Italian Leader Compliments Obama's "Tan"

Gaffe-Prone PM Silvio Berlusconi Touts Obama As "Young, Handsome And Even Tanned"

(AP)  Italy's famously impolitic Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has described U.S. President-elect Barack Obama as "young, handsome and even tanned."

Berlusconi appeared to be joking about America's first black president at a news conference Tuesday following talks with Russia's president.

The Italian leader, who has a history of controversial remarks, was asked by a reporter about the prospect for U.S.-Russian relations, which have plummeted to Cold War-levels in recent months.

Berlusconi responded by saying that the relative youth of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 43, and Obama, 47, should make it easier for Moscow and Washington to work together.

Then, smiling and speaking in Italian, he said through a translator: "I told the president that (Obama) has everything needed in order to reach deals with him: he's young, handsome and even tanned."

Medvedev did not visibly react to the comment.

Italian news agencies said Berlusconi later defended the remark, calling it "a great compliment."

"Why are they taking it as something negative? ... If they have the vice of not having a sense of humor, worse for them," the ANSA news agency quoted him as saying.

Later, Berlusconi told Sky TV-24 Ore the remark was meant to be "cute" and he lashed out at those who disagreed, calling them "imbeciles, of which there are too many."

Berlusconi, 72, is infamous for eyebrow-raising comments.

He once compared a German lawmaker to a Nazi camp guard, asserted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks that Western civilization was superior to Islam and claimed more recently that the new Spanish government had too many women.

Italy's only black lawmaker, Jean-Leonard Touadi, called Thursday's comment embarrassing.

"In the United States, a joke like that wouldn't just be politically incorrect, but a great offense to this amazing example of integration, which it seems the Italian premier should take as an example," Touadi said.

[lidmir]

I am a teacher of English in the South of Italy, Sicily, and I am simply disgusted by the Italian Prime Misister, who bought thousands of votes here in Sicily, as the old "Democrazia Cristiana" used to do with "pasta" in the 50s and 60s. (But of course I cannot prove it!) I am disgusted and feel ashamed of being Italian. Being from Sicily I recognize in Mr Berlusconi the arrogance and the lack of dignity that Mafia has. Believe me there is absolutely no difference between the attitude of the men of the government and the worst of "mafiosi" - the inferior ones, because the high level ones are "educated and polite", so that you wouldn''t even suspect they belong to Mafia!
I personally want to apologize for him. I cried when I heard Obama''s speech and I hope he REALLY CAN! For America, but also for the whole world.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Lidia Miraula

[daniele72-2009]

we (italians) are very sorry for the stupidity of our prime idiot!!

you must understand that italy is under a new form of fascist regime, based on the control of information.. or better disinformation

our actual government is composed by people not choosed by the people
we have people from the mafia .. from tha camorra .. bankrupters and tv soubrette in this government
I know is hard to believe
but this is the sad true


the prime idiot controls all national information and offcourse he and his group of new fascist feels very free about how to express on the media
in italy who critics soon will risk to be jail
is not a joke!! is not a joke!!

the problem for these intelligent fascists is when they speak outside the country boundaries and international media report the stupidity of they remarks

we are very sorry for that
deeply sorry
normal people is not even thinking that
italy is still a country of culture
still
still untill these regime will finally destroys our education system and reduced the population at his level of stupidity ( wich is not hard for then to do it considering that they have complete control on anything goes on Tv .. national and private)


Go Barack!Go!

[kansas1946]

Oh get over it everyone. Obama is more white and Arab than black. It cracks me up that you all say we shouldn''''t judge by the color of the skin. But because Obama''''s skin is "dark" you happy black people feel comfortable saying "oh yea he''''s black!"


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Posted by horse3farm at 04:41 PM : Nov 07, 2008


***********************************

Well, I am not black, but I am smart enough to know that the "Arab" part of Obama = 0.

[kansas1946]

LOL. I can''t imagine that Obama or any one would be offended by that. There is not a thing in the world wrong with being "tan" "black" "brown" "pink" or "white." In fact, with a "tanned" president, it is a compliment. I just think it was a cute, funny, comment.

[horse3farm]

.Most people who post here are a bunch of loose lipped losers who can''''t find anything constructive to do in their lives except sit in front of a computer and spout off... GET A LIFE, PEOPLE.....

Posted by juno14
------------

Well, you''re here.

[horse3farm]

Oh get over it everyone. Obama is more white and Arab than black. It cracks me up that you all say we shouldn''t judge by the color of the skin. But because Obama''s skin is "dark" you happy black people feel comfortable saying "oh yea he''s black!"

[jdn54]

Thank God, the Italian Prime minister didn''t have the bad sense or bad taste to call our President a moolie.

How does he feel about Afro-Italians, Sicilians, and African-American tourists?

[jdn54]

I''ve never heard such stupidity. OBAMA IS BLACK! He is no more or less mixed than mostly all African-Americans with African, native American, and European blood as well as other mixtures in smaller quantities.

I wonder how the Italian Prime minister feels about Sicilians and Ethipian/ Eritrean- Italians and other Blacks. I visited Italy in 1990 and I was treated harshly as an African-Americanwhen i crossed the border from Austria, where I was treated like a king or should i say koenig!

[dario83-2009]

Berlusconi is not the expression of italian''s opinion. If for him italian are ***, so he is the chief-*** president of italian people.

Dario & Giuseppe

[twentysixpt2]

Someone should have responded that he''''s bi-racial, half African, half White American, everyone may not know that.
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Posted by blindersoff at 01:46 PM : Nov 07, 2008

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You are wrong blindersoff , Obama is 100% American. He may be half black and half white but what does that have to do with anything? All I know is that he is our first President who isn''t ALL CAUCASION. I call that progress. Have a little respect for your next President, who is 100% American just like me and every other American citizen.

[elliec2]

cibillacinda I now suspect you are actually Silvio Berlusconi operating under an alias, since the lack of new and intelligent comebacks to criticism, is a trait you two share.

[sibillacinda]

The Italian opposition is just using this comment, which was meant to be a compliment (Obama has it all: young, handsome and even tanned)to make its own political interests, completely disregarding the interests of its country.
Also, Italian press is using the posts made on this webpage as the proof that American people and Italians living in the States are bothered by Berlusconi''s comment. Obviously, the ones writing are also the ones who are happy to discredit Italy''s image just to support the ideology of an opposition that uses false and manipulation as their only weapons.
So, I invite all American people who think that Berlusconi''s comment was just fine to say so here, so that we can get over this ''incident'' directed by the Italian leftists who are anti-liberist and anti-American by ideology.

[elliec2]

And Juno14 YOU are here too....
Welcome to the loose lipped loser forum

[elliec2]

Sibillacinda, not only you come across as quite obnoxious by posting your comment multiple times, but also a bit ignorant. Why would you swing Berlusconi criticism as something leftists or the media would make up to pursue their personal agenda. I think that no matter where you stand politically, Berlusconi''s comments are often out of place, racist, sexist, inappropriate and uneducated. He is an embarrassment to Italy and to political circles (as if we didn''t have enough of that already). This is not about the leftist opposition, this is about diplomacy, professionalism and respect. Subjects that Berlusconi clearly knows very little about. And for you to suggest that this comes down to petty leftist techniques to discredit a Berlusconi(who btw is only good to look after his own interests not the ones of his own country), suggests that you are either not well versed in Italian politics or you are simply blinded by your own narrow mindedness.

[elliec2]

Sibillacinda, not only you come across as quite obnoxious by posting your comment multiple times, but also a bit ignorant. Why would you swing Berlusconi criticism as something leftists or the media would make up to pursue their personal agenda. I think that no matter where you stand politically, Berlusconi''s comments are often out of place, racist, sexist, inappropriate and uneducated. He is an embarrassment to Italy and to political circles (as if we didn''t have enough of that already). This is not about the leftist opposition, this is about diplomacy, professionalism and respect. Subjects that Berlusconi clearly knows very little about. And for you to suggest that this comes down to petty leftist techniques to discredit a Berlusconi(who btw is only good to look after his own interests not the ones of his own country), suggests that you are either not well versed in Italian politics or you are simply blinded by your own narrow mindedness.

Also, Italian press is using the posts made on this webpage as the proof that American people and Italians living in the States are bothered by Berlusconi''''s comment...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What makes you people think that the posts on this website are so important as to impress the Italians or any others for that matter....Most people who post here are a bunch of loose lipped losers who can''t find anything constructive to do in their lives except sit in front of a computer and spout off... GET A LIFE, PEOPLE.....

[sibillacinda]

The Italian opposition is just using this comment, which was meant to be a compliment (Obama has it all: young, handsome and even tanned)to make its own political interests, completely disregarding the interests of its country.
Also, Italian press is using the posts made on this webpage as the proof that American people and Italians living in the States are bothered by Berlusconi''s comment. Obviously, the ones writing are also the ones who are happy to discredit Italy''s image just to support the ideology of an opposition that uses false and manipulation as their only weapons.
So, I invite all American people who think that Berlusconi''s comment was just fine to say so here, so that we can get over this ''incident'' directed by the Italian leftists who are anti-liberist and anti-American by ideology.

[blindersoff]

Someone should have responded that he''s bi-racial, half African, half White American, everyone may not know that.

[sibillacinda]

The Italian opposition is just using this comment, which was meant to be a compliment (Obama has it all: young, handsome and even tanned)to make its own political interests, completely disregarding the interests of its country.
Also, Italian press is using the posts made on this webpage as the proof that American people and Italians living in the States are bothered by Berlusconi''s comment. Obviously, the ones writing are also the ones who are happy to discredit Italy''s image just to support the ideology of an opposition that uses false and manipulation as their only weapons.
So, I invite all American people who think that Berlusconi''s comment was just fine to say so here, so that we can get over this ''incident'' directed by the Italian leftists who are anti-liberist and anti-American by ideology.

[gocubgo]

sibillacinda is completely correct. I live in a diverse city, have friends from many cultures, consider myself completely un-racist and voted for Obama. We need to start lightening up over this thing called racism or it will not ever really go away. I do not believe the Italian Pres ment anything negative and Mr. Obama probably got a smile out of it too. LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE! Life is a lot better when we can all smile and laugh a little.