When Barack Obama called Detroit-based TV reporter Peggy Agar “sweetie” last week, the country gasped.
But, as it turns out, voters in New Hampshire still think he’s an OK guy.
In case you missed the story, Obama used the pet name during a press conference. Follow this link to watch the situation unfold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juy9NwI8_i0
Shay Zeller of Concord said the story is embarrassing for Obama, but added that it probably won’t make or break the election for him.
“If it were anybody else, I’d be more suspect,” Zeller said. “And it’s not that I’m so diehard about Obama…And I am really offended when people I don’t know call me a diminutive name, but, for him, it seemed weird, out of character.”
Joanne Merriam also said the comment was inappropriate about that it’s been blown out of proportion.
“I’ve been in that situation where people have called me ‘sweetie’ and I do find it really offensive, but I do think the American media and the American people have the tendency to blow these tiny things out of proportion,” Merriam said. “I mean, let’s not talk about the war in Iraq. Let’s not talk about suspension of habeas corpus. Let’s not talk about the fact that we’re torturing people. Let’s talk about the fact that some politician called a reporter ‘sweetie’.”
Michael Palmieri, a New Jersey native who attends law school in Concord, said the comment might have been out of place, but that it didn’t really bother him.
“I really don’t care,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me. It probably just slipped. He was probably just tired. He probably called his wife that at home or something.”
Zeller, Merriam and Palmieri agreed that the incident doesn’t affect their opinion of the presidential hopeful.
But Alex Spurr of Concord said that it did strike a really sour note with her.
“I like Barack. I really do. And I do like the way he brought attention to (the situation) and I appreciate how he apologized for it,” Spurr said. “But I do think it’s degrading and I think it’s degrading whenever men say it to women in the workplace. It’s your mom who calls you sweetheart - not a peer or a politician.”
Deb Paul, a teaching assistant inConcord, also considered the remark inappropriate, but said that it really doesn’t change her opinion about the candidate.
“I have a problem when even a waitress calls me ‘Sweetie,’” Paul said. “It’s inappropriate. It’s disrespectful.”
By the time you read this blog, the “sweetie” story will be old news. New scandals will surface. Bolder headlines will be written. Late night talk shows will have new material.
But in case Obama slips up again, these articles will resurface. Peggy Agar’s name will be mentioned. The topic of sexism in the workplace will be stirred.
To give Obama credit, though, at least he was aware that he what he said was inappropriate. At least he apologized. Maybe that’s what we need in a new president after all: someone who knows when he’s made a mistake and is willing to say sorry and move on.