about the most classless?
Classless?
August 25, 2009 - 07:14 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsHow about the most juvenile and vapid?
D
Write Congress and Senate and tell them what YOU think!
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
Telling that Couric felt the need to edit Gibbs' explanation
August 25, 2009 - 08:51 ET by krendlerNothing about what "wee wee'd" really meant according to Gibbs: "Bed wetting".
Couric goes with the non-sensical first crack Gibb's took at it, "nevous for no reason", rather than the bodily function stuff.
Yes, in the great tradition of Jefferson, Obama brings the level of discourse up another notch. And here I thought that type of talk would be more suitable during 4th grade recess, along with jokes about the Special Olympics.
Yes, great to have a president we can actually be proud of.
And I assume we'd see the same circling of the wagons
August 25, 2009 - 08:55 ET by krendleraround Obama by the media if Barry had said something along the lines of "soiling themselves" instead of "wee wee'd".
And is it safe to assume this was another "teaching moment"?
August 25, 2009 - 08:56 ET by krendler...along with "stupid" cops and Special Olympics?
This Day in History
August 25, 2009 - 09:04 ET by HockeyKid"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm John Plastikhair; let's find out about This Day in History.
"On this day fifty years ago, members of what was then known as the 'broadcast media' consigned their medium to the dustbin of history when they chose to celebrate as educated and enlightened the elementary-school phrase 'wee-wee'd up', as used by then-President Barack Obama.
"In their zeal to support a rapidly failing public figure, they abandoned every semblance of objectivity and even basic common sense. Of course, we all recognize Obama as the reason for passage of the Presidential Qualification Amendment, designed to ensure that such an obviously unfit candidate could never again assume the office of President.
"For This Day in History, I'm John Plastikhair. May we never forget."
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
"we weed up?"...ask Homer
August 25, 2009 - 10:28 ET by vrwc13Homer, what did 'the man in the Whitehouse' mean when he said:
BARACK OBAMA, AUGUST 20: There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all “wee wee'd up.”
Homer replies "D'oh!"
v
The problem in the world today is communication. Too much communication. - Homer
Reading list...
August 25, 2009 - 10:47 ET by Meredith1966I've got a few suggestions for Dear Leader's reading list--
The Federalist Papers
The Wealth of Nations
Democracy in America
and, for light reading just before snuffing out that last smoke in the evening--
The Constitution of The United States of America
The Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
Washington's Farewell Address
"The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately." - Calvin Coolidge
I can cut his 'reading list' by more than half!
August 25, 2009 - 10:56 ET by sic721" When you add it all up, that's 2,300 pages of reading. Then again, he does have ten days of vacation."
Why doesn't he just read HR3200? That's only 1100 pages, and "he does have ten days of vacation."
On a side note, what do you think the salary is of the person who has to type all those books into the teleprompter?
A generation which ignores history has no past -- and no future.-Robert A. Heinlein
I have read four of those books--catch up, Mr President
August 25, 2009 - 12:33 ET by StarAZAnyhow--that list didn't wow me--and I am even blind in one eye and must listen to books.
On the hot skinny front--Richard Cohen seems to be evincing some doubts about the pres...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082402469_Comments.html
Took long enough.
Good Gosh!
August 25, 2009 - 19:06 ET by DoktorFrankenDon't any of these media drones ever realize what it is they're saying? Are they all that incredibly stupid? Do they really want to destroy America by backing and abetting this evil 'person'? Have they believed this Communist/Socialist garbage (''Capitalism is Bad'') to the point that they're willing to destroy their own, and their children's, future?
I just look at people in awe who watch and believe the media today. I have, on more than a few occasions, had disagreements with family and friends over the media and their lies. Especially the people that watch MSNBC - and Olbermann.
And they think that I am the crazy one.
I need a Pastor Manning
August 25, 2009 - 22:06 ET by RR GOPI need a Pastor Manning fix.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
That was rich
August 25, 2009 - 22:13 ET by bigtimerRR...LOL...giver 'er time...give 'er time...he'll come through.
Great thinking, if you find something before I do, which I bet you will, post it...and let me know the latest too in case I'm not around...I've posted links about him as well over time.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
DC3
August 25, 2009 - 22:38 ET by CiampinoGreat plane. Don't disparage it. I flew from Rome to Entebbe in that plane and then many times a year in East Africa. Never a problem. Could land and take off in mud that other, more modern planes couldn't negotiate. Maybe that's why it was popular in banana republics LOL.
nonsense
August 25, 2009 - 23:14 ET by Lindamaeby Beatrix Potter
This pig went to market; This pig stayed at home;
This pig had a bit of meat; And this pig had none;
This little pig cried Wee! wee! wee! I can't find my way home.
then the newer version to be used on toes.
This little piggie went to market,
This little piggie stayed home,
This little piggie had roast beef,
This little piggie had none,
And this little piggie cried, "Wee! Wee! Wee!"
All the way home.
Did Obama mean that Congress were like the pigs crying all the way back to their states? Let's see:the Stock Market, Washington & theWH; Kobi beef for Obama = Dems who adore Obama; Republicans, and those who do not adore Obama;
The man is so inarticulate - and so is Katie. No, she's just impressed by the long legged mack daddy. (appologies to Manning)