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[Frumple]

Aye cript, but you forget that a fair amount of the conservatives still have their head stuck up the ass of 200-years-ago!America (or at least their imagination of that time period ). They'll make a nice little hullabaloo over it, though probably with emphasis on little.

[Dutchling]

I am sure its on youtube by now, but I can't really verify with my work bandwidth.

It was something close to:

The last time we had the British in the White House, it was under slightly different circumstances. And they really lit up the place.

Hehe.
Obama's a funny guy.

[Leafsnail]

Was Cameron offended?  No?  Then what does it matter?

[PTTG??]

Was Cameron offended?  No?  Then what does it matter?

It's an election year. Everything matters, especially the things that don't matter.

[Nadaka]

Was Cameron offended?  No?  Then what does it matter?

I was mildly offended, I don't think that is the kind of joke that the president should be making. I don't think I am unique in that among potential Obama voters. There will be a lot of people pointing to this as some kind of proof that Obama is trying to destroy America. Both of those things can impact his reelection.

[mainiac]

Was Cameron offended?  No?  Then what does it matter?

It was a self depreciating joke on behalf of the Americans, not a poke at the British.

Obama hinting that Amurica ever failed at anything ever is of course grounds for treason charges.

Completely baseless speculation: I hear that FDR made the same joke when J.M. Keynes stayed at the white house.  Keynes was so offended he vowed never returned to return to the US.  He later relented but they had to organize the Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire so that he could attend while spending as little time outside British territory as possible.

[nenjin]

There will be a lot of people pointing to this as some kind of proof that Obama is trying to destroy America. Both of those things can impact his reelection.

Then those people are idiots, and we shouldn't value their political opinions. When most other politicians get away with spewing vile, false trash from their mouth holes on a daily basis, trying to stick it to the president for making a completely tasteful joke about one of our allies is beyond hypocritical.

[Leafsnail]

It was a self depreciating joke on behalf of the Americans, not a poke at the British.

...How?  "Last time you were here you set fire to things".  What element of that is self deprecating as opposed to gentle ribbing of the other party?

[Bauglir]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with it being a pretty decent joke. Not great, but mildly amusing, and certainly not offensive. Then again, I think there's a difference between a joke and being disrespectful of the dead.

[mainiac]

It was a self depreciating joke on behalf of the Americans, not a poke at the British.

...How?  "Last time you were here you set fire to things".  What element of that is self deprecating as opposed to gentle ribbing of the other party?

Because it was a war?  In wars it's generally considered a pretty bang up job of things to set fire to your opponents capitol.

[Nadaka]

There will be a lot of people pointing to this as some kind of proof that Obama is trying to destroy America. Both of those things can impact his reelection.

Then those people are idiots, and we shouldn't value their political opinions. When most other politicians get away with spewing vile, false trash from their mouth holes on a daily basis, trying to stick it to the president for making a completely tasteful joke about one of his allies is beyond hypocritical.

Yes, those people ARE idiots. But they vote, and therefor their opinions do have value in an election year, value for Obama's opponents.

The joke wasn't about our allies, it was about the one and only time since the founding of America that our Capitol was invaded and destroyed by a foreign power. It would be similar to the PM of Japan making a Hiroshima joke while welcoming an American President. Or the PM of Israel making a holocaust joke while welcoming the German Chancellor. I know it is just a joke, but it was in bad taste given the circumstance.

Plus Obama has zero comedic timing.

[Sirus]

Lighten up, dude. It was 200 years ago. Don't the Brits still joke about how Americans should quit pretending to be revolutionaries and return to the Empire, or demand a refund on the tea thrown into Boston Harbor?

[nenjin]

No one here recalls the burning of the Washington as anything remotely close to the Holocaust or Hiroshima, either.

[MonkeyHead]

IMHO the order of magnitude between the British pointing out to the young USA who still ruled the roost, and the killing of hundreds of thousands in seconds by the atom bombs and the living hell that was the holocaust is very, very different. I dont think they are in any way a fair comparison.

[Sirus]

According to Wikipedia, approximately 31 people died in the burning of Washington DC, the vast majority of them accidentally. So yeah, comparing it to the Holocaust is pretty tacky.