While speaking to Admiral Robert Willard on March 25, the Representative asked several questions about the width and size of the island. He then fretted, "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize." [Video can be seen here. Note: This is not an April Fools joke.]
Though the remark is from a congressional hearing last week, it only exploded onto the internet on April 1. On MSNBC, Thursday, News Live Host David Shuster ignored the embarrassing gaffe (as of the 11am hour). This is the same journalist who, on March 29, scoffed at Sarah Palin's intelligence and asked a guest if he was "kidding" for calling the former governor smart.
One can only assume that Shuster and the other liberal hosts would mercilessly mock Palin for suggesting that Guam could "capsize" due to over-population.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Thursday featured a somewhat tortured clarification from the Congressman:
"I wasn’t suggesting that the island of Guam would literally tip over," said Johnson. "I was using a metaphor to say that with the addition of 8,000 Marines and their dependents – an additional 80,000 people during peak construction to the port on the tiny island with a population of 180,000 – could be a tipping point which would adversely affect the island’s fragile ecosystem and over burden its already overstressed infrastructure.
"Having traveled to Guam last year, I saw firsthand how this beautiful – but vulnerable island – is already overburdened, and I was simply voicing my concerns that the addition of that many people could tip the delicate balance and do harm to Guam."
AJC Columnist Jim Galloway wryly added, "Next time, Johnson might want to smile when he says that."
[UPDATE 04-01-2010: 17:55: On the April 1 Hardball, MSNBC host Chris Matthews covered the story and mocked Johnson.]
