Staff Blog
Zunegate
OK. So let's get things straight.
I want to correct what I said yesterday about Obama using a Zune. I claimed that it was his
Zune. I don't know for sure that it was his. It could belong to
one of the many Secret Service dudes that were at the gym, Michelle, or even one of his
daughters. His headphones were not the standard iPod headphones, rather
ones that wrap around your ear like the image to the right. The headphones were gray colored, either because they were gray or because they were really worn from use.
I vividly remember Obama pulling out an MP3 player with his left hand while exercising on the machine. It had a dark case protecting it and from what I saw, he was using a Zune.
I've seen a Zune in action. I know what it looks like.
But no matter how sure I am, there will always be the possibility that he uses some other device. There's only one way to find out for sure. Ask the man yourself the next time you see him at your neighborhood gym, if that's really the first thing you'd want to ask our President-Elect.
[...] Movies at 69th Street• UA Riverview Stadium 17 Movie Posters Repertory Film Blogs Staff Blog• Zunegate• Breast Week Ever: Boobs on the loose• Does watching the Marley and Me trailer in [...]
[...] A piece on Obama’s workout in the Washington City Paper has turned into Zunegate. http://www.c... [...]
hahaha thats just silly.
[...] is the worst rumor about our President-Elect yet: http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/12/03/zunegate/ [...]
[...] Obama must really have been using an iPod which just LOOKED like a Zune, he felt the need to post a follow up including the following clarification… I vividly remember Obama pulling out an MP3 player with [...]
Are you really the head of the quickie mart? “Yes”. Really “Yes”. REALLY? “Yes”. “Thank you, come again”
[...] true, the President-elect uses an iPod,” he says. And the Philadelphia writer, Neal Santos, blogs today: “It could belong to one of the many Secret Service dudes that were at the gym, [...]
“The headphones were gray colored, either because they were gray or because they were really worn from use.” Dirty white, maybe, but gray? I’m sure the President-elect loves going around with filthy headphones. Could it be possible that he wasn’t using the standard iPod set? It was in a dark case, but it was clear to you that it was a Zune because you were so, so near to him and you’re an electronics “expert.” Wow. Impressive.
[...] true, the President-elect uses an iPod,” he says. And the Philadelphia writer, Neal Santos, blogs today: “It could belong to one of the many Secret Service dudes that were at the gym, [...]
[...] An Obama spokesman makes quick work of the Zunegate scandal Print [...]
[...] true, the President-elect uses an iPod,” he says. And the Philadelphia writer, Neal Santos, blogs today: “It could belong to one of the many Secret Service dudes that were at the gym, [...]
[...] later clarified in a follow up post that he had no proof the Zune actually belonged to Obama, speculating it could [...]
[...] with Obama [City Paper via Gearlog]Zunegate [City [...]
[...] reporter had to post a clarification that he could not be sure the Zune actually belonged to the soon to be most powerful man in the [...]
[...] went to Diebold and bought themselves an election, and now the viral starts. First Obama is spotted using a Zune at the gym. Then maybe there are candid shots of him sharing songs with his daughters’ Zune 16s in the [...]
[...] this throwaway remark scandalised the iSheep, and the next day, Santos added a gloss on “Zunegate“: I want to correct what I said yesterday about Obama using a Zune. I claimed that it was his [...]
[...] “We didn’t anticipate this kind of attention,†said Drew Lazor, the online editor for Citypaper.net. [...]
So what if Obama uses, even owns a Zune? His device choices aren’t indicative of his policy. I don’t remember negative ads about such things before the election…
[...] Obama spokesman makes quick work of the Zunegatescandal Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Don’t Get Cocky! Vote!You don’t [...]
This is highly disturbing news and is highly indicative of his judgement and policy. I’m a die-hard dem and vivid Obama fan. But if zunegate turns out to be a true story we need to initiate re-election debates quickly. Obama needs to come clear as soon as possible to avoid further rumors. How does he sync his zune? Does he own a PC too? A Dell? Omg, what if the pres-elect is a man who comes home to his Dell Inspiron with XP, syncs his zune, uses Internet Explorer and has the MSN search engine site as his default start page?
Apple fanboys FTL. It would be more of a scandal if he owned an ipod anyone with any real tech smarts wouldn’t pick up and ipod or a zune. Myabe i am wrong because everyone likes to pay more for something that never really work as advertised and has less features then a similiar product that is cheaper but better. Because paying extra cash just for a fruit on your product is the best idea.
Big fat hairy deal, so what if the next president used or will continue to use a Zune? After all, no body is perfect, not even the president. The Queen, the Pope and a host of other famous people all use the iPod, but who cares? Not me and I write a little Apple flavored blog of my own!
The important thingto remember is: Obama uses a MacBook Pro, so there, the world is in good hands!
Wait, President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and President Bush are all Mac users, so maybe not? lol
I thought Barack was a democrat.
That would have been the *perfect* question to ask the guy next to you on the treadmill: “Hey, how to you like your Zune?”
I own a Zune and happily, especially if it keeps me from turning into one of these freak boys. I’d rather him be actually be an Islamic extremist than a member of the Church of Jobs. To listen to these guys talk, you can already picture them strapping on Mac Airs and running into a PC dealer to blow up on customer service.
[...] Philadelphia City Paper writer has also posted a response, sticking to his guns that [...]
It had a dark case.. OMG.. it has to be a Zune becasue they don’t make dark cases for iPods. This “reporter” is a moron.
you are full of shite.
i agree with kona, the blogger is full of shit…
no photo to back up his claims… and to spot an mp3 players manufacturer under a protective case is near impossible…
and i use shure headphones with my ipod, using the griffin smarttalk adapter that has a mic and lets me control the iphones ipod functions… does that make me a zune user/owner as well??? LOL….
i todays world where people get mugged over regular iphones one should always use non-ipod/iphone headphones to avoid being mugged/killed over an mp3 player/cell phone…!!!
@Tom: Poor comment. Please learn to read before trying to formulate an opinion. Santos did not say that he thought it was a Zune because it had a dark case. He said he thinks it was a Zune because he saw it and identified it as a Zune.
@ Kona & Tom & smokeonit : Read the original blog post. What the fuck does the Zune have to do with anything? Has something any of the three of you jerks done ever gained national attention? A fucking kid (not a reporter at all but still an employee of Citypaper) jogged next to the president of the united states. Fuck if I care what medium his MP3s are played through.
And I’m sure Obama was trying to disguise his MP3 player by using non-white headphones so he wouldn’t get mugged, in a gym, surrounded by secret service. So LOL yourself, to death.
[...] that I am the internet. Barack Obama uses a Zune So apparently, word on the street is that Barack Obama uses a Zune! Apparently, this guy Neal frequents a gym that Obama went to and while he used the adjacent [...]
[...] View mcornell: Rocking out to the Elvis XMas album on the (now super cool Obama endorsed) Zune. http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/12/03/zunegate/ 2008-12-05 16:55:54 · Reply · View giz2tw: Gizmodo: Actually, Barack Obama [...]
[...] Posted by ACE Well, he’s still a Zune user, but may not be a Zune owner… Confirmation on this [...]
It was pretty stupid of you to post that Obama uses a Zune without being 100% sure he does.
A black object from his pocket? Seriously?
Oh keee-rist!!!
It’s not a Zune OR an MP3 player! It’s an AAC/WAV player. BIG DIFFERENCE, people! And those headphones he’s wearing? They aren’t for listening to music. It’s quite OBVIOUS he’s self-administering a vital hearing test that every president-elect is required to take before they face a court case to determine if he’s even eligible for taking the oath of office!
After all, if he can’t hear in American, he can’t be President, right?
My god, wtf are they teaching in schools anymore these days?? There are strict - VERY STRICT REQUIREMENTS - that presidential candidates must meet. And being able to hear in American is right at the top of that list!
Wait, does it really matter?
Please children, turn off those blow torches.
[...] Philadelphia City Paper writer has also posted a response, sticking to his guns that Barack was spotted at the gym all Zuned up: I vividly remember Obama [...]
[...] Philadelphia City Paper writer has also posted a response, sticking to his guns that Barack was spotted at the gym all Zuned up: I vividly remember Obama [...]
[...] Philadelphia City Paper writer has also posted a response, sticking to his guns that Barack was spotted at the gym all Zuned up: I vividly remember Obama [...]
[...] ogni caso Santos ha poi corretto il tiro specificando che nell’articolo ha parlato di “his Zune” (il suo Zune) riferito al [...]
[...] with Obama [City Paper via Gearlog]Zunegate [City [...]
It’s unbelievable that you actually care about shit like that and REALLY think it’s important. No, I’m sorry, the really shocking thing about that whole thing is that there is more than one.
Who cares? And if, i’d appreciate a politian who doesn’t use these proprietary Apple or Microsoft gadgets..
[...] Philadelphia City Paper writer has also posted a response, sticking to his guns that Barack was spotted at the gym all Zuned up: I vividly remember Obama [...]
Apple’s product is for losers. period.
[...] Santos is sure what he saw. So maybe it was not Obama’s Zune, but one he borrowed? From the Secret Service? That’s a branch of [...]
Uh, who gives a shit?
This is ridiculous. Your “news” site is garbage.
[...] true, the President-elect uses an iPod,†he says. And the Philadelphia writer, Neal Santos, blogs today: “It could belong to one of the many Secret Service dudes that were at the gym, Michelle, [...]
Neil, seriously, get real.
You gonna tell us what cell phone he has? What his car stereo is? Maybe what brand flat screen he has in his living room?
You work for VH1 or something? I don’t care if the man used a reel-to-reel tape player while in the gym so long as he did not sing out loud and wiped off what he used when he was done.
BTW, you do know that you can use other headphones than the crappy quality “look at me” I-pod headphones, right? “White” does not make it sound better.
Congratulations on making it into the annals of Penny Arcade!
(and the crowd goes wild, yea….)
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/12/8/
Honestly. Who the fuck cares? Anyone who cares about this drivel should be rounded up and executed purely on the grounds of being too stupid.
You wonder why the US is in the mess it’s in? It’s because of people like you and the rest of the mouth breathing public. And you should be hunted down like the animals you are.
Hey, you can’t get a chocolate iPod. But you can get a chocolate Zune. Makes perfect sense to me, that a black guy wouldn’t want a white icon.
(laugh, it’s a joke about both racism and maclots)
[...] umha ediçom especial do zune para o congresso demócrata. O próprio autor do primeiro post fixo um segundo sobre o tema, intentando relativizar os seus dados anteriores (Estava escuro, só vim os [...]
I can not believe people actually care about this.
People spend their hard-earned time discussing presidential MP3-habits.
No one gives a crap.
(No one over the age of 12 with a y-chromosome, anyway.)
I can not believe people actually care about this.
People spend their hard-earned time discussing presidential MP3-habits.
No one gives a crap.
(No one over the age of 12 with a y-chromosome, anyway.)
did i get sucked into some weird alternate reality created entirely by the minds of the people who run the Onion?
you read the penny arcade about this yet? You should read it its fun
Wouldn’t surprise me. Ipod’s aren’t exactly counter cultural at this point. In the MP3 player market, Apple IS the Evil Empire.
This is news?
Yay Obama! The sooner all of you stop feeding Apple’s proprietary BS, the sooner you’ll actually get some useful hardware.
So what? He’s a politician, not a geek. Maybe he just wanted an mp3 player that actually plays mp3s (not Apple Sucks Format) and didn’t know enough to buy a Creative Zen (which also has a dark colored case, by the way).
How lame do you have to be to care what the president elect listens to?
So, out of all the things our fellow countrymen and news reporters have to discuss from the Georgia-Russia conflict or the new tension between India and Pakistan…we are discussing whether our president elect uses a Zune or ipod. What the monkey!?!?!?!?!
kat
Who the fuck cares! Zune and I-pod both suck!
This discussion is ridiculous.
If this is the world we live in now. Where such controversy is caused by a persons choice in electronics, then please let the apocalypse come soon.
Agreed with radio_babylon. The original article could care less about what kind of player he uses, just mentioned it out of an idle sense of thorough reporting in commenting upon a surprise encounter with the man whom is to become President.
@tom, etc.
There are inherent differences between the two products apart from the case. Way to be moronic. The fact that he has to write another article to protect his ass is further evidence that the American press and those who pay attention to the sensationalism in it are mindless drones, similar to the humans in the beginning of a certain movie with a tiny little waste disposal robot. ‘Blue is the new red!’
Dumbasses, the lot.
-Mous
Sigh,
Whether he uses a Zune or not being a major topic of debate/scandal is really showing what our country is coming to, the fact that this person writing THIS blog had to retract his statements due to the fact that he was lambasted from major reporters is ridiculous. The fact of the matter is, the Zune in the original article wasn’t the point of interest or contention when he was writing it, and was more than likely an afterthought as he wrote it. The fact that the news media took this and ran with it is a DISGRACE TO OUR REPORTING SYSTEM. The fact that, to get unbiased news about pertinent issues (Paris Hilton’s STD of the day is not pertinent) in the US I have to go to EUROPEAN news print, is ridiculous.
People, get real. Obama is in stealth mode and uses Linux. Come to think of it, shouldn’t we all?
Let’s just ask one question…
Why the hell does it matter? Are we that caught up in crass commercialism?
This entire thing is overblown and idiotic. I agree with Jeff there in that the american press has gotten pretty damn pathetic as of late, and for any pertinent news, one must consult another nation’s press.
Those who are so obsessed over this issue should do society a favor and jump in front of a bus.
haha, good citizen throw out day old products and buy the new exspensive ones.
[Berlin Wall of LAWL]
Suck it up you people who call shoppings malls a “life”.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for stating how IDIOTIC all of this “zunegate” crap has been. WHO GIVES A DAMN WHAT MP3 PLAYER HE USES!? ARGH! Why the HELL can’t we focus on something important, like, say, OUR ECONOMY THATS GOING DOWN THE TOILET!?
I. Hate. Stupid People.
[...] truism scandalised the iSheep, and the incoming day, metropolis added a appearance on “Zunegate“: I poverty to fine what I said yesterday most Obama using a Zune. I claimed that it was his [...]
I begged God to make it just be a Penny Arcade joke. It’s not. I may weep openly now. Somebody bring the Apocalypse and wipe out our civilization now. Please.
You get paid for this?
Good God people! A Zune!? Oh Noes! What the fuck does it matter? Despite the popular idea these days, the iPod is not the end-all of mp3 players, nor is any other product. And why does it matter what brand of anything the president-elect uses? Does it really make a difference in his judgment, or his choice of policy? Would an Apple user be more willing to fight for justice and equality than anyone else? I don’t think so. Relax, and get excited over REAL NEWS, like the two wars we’re in, and the terrorist attacks around the world.
SHUT UP OH MY GOD ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP. STOP TALKING ABOUT IT. I’m serious. Stop talking about the Zune, stop talking about the article, stop talking about whether you think it’s politically relevant or a marketing ploy or the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard. Nobody cares what you think. Nobody cares about the Zune or iPod or whatever. The more time you all waste on this page ranting at each other the less attention you’re paying to matters that really deserve it. Get off your high horses and SHUT UP.
Neal Santos is wasting City Paper’s valuable salary space. When things get tight at the paper and you are looking to cut costs, this dude should be the first out the door.
[...] blame you for not having the nerve to speak up. Anybody who can come out of seemingly… Zunegate (79) — mattg: Neal Santos is wasting City Paper’s valuable salary space. When [...]
[...] I was surprised by a bit of news. Here and here are the news post on some major sites. I really don’t see a problem if the next [...]
Dickheads. If I was president and people spent all their time wondering “Does he use the brand that I like, or the brand that does exactly the same thing with a different interface?” I would send my country into a hellish depression so bad that it may never recover. And then emigrate to a country that counts.
WHO GIVES A FLYING SHIT WHAT HE USES??!!
Zune or Ipod they are both good mp3 players I have both.
Really who cares what he uses.
Some people are just anal retentive.
Unpucker those cheeks and let the diamonds roll people.
Who the fuck cares? iPods and Zunes are, like many other devices in a similar vein, tools which one may use to store and play music. It’s about as pointless as the IE/Firefox debate… after all, if said device/application/whatever fulfills its purpose, then nothing more needs to be said.
Fuck, people will pointlessly apply some sort of greater meaning to ANYTHING. Makes me wish that we’d hurry up and kill ourselves off with global warming and all.
Seems to be two types of posts here “ZOMG Zunes/iPods are teh worst” and “OMG I can’t believe you’re taking this seriously”.
I don’t think anyone is taking this that seriously (if anyone is, the later style of posts seem to be more serious!), it’s a slightly dull blog post which is a follow up to a slightly dull blog post. That’s what blogs area all about. GOI.
BTW iPods FTW
You. People. Are. Pathetic. Let the man use whatever the hell he wants to. I don’t own EITHER. Not an MP3 player in my house. OH NOES I’M NOT HUMAN.
ARCHOS!
[...] that Obama was “reading a copy of USA Today and listening to his Zune.” Later, he backed off and said that he was pretty sure sure it was a Zune, but of course didn’t know if it was [...]
who gives a flying fuck?
[...] Philadelphia City Paper writer has also posted a response, sticking to his guns that Barack was spotted at the gym all Zuned up: I vividly remember Obama [...]
[...] with Obama [City Paper via Gearlog]Zunegate [City [...]
[...] Mac. Maybe, CityPaper responded, he was just borrowing the MP3 player? Yes, they’re calling this [...]
I have to laugh at all the violently angry people wondering who cares about this story. I guess you do, as you took the time to comment here. Why did you read the article, knowing full well what the topic would be, if you didn’t care? Sad, angry little people.
Speaking of Barack Obama: BARACK OBAMA IS AN EXCELLENT PRESIDENT!
Obama is a racial-minority individual and does not like racism:
I know it may be hard to believe.
However, it is absolutely true that Ronald Wilson Reagan committed horrible, racist, hate crimes during his presidency.
A lot of people know about Reagan’s infamy.
And a lot of people will know about Reagan’s infamy–even until the end of human existence: they’ll find out.
Numbers 32:23: “Be sure your sins will find you out.”
Respectfully Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang, J.D. Candidate
B.S., With the Highest Level of Academic Honors at Graduation, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
(I can type 90 words per minute, and there are thousands of copies on the Internet indicating the content of this post. And there are at least hundreds of copies in very many countries around the world.)
_________________
‘If only it were possible to BAN invention that bottled up memories like scent so they never faded and never got stale.’ (Once again, please consider an illustrative analogy: like scent that is held in or restrained or inhibited or suppressed or bottled up.) Off the top of my head, it came from my Lower Merion High School yearbook.