First, I think the average 5th grader would know the difference between Nazi Germany and Poland and if the average 5th grader did make a mistake on this basic piece of history and I had just insulted an entire nation, i would apologize. But apparently, the mentally ill Obama doesn't see things that way.
From Fox News: The White House on Wednesday shrugged off Polish
demands to express more than mere 'regret' after President Barack Obama
mistakenly referred to a Nazi Holocaust site as a "Polish death camp."
"We regret the misstatement, but that is what it was," said Obama
spokesman Jay Carney, reiterating that the president "misspoke" during
a ceremony awarding the highest US civilian honor to late Holocaust
hero Jan Karski."He was referring to Nazi death camps in German-occupied Poland."
Poland had earlier insisted that Washington must do more than simply express the "regret" offered by another White House spokesman late on Tuesday, hours after Obama's use of words deemed offensive by Warsaw.
Obama's verbal slip overshadowed his posthumous award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Karski, a Polish underground officer who provided the Allies with early eyewitness accounts of Nazi genocide against European Jews.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Obama's words had hurt all Poles and he expected more from Washington than just regret.
"I am convinced that our American friends can today allow themselves a stronger reaction than a simple expression of regret from the White House spokesman -- a reaction more inclined to eliminate once and for all these kinds of errors," Tusk told reporters in Warsaw.
"Today, this is a problem for the reputation of the United States," the prime minister said.
Members of Poland's Jewish community -- including the country's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich -- said in a statement that: "We expect President Barack Obama to personally correct his words."
Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski said meanwhile he had sent a letter to Obama "counting on (...) cooperation in correcting this unfortunate error" which "I am certain in no way reflects the thoughts or views of our American friend."
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/obama-nazi-death-camp-gaffe-hurt-poles-pm-110505006.html
This is from the Warsaw Business Journal:
President Obama's ugly gaffe Tuesday has Poland's media and politicians in a tizzy. It's no wonder, Poles don't like being held responsible for Nazi crimes, and terms such as “Polish death camp” risk doing just that.
The matter isn't trivial. Millions of Poles died in Nazi German death camps during World War II – a fact that is sometimes glossed over in the West. If we want to make sure crimes such as the Holocaust never happen again, we have to get the history straight.
Alex Storozynski, the president of the Kościuszko Foundation, pointed this out a couple of years ago in a lovely post at The Huffington Post.
While some pooh-pooh the possibility of anyone confusing the Polish victims with Nazi perpetrators of World War II crimes, the risk is very real. Mr Storozynski mentions a documentary by Canadian filmmaker Violetta Cardinal in which she interviews school children who, when asked who built the Auschwitz concentration camp, answer “I guess the Polish people,” citing the very words “Polish concentration camp.” Find that at the 1:25-minute mark here.
He also quotes the Wall Street Journal, which points out that the term “Polish concentration camp” isn't even accurate geographically, since Auschwitz, for example, was on German Reich territory during World War II.
Mr Obama obviously didn't intend for his words to offend. He was honoring a hero of the Polish resistance, after all. But time and again Mr Obama has shown too little regard for the sensibilities of Poles. That's no way to treat a staunch ally, and speaks volumes to where he prioritizes the Polish-American relationship. Could you imagine him making a similar mistake regarding the British, Canadians or Chinese?
http://www.wbj.pl/blog/From_the_editor/post-359-get-your-words-right.htm
Perhaps the Polish-American relationship just isn't that important to President Obama. Who could blame him? He's got bigger issues on his plate. But at some point, he will need an ally in Europe.
Despite the slaps in the face mentioned above, Poland will be there. Poles know that words – and what they mean – are important. And Poles know the meaning of the word “ally.”
Does President Obama?
What a complete jackass Obama and his handlers are. Perhaps the handlers and Obama think Obama has the Polish vote secure.
This shows that Obama, even after 3 years of on the job training, still has no clue about being a diplomat or being a president.
I seriously think that Obama is thinking to himself this: "I am the president and I don't have to answer to anybody. Period. And who the hell is this Poland country demanding an apology? Don't they know who I am?"
Again, if this were George Bush or Dan Quayle, the Democrats and the media would be all over this story and they would be mocking Bush and Quayle for weeks on end. But then if Bush made the mistake, he would apologize because his ego isn't the size of the State of California. on the TV shows
Further, Obama is embarrassing the entire United States population by his ignorance, stupidity and narcissism. November 2012 cannot come soon enough.
Sounds like Poland and it's people have far more class and intelligence in their pinkie finger than Obama has in between his two big ears.
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