Dumbest public moment of 2011?

I didn’t feel like putting together a “best of” list to review 2011. It was an unsettling year. The politics of stalemate made it pretty useless and 2012 is an election year, if I am not mistaken, so there is not much chance of legislative action and good public policy in this year (unless an unhappy electorate turns out to the streets in numbers we have not seen to date).

I continue to be bearish on the economy and public policy. Obama squandered the opportunity of a century to move the country in the right direction, and his financial rescue of Goldman Sachs instead of a jobs program would have to be high on the list of dumbest public decisions of the young century, but we are talking about dumbest public moment of 2011, so that one is out of the running in this context.

The Herman Cain campaign’s idea of “Women for Herman Cain” was pretty dumb, but it’s the campaign season, so I think that one gets a bye.

Rick Perry had three spectacularly dumb moments, including… uh… let’s see…. oops. Can’t remember the details right now. I feel bad about having to mention that one. Watching the GOP campaign is like fishing with dynamite. Some good-looking fish end up floating belly up pretty fast. Small car, many clowns, it’s a tried and true formula for laughs.

Michelle Bachman has been a disappointment. Except for a certain deranged twinkle in her eye, she has not really produced. Michelle Bachman is simply no Sarah Palin. I also want to go on record that I think Sarah would make a dandy ambassador to Saudi Arabia. You can’t see Saudi Arabia from Alaska, but I am not sure that is very important.

oops… I digress.

From the Business and Technology sector, I have to give Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons his due for his video and claims to have shot a “problem, rogue … bull elephant.” Discovery News says, well, it was a young female elephant. Just sayin… Great white hunter. Isn’t that one a little tired? I think we are supposed to go to Africa with vaccines and mosquito nets now, the safari days were last century. Bob didn’t get the memo.

My personal favorite though is Pepper Spray? “It’s a food product, essentially.”

Atta girl! Pretty dumb moment. by the way, pepper spray? It’s not a food product. Have you tried it?

I guess it would have looked even worse if the police had sprayed non-violent protesters down with ketchup.

Mustard gas? Can we get Megyn’s take on that one? Sounds like a food product, right?