TONE DEAF

Walter Shapiro saw and heard a press conference that differed from the one I saw and heard. Writing about the question Pres. Obama got about still smoking cigarettes, Shapiro writes:

(Words alone cannot convey Obama's mocking tone and his obvious disdain for this "human-interest story.")

I thought this was a pleasant and humorous exchange and I didn't note anything that would be impossible to describe with the resources of the English language.