Australia: Republican claims that Obama is just like disgraced ship captain

PJ: The Republican party have said that Obama was "pallin' around with terrorists", is a "European socialist", is not a real American, was not born in the US, was born in Kenya, is a communist and a facist (although I don't know how he could be from the extreme left and the extreme right at the same time), is Hitler (as witnessed by Tea Party posters at their rallies), is 'not like us (real Americans), sees America different than the rest of us, and is now just like the disgraced and dispised captain of the luxury cruise liner that is sinking off the coast of Italy. Thank goodness that after the shooting of Congressman Gabriel Giffords in Arizona last year that they've agreed to tone down the inflammatory rhetoric.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Obama likened to disgraced ship captain

Top Republican official Reince Priebus has sparked a political uproar by comparing President Barack Obama to disgraced Italian ship captain Francesco Schettino.

Commenting on tough exchanges between Republicans vying to face Obama in November, the Republican National Committee chairman told CBS the focus would soon shift to Obama.

"In a few months, this is all going to be ancient history and we're going to talk about our own little Captain Schettino, which is President Obama, who is abandoning the ship here in the United States and is more interested in campaigning than doing his job as president."

Asked by the interviewer to clarify his remarks, Priebus went further.

"I called him Captain Schettino, you know, the captain that fled the ship in Italy. That's our own president, who is fleeing the American people and not doing his job and running around the country and campaigning."

Schettino became infamous around the world this month when his Costa Concordia ship liner run aground, killing at least 16 people.

Schettino is accused of being responsible and of fleeing the stricken ship before his passengers were safe.

The comparison to Obama prompted indignation among Democrats, with the Democratic National Committee describing it as "shameful".

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile described the comments as "misleading", and "shameful and disgraceful".

http://www.smh.com.au/world/obama-likened-to-disgraced-ship-captain-20120130-1qp78.html