As expected, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin weighed in today on the flap surrounding President Obama’s controversial gaffe on last night’s Tonight Show broadcast.  About the President’s comparison of low bowling scores to the Special Olympics, TheHill.com is reporting Palin as having said:

“This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world,” Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, said.

Although President Obama has issued a statement of apology for the remark, public opinion is undecided about whether the comment revealed an insensitivity to those who have, in Palin’s words, “overcome more challenges, discrimination and adversity than most of us ever will.”

The polarization of opinion on the statement is encapsulated by Howard Kurtz, media analyst for CNN, who wrote via Twitter (@HowardKurtz):

Split down the middle on Spec Olympics gaffe: Some say it was innocent mistake and let’s move on; others call Obama stupid & disrespectful

This is a step in the wrong direction for President Obama, a man whose promise of bringing Americans together now seems to have been another in a series of campaign season platitudes.  Sweet nothings do not a leader make.

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