Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Daily Email Edition

Get MN Daily NEWS delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Obama cracks Special Olympics joke on Leno show

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said the president’s offhand remark was not meant to disparage the Special Olympics.

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) âÄî President Barack Obama might have rolled a gutter ball on NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” Toward the end of interview on Thursday, Obama told host Jay Leno he’s been practicing at the White House’s bowling alley but wasn’t happy with his score of 129. Leno complimented Obama on the score, but the president quipped, “It was like the Special Olympics or something,” which prompted laughter from the audience. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said the president’s offhand remark was not meant to disparage the Special Olympics, only to poke some fun at the commander-in-chief’s bowling skills. “He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world,” Burton told reporters flying back to Washington with Obama aboard Air Force One. A call for comment to a Special Olympics spokesman was not returned late Thursday. Despite making fun of his score, the president appears to be getting better the more he visits the White House lanes, which President Truman installed in 1947. During a campaign photo op a year ago at a bowling alley in Altoona, Penn., he rolled only a 37 in seven frames. The clip of the disastrous game was replayed on late night television shows such as Leno’s âÄî one of Obama’s few campaign gaffes.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Accessibility Toolbar

Comments (0)

All The Minnesota Daily Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *