As Gordon Brown’s ‘bigot’ comment provided much embarrassment for the Labour party and major guffaws for the competition, we got thinking as to what else has made us laugh whilst politicians were on the campaign trail.
Whilst they use buzz words to confuse us and debate each other’s policies until the cows come home, endlessly answering questions with yet more questions, we sit waiting for that oh so delicious fall from grace.
A little mean? Maybe. Hilarious? Definitely!
There’s definitely a funny side to politics and we’ve found it. So lets take a look at some of the funniest political f**k ups!
Brown’s bigot
Let’s kick of with the ‘gaffe of the moment’ shall we?
Technology was the enemy on Gordon Brown’s recent election trail when our PM met Rochdale resident Gillian Duffy.
After being challenged on immigration and crime by Ms Duffy, Gordon, all smiles, got into his car but the pesky mic kept on listening!
He said “that was a disaster – they should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that? It’s just ridiculous” and then described Ms Duffy as a “bigoted women” – woops!
JFK’s a doughnut
In June 1963, American President John F. Kennedy was speaking on the steps of the Rathaus Schöneberg, Berlin in support of West Germany after the erection of the Berlin Wall 22 months previously.
Kennedy apparently said “Ich bin ein Berliner,” which whilst intending to mean “I am a person from Berlin” he ended up referring to himself as a jelly doughnut! Woops.
Apparently it’s just urban legend that he said it incorrectly but we like to think it’s true.
Joe Biden – “Stand up Chuck”
In September 2008 whilst on a national presidential campaign, the now Vice-President Joe Biden gave recognition to local State senator Chuck Graham of Columbia.
“Chuck, stand up, let the people see you!” he says.
Chuck uses a wheelchair…Eek!
Thankfully Biden recovered and told the crowd to “stand up for Chuck”.
Dan Quayle
Here’s a few classics from former US vice-President Dan Quayle who once famously spelt ‘potato’ with an ‘e’:
Quayle was once accused of saying: “I have no problem communicating with Latin American heads of state – though now I do wish I had paid more attention to Latin when I was at school.”
Quayle, once told passing mourners at a funeral to “have a nice day”, but defended all of his statements with his classic: “I stand by all the mis-statements that I have made…”
Barack Obama’s 57 States
Even America’s saving grace President Barack Obama occasionally slips up.
Whilst on the campaign trail in Oregon, Obama came out with this geographical blunder:
“Over the last fifteen months we’ve travelled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states, I think one left to go.”
Well he was tired…! Have a look at the gaffe here.
Prescott’s Punches Protester
This one was brilliant! Back in 2001 Cabinet Minister John Prescott famously lamped a protester after having an egg thrown at him.
Prescott reacted with lightning speed to the egging, clocking the protester right in the chops!
Tony Blair defended the blow saying John “reacted instinctively” and that “John is John”.
Neil Kinnock-on-sea
Mother Nature got the better of Neil Kinnock in 1983 when he got cocky and tried to give the press vultures a ‘scoop’ by taking a stroll on Brighton beach with his wife in hand.
A politician braving the cold waters of the English Channel? We’ve gotta see this!
Proving that politicians can’t and never will walk on water, a pathetic looking wave came along and toppled the bloke giving him a well and truly drenched arse.
Sarah Palin doesn’t read the newspapers
Ex Vice-Presidential candidate and Tina Fey lookalike Sarah Palin fouled up big time when Katie Couric posed with the question on CBS News ‘what newspapers of magazines did you regularly read?’ she couldn’t name a single one!
Couric: Like what ones specifically? I’m curious that you…
Palin: Um, all of ’em, any of ’em that um have been in front of me over all these years, um…
Um um go away!
Maggie & Nixon
Two totally unrelated funny nuggets here:
Even Margaret Thatcher had moments she would prefer to forget. Once, she told a meeting: “It is marvellous to be back in Malaya…” The only trouble was that she was in Indonesia…!
President Nixon landed at a Norfolk air base in the late 1960s and publicly praised “Prime Minister Macmillan”. The problem was that it was Prime Minister Harold Wilson who was welcoming him on the tarmac.
Ah and we come to the Mayor of London – good old Boris Johnson. Where to start eh? His face says it all really doesn’t it?!
We begin:
- Boris offended the people of Liverpool in 2004 accusing the city of wallowing in a “vicarious victimhood” following the murder of British hostage Kenneth Bigley.
He also said they had a “deeply unattractive psyche” and thought the city refused to accept responsibility for the Hillsborough disaster. Eek.
- He even managed to offend Papua New Guinea in 2006 in a Daily Telegraph column: “For 10 years we in the Tory Party have become used to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing, and so it is with a happy amazement that we watch as the madness engulfs the Labour Party.”
- Also in 2006 Boris didn’t quite agree with Jamie Oliver’s healthy school dinners campaign saying:
“If I was in charge I would get rid of Jamie Oliver and tell people to eat what they like”.
“I say let people eat what they like. Why shouldn’t they push pies through the railings?”
- In April 2007, Mr Johnson pissed off Portsmouth councillors in an article with GQ magazine by calling the city “one of the most depressed towns in southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs”.
- In 2008 Boris found out he was under investigation for pilfering a cigar case belonging to Tariq Aziz, an associate of Saddam Hussein after ‘finding it’ in the rubble of Aziz’ Baghdad home. Johnson was forced to hand over the case.
And onto the biggest buffoon of them all…George Bush!
Although he the left America’s reputation in tatters and took us into a war against nothing, George Bush could possibly be the funniest politician to grace this Earth.
With an indescribable grasp of grammar and the English language, a press conference with George ‘Dubya’ Bush never failed to find the funny.
Just how he managed to secure a second term is beyond us but at least he gave us four more years of cracking ammunition!
So here’s a whole load of classic Bushisms…
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” – Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
“Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.” – Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Sept. 6, 2004
“As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” – on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007
“Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” – Florence, South Carolina, Jan. 11, 2000
“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” - Saginaw, Michigan, Sept. 29, 2000
“I understand small business growth. I was one.” – New York Daily News, February 19, 2000
“You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” – interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006
“I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.” – Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008
(I’m pretty sure we were quite aware!)
“They misunderestimated me.” – Bentonville, Arkansas, Nov. 6, 2000
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe – I believe what I believe is right.” - Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001
Wonderful!
It is brilliant. A common thoughts MY PARTNER AND I will have to that is we would like it turned out in bullet-point type thinking that there were any video clip having DeNiro reading through that script.
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