The dumbest thing Obama's ever said. Well, this week at least.

The Guardian breaks down Obama's answer to the question of what caused the massive crisis he assures us he knows how to fix:

More importantly, for the long term, making sure that we've got a set of, er, er, regulations that are up to the task, er, and that includes, er, a number that will be discussed at this summit. I think there's a lot of convergence between all the parties involved about the need, for example, to focus not on the legal form that a particular financial product takes or the institution it emerges from, but rather what's the risk involved, what's the function of this product and how do we regulate that adequately, much more effective coordination, er, between countries so we can, er, anticipate the risks that are involved there. Dealing with the, er, problem of derivatives markets, making sure we have set up systems, er, that can reduce some of the risks there.

(and that's the least gibberish-y part of the speech)

You can watch the speech off the BBC World News' YouTube feed if you have tissues handy to cry into

And now we move onto today, and the North Korean missile launch. CNN is covering the story as it breaks:

In a statement, Obama said the launch was "a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind."

"With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations," Obama said. "We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and (South Korea), and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council," Obama added. "I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions."

Despite criticism by the U.S. and other nations, plans to launch the rocket had been applauded by political parties and organizations in various countries, North Korea's news agency reported Sunday.

A secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union blasted the U.S. on Tuesday for its "outrageous interference in the internal affairs" of North Korea, the agency reported.

Outrageous interference in North Korea's internal affairs, say the Soviet Commies. Geesh, and Obama's on their side! [is the Sea of Japan, and the islands of Japan, and parts of the Pacific Ocean parts of "North Korea's interior"? Because that's where the missiles landed -ed]

Oh, by the way, here's something fun for you:

The United States and some other countries also fear that the main purpose of the launch, regardless of the payload, is to allow North Korea to gain valuable information about improving its ballistic missile program.

Bush said the other members of the talks -- Japan, South Korea, Russia, and China -- have also called on North Korea to forego the planned launch.

While the Bush administration has been blunt in its messages to North Korea, it is carefully avoiding any suggestion that it would try to disrupt the launch. Washington is also being vague about what the potential consequences may be.

Behind the U.S. tightrope act is the United States' hope of handling the situation in a way that will not endanger the six-party talks aimed at dismantling and eventually erasing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a senior administration official told CNN on Thursday.

Oh, wait, all those "Bush" references were "Obama" references. Why? Because we've seen basically the same CNN story before with different names.

Apparently somebody doesn't know their recent history: the Globe and Mail still claims this is the fault of "Bush unilateralism"