Akin & Obama: Dumb Quotes by Politicians

A few days ago Rep. Todd Akin (R) made a few statements regarding abortion in rape cases that caused widespread upset. Here is what they were.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

“Let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work, or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

There has been a huge backlash against his statements, with people saying that he is just ridiculously stupid and making things up or that he is inferring that if a rape victim does get pregnant then it wasn't really rape.

I think that that the sentence "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” was just a stupid comment. I mean really, that was dumb, and I can make assumptions to what he was referring to, because there is a shred of truth behind it (under extreme stress the body creates an excess of hormones that can disrupt many things, including making it difficult to get pregnant. Rape would be considered extreme stress, which would cause a disruption in the hormone levels resulting in difficulty becoming or remaining pregnant.), but ultimately, why would you say that? That quote provided nothing for his argument and actually hurt his argument and his credibility. Although, like I said, I can potentially see where he is coming from and why he said it (if he was thinking of what I stated before), sometimes people just don't know when to stop talking, and that is what happened here. Really dumb quote.

But, to be fair, let's look at another dumb quote that came in response to Akin's quote and his anti-abortion stance.

President Obama said, "We shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women."

While it doesn't specifically state this, this quote is specifically referencing laws regarding abortion. Now, on the surface, this seems like a very thoughtful quote, but in reality, it is dumb. What is one of President Obama's huge pushes? ObamaCare, a federally regulated/mandated national healthcare system, decided on by that group of "politicians, a majority of whom are men." Now regardless of whether or not you agree with ObamaCare, the fact is that it is a program that resulted in "a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women" and men and children and everyone.

Like I said, it sounds good on first glance, but when you really get down to it, what is President Obama saying here? All healthcare laws that have anything to do with women should only be made or voted on by women, and by extension, those that affect men should only be decided by men? What about healthcare that affects both? Or is he saying that politicians shouldn't be making healthcare decisions period? If this is the case he is kinda shooting himself in the foot. In fact this quote does nothing but shoot himself in the foot and essentially say that President Obama does not agree with any sort of healthcare decision being made by politicians, yet he is firmly behind a huge politically driven/decided healthcare reform.

Basically, both of these guys made some really dumb quotes. Akin's seems to come from speaking before thinking, saying whatever came to mind without fully thinking it through, having all the facts, or explaining himself, which resulted in an incredibly offensive and callous statement that devalued his argument. President Obama's quote seems to have come from a knee-jerk reaction to this, which was spoken with polish to appease people, but without a whole lot of force or meaning behind it, since it stands in direct opposition to his own demonstrated beliefs.

So while listening to politicians, especially since this is a big election year. Pay careful attention to what they are saying. Make sure you understand where they are coming from, what their beliefs and intentions are, and what is truly behind those quotes, whether they are idiotic sounding or polished and hollow.

Now just for fun: Check out this webpage for more Funny/Dumb Quotes by Politicians.