Obama and the Disabled

Last night President Obama was interviewed by Jay Leno. He joked that his bowling skills were on par with the skill levels associated with the Special Olympics. He has been criticised for the off hand comment and apologized to the director of the Special Olympics even before the show aired.

But lets face it. If a non-disabled person performed certain tasks at the same level of someone with a disability that might be an indication of a lack of skill. Technically speaking, that is part of the anatomy of a joke.

I know these are serious times, but come on people a joke is a joke. I know the country has lost confidence in the market, do we have to give up our senses of humor too? What the president said wasn't even a stereotype it was the truth. If people with disabilities performed (without modifications) at the same level of skill as people without disabilities they would compete in the "regular" Olympics. We wouldn't need a special one.