During President Obama's appearance on The View, there was this exchange:
BEHAR: Should Snooki run as mayor of Wasilla?
OBAMA: I got to admit, I don't know who Snooki is.
But as the Gawker noted, that contradicts history:
… a mere two months ago he dropped Snooki's name in a White House Press Correspondents Dinner punchline about a health care provision named in honor of the hit MTV show. "It [the provision] reads, 'The following individuals shall be excluded from the indoor tanning tax within this bill: Snooki, JWOWW, The Situation and House minority leader John Boehner.'" So which is it, Obama? Do you know Snooki, or don't you? Clearly, this is the Watergate of our time, and America demands an answer.
We believe there are three explanations for Snooki-gate:
- 1. He forgot Snooki. (Which is odd, because she's the kind of person who tends to get seared into your mind forever.)
- 2. He is as ashamed of partaking in television's guiltiest pleasure as you are. His ignorance on The View was feigned.
- 3. Obama's famously hip speechwriters got ahead of him and dropped a cultural reference he didn't understand for the sake of Beltway chuckles. He recited the joke without getting it, and promptly forgot its context as soon as it was over.
I vote for number 3. I think Obama's great talent lies in delivering a speech from a teleprompter, and I suspect his ability to do that extremely well doesn't really depend on him agreeing with or even understanding the words he's given to speak.
But I could be wrong. Maybe he knew all about Snooki a couple of months ago, but has simply forgotten her completely in the meantime.
Yeah, right. 🙂