Obama Mocks D.C.'s Reaction to Winter Weather

perfecting the controlled slide is something that takes years of practice. bravo on pulling that one off. shame there weren't a lot of people there to cheer you on!

Same here. I'm starting to think Fox News was right all along. This is just the sort of insensitive, judgemental attitude I'd expect from a crypto Muslim Kenyan antichrist. Anyway, this is most definitely not the Super Magical Black Dude I voted for.

Yeah, I'm really going to take critique about how I react to two inches of solid ice on my front walk, my car, my neighbors' front walks, and every sidewalk between me and the subway from a guy who doesn't have to leave the frakking building to get from his bed to his office.

BTW, did you know Obama walks on water?

You're half right, too. Yes, part of it is having the infrastructure to handle it properly, but it's equally peoples' abilities to handle themselves in the snow. People in colder climates are just used to driving on a few inches of snow and/or ice for part of the year. People in Wisconsin or Michigan make fun of how people in Ohio can't stand the weather, and people in Ohio make fun of people in Tennessee. I imagine things shut down pretty quick if the forecast calls for a light dusting in Atlanta.

That is all and good, but it just reinforces my point. Tom North Dakota is better at driving in snow and ice than Dick Florida. Big whoop. Good for Tom North Dakota. Tom North Dakota gets to have a smug sense of superiority 2 days a year. Otherwise, his superior winter driving skills are pretty much worthless around here.

I'm not going to claim to be a good or bad winter weather driver, but if I was visiting Minnesota during a storm I would feel pretty confident on the streets because I would know that everyone around me was an expert. Around here, I avoid the roads like the plague during storms because I assume everyone else is a snow driving tard. It isn't MY driving or MY actions that scare me, it's everybody else's. That is why I'm perfectly happy when they cancel school over 2 inches around here. It isn't like angels are going to pick up the kiddies from the pits and fly them to school. Generally, you need to use roads to get them there, and those roads are full of dangerous snow driving tards.

Good point. I'll say you're three-fourths right.

I won't take any less than 7/8ths.

Hey I hear you guys. I agree, DC doesn't need the same infrasctructure or budget for snow control of colder, snowier cities. But it still doesn't have it, so this is what happens when a storm like this hits the city. So, to make fun of residents that have trouble walking on solid ice sidewalks or driving on less-than perfectly treated roads is a little unfair.

Sure, it hurts that DC residents don't have as much practice dealing with these conditions, but even for those of us that do, it's still tough when the roads/sidewalks aren't treated correctly.

Flinty Chicago toughness indeed! And what of the guys from Flint, Michigan? Their's is a Flinty Flint toughness unparalleled among mortal men. The kind that makes a man from Chicago feel like they are owners of a shiny, newly trimmed vagina.

Oh, and you want wall to wall storm coverage? Check out LA news anytime there's even a hint of rain. Four million people freaking out because of STORM WATCH 2009!!! Mass hysteria and thousands of traffic accidents on the 405 from half an inch of rain...

Ahh I miss Johnny Mountain and Dallas Reigns; also Christopher Nance....The Fritz was a douche though.

What always cracked me up was seeing the junior weather guy who drew the short straw and had to go out to Malibu (where it always rained hardest) in his slicker poncho because Johnny Mountain and Dallas Raines were too prissy to get their perfect hair wet.

"I don't remember it being conventional wisdom back then that Washingtonians couldn't handle snow"

No, it's been the same tripe from nothern transplants since John Adams wheeled into town. My parents were both far north transplants, and my earliest memories are of them patting themselves on the back every time a snow was on the way, because the locals were so darned clueless. My father is now dead, but I'm sure is corpse has been smirking for the past two days.

As a transplant from the upper midwest (but who has lived in DC for more than a decade), I'll admit that I whine and moan in response to the occasional stretches of summer sticky humidity, oppressive heat, and horrendous air quality.

Consequently, I make an effort to be tolerant of the Southerners/Californians/etc. who collapse in terror at the occasional inch or two of snow in DC's generally laughable winter.

Growing up in a Chicago suburb [Evanston], we had zero built in snow days [a small suburb in size, the HS had no school busses, thus negating a lot of reasons for school closings]. Only time school was ever cancelled was in 3rd grade when the wind chill was -60. Had a two foot snowstorm my freshman year of HS, school remained open [we were the only one in the area].

That said, DC does not and should not have the same infrastructure to deal with snowstorms that cities in colder climes need. It just doesn't make any sense.

Also, I never had to experience ice storms until I went to college in Atlanta. Those are MUCH worse and much more dangerous than snow storms.

You're speaking to the choir. I grew up with plenty of snow in Pittsburgh, plus hills and older narrow streets. People managed then and still do, with occasional closures, usually due to ice.

I'm also from the Burgh and remember one time having to walk up the hill on Virginia Ave between Merrimac and Bigham in a good foot of snow (okay, maybe 6 inches) b/c the PAT bus couldn't make it up. Having said that, my time here has totally made me soft and I gladly took the excuse to work from home today.

Were you barefoot? And was it uphill on the way back too?

No, but I *was* wearing those cloth baby-doll shoes with plastic soles that were so popular in the early 90s. I had to walk behind my friend who was wearing more sensible footware and step in her footprints.

And *of course* it was uphill both ways! It's Pittsburgh!

I don't think anyone would question whether or not he is right. We all know that those from more northern climes are better at coping with snow. What is annoying, even more annoying than a 2 inch ice storm, is northern transplants' predictable need to be smug about it as though it is some sort of accomplishment. It's like someone from Denver being smug about being better at breathing thinner air... or someone from the Northern Peninsula being smug about being better at copulating with his/her own siblings. Duh, of course you're better at it, like you had a choice.

Did we get snow? Cause all we got over here in NE was a bunch of ice.

Exactly. For some reason these conversations always turn to toughness, and how much colder it is in other places, and how much snow they get... but this isn't an issue of toughing out the cold -- it's a basic matter of public safety, and ice is SKETCHY. I'm originaly from Montana, and have plenty of experience driving in nasty snow storms... but that experience doesn't do a thing for me on the ice - especially on the sidewalk.

Channel 7 just replayed the clip of Obama mocking DC, then cut to a video of three different children falling on their faces on the sidewalk.

There are any number of reasons that DC has trouble on days like this -- walking culture, poor roads, driver inexperience, bald tires, blah blah blah. But by far the most significant reason is that sloppy wet snow, freezing rain, and temperatures hovering just below freezing are a really bad combo.

you forgot the assholes that don't clean off their cars before heading out and end up being little snow blowers dumping everything on the car behind them...

How about Australia?

CPS are wusses! I shoveled the driveway and proceeded to walk to school, a mile or so away, in that 24 inch storm 10 years ago! ;)