"stuck on stupid"

Everyone and his little sister is blogging about General Honore's press conference. I found it via VodkaPundit, but I think I may have seen it on Instapundit earlier.

There's a reason, of course. It's such a brilliant, brutal put-down, and it was wisely used, first as a caution -- "Don't be stuck on stupid," and then as an accusation: "You are stuck on stupid," when the reporter wouldn't give up on trying to dig up some dirt on why things are going well for Rita but didn't for Katrina.

It's just so refreshing to see someone tell it like it is, and actually accuse the media, face-to-face, of obscuring facts and muddying an important story because they feel their own agenda is more important than the public good.

It's true, the media does not like to be used by the government, and Gen. Honore was basically telling them, "You'll report what we tell you and that's it," which of course makes them chafe at the bit. But too bad. This wasn't a normal press conference, this was disaster management and communications.

I predict gross over-use and misuse of the catchphrase. I can already envision scenarios in which I can use it on my kids, like when they are too stubborn to realize they've already lost whatever battle they still think they're fighting. But I think I'll try to use it as a warning -- "You don't want to get stuck on stupid," rather than an insult. Because saying "you're stuck on stupid" is quite a slap: you're too dense to realize just how clueless you are. Because if you knew, you wouldn't be stuck there, would you?