If this has already been posted, I apologize, but for all of those who may have missed it:
Google the phrase 'miserable failure'.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Ouch.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*laugh* I knew google had a sense of humor.
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I think it's rather classless, but politicians have long been the punchlines of classless jokes.
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
...is this a joke that someone at Google is pulling? Cause it's definitely the official www.whitehouse.gov site.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
No, it was likely due to a google bomb.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
It's definitely not a real link. It's a joke someone is pulling. I figured Google had to be in on it, or else it wouldn't stay long enough to spread through the internet.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
The terms "miserable" and "failure" don't show up anywhere on the page identified, so it's not a legitimate search result. Just mean.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I don't think its mean, but I also think its obviously untrue. I mean, he's President, and you may not like what he does, but he's been fairly successful at doing it. There are many true things that could hurt, but I don't see this as being one of them.
So, it's funny, because it's like wishful thinking. I figure it would be less funny if it linked to, say, the home page of some schmoe who really was the above. That would be sad. This is like the peanut gallery.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Actually, I'm surprised it took .10 seconds to complete the search.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
What was that quote about lying to a black man being worse than lying to a white man? What about attacking a person who can't defend himself in the forum where he is being attacked?
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Being in politics, do you give up some of that claim to a chance for rebuttal?
Posted by Lerris (Member # 3530) on :
I am pretty sure it is the real whitehouse page. It is not the fact that miserable failure is not in the page anywhere that causes it to be ranked that way. It being up there has things to do with Google's page rank algorithm thingie.
I think fugu is right about the google bomb thing. Check this link. It is good for a chuckle.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I'm not saying they don't have the right to do it. Just something about being ten times worse.
Ridiculously, I thought of Google, at least as a search engine, as being "Fair And Balanced." I just hate being disillusioned.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
*pat pat*
I heard a story on NPR once where Google knocked a company a page or two down the listings - they were suing Google or something. It was big deal.
It looks like this isn't Google's idea, but the fault of the google bombers.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
Having read the "google bomb" link provided (thank you, Lerris), I no longer disavow Google, and will continue to use it as my search engine. This is still a classless thing to do, though. Not as destructive as a virus or worm, but just as insidious.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Google has no more to do with this than Microsoft has to do with the email viruses that keep surfacsing. Someone figured out a way to manipulate the sytstem. That is all.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Yeah, it does look like Google bombing -- see the links that come up for the rest of the top 10? And even if you search for "miserable failure -bush" you get a fair number of tangentially related stuff.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Also, Google's swung in both directions. Remember the French link?
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Laugh]](graemlins/laugh.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
*pat pat*