We have an obligation in politics and public life, when someone says inappropriate things, to say so

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David Axelrod To CNN’s John King: Hilary Rosen Is Your Employee, Not Ours

John King asked Chief Obama strategist David Axelrod why Hilary Rosen’s comments were such a big deal that Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and multiple other campaign operatives had to condemn it.

“I don’t know in the long term whether it will be a big deal,” Axelrod replied. “It was an unfortunate comment, unfortunate for two reasons. In the battle of politics, family are civilians and should be treated as such. They shouldn’t be pulled into the debate in that kind of way as targets. So it was unfortunate from that respect. The other thing is that it did feel like denigration of stay-at-home moms. There are moms that are working that would like to be home and to suggest that you are not working if your staying home, raising a family, often active in the schools and the community and causes, that’s not right. My own wife was a stay-at-home mom and worked harder than anybody I know. Often, the moms are the ones who are handling the family finances as well. It was an unfortunate comment. Hillary has acknowledged that. It is true that the Romney campaign jumped on it like a raft in the deep blue sea. They were drowning under the weight of their own problems. Earlier in the day they couldn’t come up with an answer of whether Governor Romney supported the pay equity law, the first law the President signed and he endorsed and warmly spoke of Governor Walker who just repealed the pay equity law there. I think that has more durable meaning to the women of this country than this,”

“Why so fast to trash, forgive me, my word, not yours, somebody who is a trusted ally of the White House who has been out there defending the President quite a bit?” King countered.

“I think we have an obligation in politics and public life, when someone, even friends, say things that are inappropriate to say so. In certain ways, when your friends say it, there is more of an obligation to do so. I think that’s true on both sides. I’ve been disappointed on the other side of the aisle just recently when Governor Romney and others were not willing to stand up and denounce speech they felt that most people would call inappropriate. I thought we had an obligation to speak and speak very, very quickly to make clear that this didn’t reflect our point of view and that we thought Hilary should apologize. She did do that. The other thing that we should clear up is that she actually is your employee, not ours. She works for CNN. I think CNN would not allow her to be an operative for our campaign. She is not. She never has been. She is a supporter of the President. The Romney campaign has throughout the day portrayed her as an advisor to the president. That’s simply not true.”


read: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/david-axelrod-to-cnns-john-king-hilary-rosen-is-your-employee-not-ours/

[MineralMan]

1. Oh, snap!

"She works for CNN. I think CNN would not allow her to be an operative for our campaign."

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2. KPete's got that headline

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002557987

I like the fullness of Mr. Axelrod's response to King.

[MineralMan]

3. Thanks.

Yes, it was a great response.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Axelrod seems to forget McClurkin as surrogate to his campaign, you know?

“I think we have an obligation in politics and public life, when someone, even friends, say things that are inappropriate to say so. In certain ways, when your friends say it, there is more of an obligation to do so."
So do I. Sadly, rather than speaking against the slanders, Axelrod's campaign hired the hate speakers and then defended them.
So I guess it is a matter of another exception for slandering gay people. I mean, Axelrod and his candidate hired a surrogate who says gay people are 'trying to kill our children'. So he seems less than honest here.

[Fumesucker]

6. McClurkin is to the right..

And hence not to be a subject of denigration or distancing by Democrats, that is reserved for those on the left.

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7. he wasn't a Democratic surrogate or a surrogate of the Obama administration

For what it was worth, he was included in the inauguration as a measure of 'balance' against Rev. Lowery, who is a Democratic ally. McClurkin is a republican. But, we've been through that. With a few notable exceptions, this administration has been an ally and advocate for LGBT issues from the start, from appointments, to policies, to prosecutions of abuses and discrimination, to outreach and amplification of issues of concern to the community.

[AlinPA]

5. John King is a fool.