Obama's Kanye Comments Spark Debate, Comedy

President Barack Obama's candid thoughts about Kanye West have provoked a debate over standards of journalism in the age of social media such as Twitter.

They're also sparking some hilarious parodies.

ABC News says it was wrong for its employees to Tweet that Obama called West a jackass following the rapper's ambushing of country star Taylor Swift.

The network said its employees overheard a candid discussion between the president and CNBC's John Harwood that it didn't realize was off the record.

E-mails shot around among ABC about Obama's comments, with at least three employees Twittering to spread the news before the interview even aired.

When ABC authorities found out about the Obama Tweets, they had them taken down after about an hour. But the news was out and the damage done.

ABC apologized to the White House and CNBC.

During informal banter before an interview began, Obama was how his two girls felt about Kanye hijacking Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV VMAs.

No one can accuse the President of being out of touch on this issue.

"I thought it was really inappropriate," Obama says. "The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person. She's getting her award. What's he doing up there?"

A questioner chimes in, "Why would he do it?"

"Eh, he's a jackass," Obama said, and was met with laughter from several people, prompting the President to quickly realize he may have gone too far.

"Come on guys," he said, subtly urging them to keep the comment private and to "cut the president some slack. I've got a lot of other stuff on my plate."

It's fitting that Obama was overheard commenting on Kanye, whose outburst was described by some outlets as giving Swift "the Joe Wilson treatment."

Wilson, a South Carolina Republican Congressman, was issued a formal rebuke by his colleagues following his heckling of Obama's speech last week.

Here's a brief, but hilarious video of Kanye's outburst interspersed with the President's health care speech, right as it was interrupted by Wilson ...