White House Freely Admits Mistake In Not Sending Heavier Hitter To Paris Rally
At the top of Monday’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Josh Earnest cut right to the chase, explaining that while sending President Obama or Vice President Biden would have been impractical, the White House agreed that someone with a higher profile should have been sent:
If that explanation sounds familiar, it’s the same one Ronald Reagan used for abandoning Jesus.
Earnest also declined to give details on the decision-making process, except to say that “this was not a decision that was made by the President,” and through seven or eight other versions of the same question, reiterated that while it wasn’t feasible for the President to go, the administration should have sent someone with a higher profile than the ambassador. CNN’s Jim Acosta even tried the patented “shop,” trying to get Earnest to argue with Secretary of State John Kerry in absentia:
Earnest was later asked what the President was doing on Sunday, and replied that he hadn’t asked. There’s absolutely zero chance that Earnest wasn’t read out on the President’s activities on Sunday, but really, what answer would ever have been good enough?
It is worth noting that, at one point, Earnest appeared ready to engage some of the criticism, which broke down into two general categories, the first being partisan political opportunism. Many Republicans, like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), insisted that the President himself should have dropped everything and flown to France to march with about two million people with less notice than it would take to plan an appearance on The Colbert Report.
Others, like CNN’s Jake Tapper, were more reasonably dismayed that the United States couldn’t muster anyone to attend the rally with a higher profile than Ambassador Hartley, not even Attorney General Eric Holder, who was in Paris doing Sunday show interviews at the time of the rally. It is the latter criticism that the White House generally agrees with, but toward the beginning of the briefing, Earnest appeared to be spoiling for a fight on the former, before thinking better of it.
After Earnest had a;ready admitted the White House should have sent someone else, Reuters’ Steve Holland asked him to respond directly to criticism. The exchange played a little bit like the Joe Pesci “funny how?” scene in Goodfellas…READ MORE
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By: Tommy Christopher
Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
18 responses to White House Freely Admits Mistake In Not Sending Heavier Hitter To Paris Rally
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edmeyer_able January 12th, 2015 at 23:07
Now if we could just get george to admit he sent 100,000 troops to invade the wrong country…..
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/12/the-missing-pages-of-the-9-11-report.html?via=desktop&source=facebook
edmeyer_able January 13th, 2015 at 00:07
Now if we could just get george to admit he sent 100,000 troops to invade the wrong country…..
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/12/the-missing-pages-of-the-9-11-report.html?via=desktop&source=facebook
Aun Awn January 13th, 2015 at 00:25
Welcome to the most overblown news story of 2015.
This is a simple logistics problem. Not disrespect. Where’s the Canadian prime minister? Where’s Australia? South America? Asia?
All the world leaders who attended this are European. It’s easier to attend spur-of-the-moment rallies like this if you’re on the same continent. Duh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/List-of-leaders-to-attend-Paris-rally/articleshow/45843350.cms
whatthe46 January 13th, 2015 at 00:41
nicely put.
Aun Awn January 13th, 2015 at 01:25
Welcome to the most overblown news story of 2015.
This is a simple logistics problem. Not disrespect. Where’s the Canadian prime minister? Where’s Australia? South America? Asia?
All the world leaders who attended this are European or N. African. It’s easier to attend spur-of-the-moment rallies like this if you’re on the same continent. Duh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/List-of-leaders-to-attend-Paris-rally/articleshow/45843350.cms
whatthe46 January 13th, 2015 at 01:41
nicely put.
OldLefty January 13th, 2015 at 06:47
Looks like the made the right call.
They are now subject to scathing mockery for the cheap publicity stunt;
Paris march: TV wide shots reveal a different perspective on world leaders at largest demonstration in France’s history
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-march-tv-wide-shots-reveal-a-different-perspective-on-world-leaders-at-largest-demonstration-in-frances-history-9972895.html
“The measure was presumably taken for security reasons – but political commentators have suggested that it raises doubts as to whether the leaders were really part of the march at all.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-march-tv-wide-shots-reveal-a-different-perspective-on-world-leaders-at-largest-demonstration-in-frances-history-9972895.html
The
measure was presumably taken for security reasons – but political commentators
have suggested that it raises doubts as to whether the leaders were really part
of the march at all.
One reporter tweeted out;
@GerryHassan
This is what pseudo-solidarity looks
like. World leaders marching in #Paris not actually on protest but photo opp. pic.twitter.com/Sz1k0uvGo9
The FT’s Middle East
correspondent Borzou Daragahi commented: “Seems world leaders didn’t “lead”
Charlie Hebdo marchers in Paris but conducted photo op on empty, guarded
street.”
Ian Bremmer, a US political scientist and founder of the Eurasia Group, said: “All those world leaders: Not exactly ‘at’ the Paris rallies.”
And …
@borzou
To show their commitment to free speech MT @mattsteinglassThey should have banned press from showing the full photo
Perhaps the Right is REALLY angry that they have been deprived of hours of showing the photo and pummeling Obama with it.
edmeyer_able January 13th, 2015 at 09:22
A typical republican photo op…..lol
OldLefty January 13th, 2015 at 07:47
Looks like they made the right call.
Those who were there are now subject to scathing mockery for the cheap publicity stunt;
Paris march: TV wide shots reveal a different perspective on world leaders at largest demonstration in France’s history
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-march-tv-wide-shots-reveal-a-different-perspective-on-world-leaders-at-largest-demonstration-in-frances-history-9972895.html
“The measure was presumably taken for security reasons – but political commentators have suggested that it raises doubts as to whether the leaders were really part of the march at all.”
One reporter tweeted out;
@GerryHassan
This is what pseudo-solidarity looks like. World leaders marching in #Paris not actually on protest but photo opp. pic.twitter.com/Sz1k0uvGo9
The FT’s Middle East correspondent Borzou Daragahi commented: “Seems world leaders didn’t “lead” Charlie Hebdo marchers in Paris but conducted photo op on empty, guarded street.”
Ian Bremmer, a US political scientist and founder of the Eurasia Group, said: “All those world leaders: Not exactly ‘at’ the Paris rallies.”
And …
@borzou
To show their commitment to free speech MT @mattsteinglassThey should have banned press from showing the full photo
Perhaps the Right is REALLY angry that they have been deprived of hours of showing the photo and pummeling Obama with it.
edmeyer_able January 13th, 2015 at 10:22
A typical republican photo op…..lol
Suzanne McFly January 13th, 2015 at 07:19
We are talking about this more than anyone in Paris is, they probably did not even notice but in America this is a front page news story. Seems like the “liberal” media is trying to throw something at this admin and hopes it sticks.
Suzanne McFly January 13th, 2015 at 08:19
We are talking about this more than anyone in Paris is, they probably did not even notice but in America this is a front page news story. Seems like the “liberal” media is trying to throw something at this admin and hopes it sticks.
William January 13th, 2015 at 09:35
If anyone from the administration had made a high profile trip to France. The Goobers on the fair and balanced couch would have gone on and on about an “Obama cabinet Paris vacation”
William January 13th, 2015 at 10:35
If anyone from the administration had made a high profile trip to France. The Goobers on the fair and balanced couch would have gone on and on about an “Obama cabinet Paris vacation”
Bunya January 13th, 2015 at 14:19
I can’t believe this is still such huge news. Geez, you’d think the right would have moved onto Benghazi (again) by now.
Bunya January 13th, 2015 at 15:19
I can’t believe this is still such huge news. Geez, you’d think the right would have moved onto Benghazi (again) by now.
ChrisVosburg January 13th, 2015 at 17:17
Coulda sent Dubya and Dick Cheney, I guess. I feel sure that there are many in Europe who would very much like to meet them, and perhaps serve a warrant or two.
William January 13th, 2015 at 17:38
“Coulda sent Dubya and Dick Cheney”
They wouldn’t even show solidarity against terrorism in their own country.