Words of wisdom, from GNP presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak:
Civic groups and lawmakers of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) and the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) criticized Lee for his “inappropriate” joking on prostitution in his recent dinner meeting with some managing editors of the media.
Some journalists who attended the meeting said Lee, citing experiences of his former boss during his work at a company, said bad-looking girls are better than pretty girls when being massaged overseas, an Internet newspaper said.
According to the report, Lee made the remark, while talking about the “skills of life.”
You gotta love this guy.
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He’ll have his work cut out for him, but if tries hard, he might just yet fill the gap in our hearts for a “wacky conservative business man turned head of state thats always publicly saying something bigoted” thats been empty ever since Berlusconi left office…
Damn I miss that guy…
What? A politician who actually says what’s on his mind? One vote, Lee.
Is Shin Jeong-ah the exception to the limitation of the “truth” of Lee’s observation to “overseas”?
I don’t think this will mean much. Most folks aren’t going to vote for Lee because they think he is the most moral guy on the block (that was Roh’s shtick). They are going to vote for him because he is seen to be a pragmatic problem-solver. This little bump won’t change that.
This is true. +1 vote
This one here is alright lookin’.
I agree with Andy.
Most of Lee Myung-bak’s supporters will look at this and think it is very becoming behavior for the businessman he was in Thailand working for Hyundai when he um, acquired this piece of wisdom. None of them expect him to have any personal sense of ethics or morality at all. If anything the story will reassure them that he will not try to be the moralist Roh has been at the expense of…. well, anything that being moral and principled can cost you. Even people who share his his brand of ultra-right Korean protestantism (the type who wave American flags at their anti-NK protests and wanted Da Vinci Code banned) are not going to see this as a major flaw.
This was true for Lee Hoi-chang, too. Most of the people who voted for him cannot tell you, and indeed do not even feel the need to believe, that there wasn’t probably something illegal in the way both his sons evaded military service.
When Lee MB was in North Chungcheong this summer the provincial governor told him that if he was a Joseon era governor he would have sent a gisaeng belonging to the provincial government house to Lee’s hotel room in the night, and that he was sorry he was unable to do so. Lee responded by saying, “You mean the one that came last night wasn’t sent by you?” In other words, this latest episode isn’t even going to surprise anyone who has been paying attention.
Anyways, so while I agree with Andy in principle, I do think the segment of the population (mostly older and rural types or upper middle class Seoulites who got where they are through less-than-ethical means) that supports candidates like Lee MB and Lee HC is dwindling, and in a very tight race comments like these could have an influence among younger types.
In the meantime what I think is especially unfortunate is that progressive candidates get to appeal to voters who won’t stand for a slimebag in office just by virtue of having the moral high ground (and I blame Roh for making a lot of voters think that relatively principled politics is bad for the economy).
There are plenty of good people in the GNP who are fine and principled people but don’t stand a chance in that party, where until now they have been used generally only for the value of their names when it’s time to form a committee of some sort to put on a show of cleaning up the party after some scandal, etc.
Lord, what Oranckay wrote . . . especially the last paragraph.
The People’s Committee For Political Reform and Ethics. Sounds like a Berkeley student group…
Ugly girls compensate for their lack of looks by trying harder.
Not just in massage, but in pretty much everything else.
LMB is a good Christian man to recognize that all G-d’s creatures have their place. If you have to turn down an ugly girl, turn her face down.
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[...] Anyway, this is more reason I’m glad I live in Korea. Here, politicians will resign for any number of reasons — some better than others — but banging prostitutes is NOT one of them. Heck, our current head of state has even shared pointers in the media on how to pick out massage girls. [...]