Obama stumbles

No, we're not metaphorically speaking of his campaign. President Obama actually went three quarters of the way to a pratfall yesterday at a campaign event in Tampa, which in anticipation of the GOP convention has gone over to the dark side, as far as Obama's footing goes. The inimitable Andrew Malcolm provides a witty description of what the video shows at Investor's Business Daily:

"Please welcome," said the arena announcer, "the president of the United States!"

Pregnant pause to let the cheers build.

Then, out from behind the blue curtain sauntered the perpetually campaigning president, known today as Barack Obama. Big smile. Waving to the crowd.

Obama began his familiar jaunty jog up the stage steps, when, suddenly...Oops! Bam! He disappeared. Democrat down....

Obama stopped the very public fall -- Forward -- with his hands, inches from a painful face-plant.

Then, he bounced back up, smiling. 'Hey, I meant to do that.' No, just kidding. He didn't really say that. At the podium, Obama tried to make a joke about his graceless entrance, saying he was in such a hurry to see his fans.

Here is the video:

 Here is a still I took of ABC's video, from a different angle:

Andrew notes that Gerald Ford's slip and fall at the top of a rainy airline stairs was endlessly replayed on television and became the basis for Chevy Chase's career, parodying Ford pratfalls in unlikely circumstances on Saturday Night Live.  Nobody with a triple digit IQ expects The One to receive this treatment.

Of course, this incident is the perfect symbol of the stumbling campaign. It may also show that Obama is getting careless about the details. But I also have to credit O with having a pretty graceful recovery. He is in good physical condition, and  is quick to go into that automatic dazzling smile mode no matter how angry he is at himself for klutzing out. He knows how to turn on the superficial charm. And after all the time he has spent on a basketball court, he knows how to pick himself up after a body check.

William McClure writes that this may be Obama's "Kodak moment" -- a shot that comes to define the campaign:

My strongest image of Carter as I voted in 1980, was a single photo of the most powerful man in the world battling a "killer rabbit".  Ok, the story was exaggerated, but the press had a field day for months.  Silly Rabbit!!

Now, we fast forward to 1988 Presidential campaign.  The Presidential race between H. W. Bush and Dukakis is heated and fierce.  Then Mikey takes a ride in a tank.  The helmet didn't fit quite right and neither did the Dukakis record on defense spending.  Bush 41 won.  Our next President, Bill Clinton, and his second in command Al Gore, had too many photo moments to mention!  During the Presidential race between John Kerry and W. Bush in 2004, Senator Kerry made a visit to a NASA facility.  Who could forget that infamous NASA photo. 

I hope he's right, but I think the media will just bury this, the way they bury everything casting a bad light on Obama.