Oh come ON, WTF with this RIDICULOUS WH press conference...as if Bush would have gone to France?

[Miles Archer]

It's my FAVORITE kind of press conference...ask the question, get an answer, and JUST KEEP FUCKING DRILLING DOWN and asking the question over and over and over again.

Bush flew over Katrina.

Would the Republicans feel better if Obama flew over France?

[WinkyDink]

1. Dog, meet pony.

[JaneyVee]

2. Canada, which is basically France, did not attend either.

[B2G]

11. Uh, yeah, they did.

Canada's Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney represented Canada.

[Cali_Democrat]

22. Public Safety Minister? LOL.

I'm absolutely loving the squealing from the usual suspects about this.

Fox News...CNN...Free Republic....

Everyone is outraged that Obama didn't attend.



FUCK 'EM!!!

[B2G]

23. It's a cabinet level position

Not sure what's so funny.

[Blanks]

31. Public Safety Minister, is that about equivalent...

To the head of homeland security?

[B2G]

32. Yes, that's probably a good comparison

They have 52,000 employees and he reports directly to the Prime Minister.

[JaneyVee]

33. Attorney General not cabinet level position?

[B2G]

34. I don't recall saying it wasn't

I was responding to the claim that Canada didn't send anyone to participate.

[JaneyVee]

36. But for that matter the US did send someone.

Besides, the fact that we find out it really was a photo-op, you know exactly what the rightwing reaction would have been.

[B2G]

37. Holder didn't participate in the march

I think that's the biggest criticism I'm seeing. If he had, I think a lot of this would be a moot point.

Personally, I'd have liked to see Biden there at a minimum. But that's just MHO.

[840high]

55. Biden or Kerry.

[karynnj]

69. Kerry was at a major conference with the new Prime Minister of India

He spoke in both English and French within hours of the attack and went and signed the book at the French Embassy. He has said that he will go to France late this week. (A pretty intense week with India, Pakistan and the Iran negotiations first.)

Other than if Obama could clone him, I suspect he had to miss the rally.

[deurbano]

40. How is Canada basically France?

(For the record, I didn't think the US needed to send anybody.)

[George II]

42. Canada is not "basically France"

[PotatoChip]

3. I thought the R's didn't like France.

Remember the ridiculous "Freedom Fries" thing?

[DawgHouse]

28. Yeah, I guess that's changed now.

Remember when they accused Kerry of "looking French"? My the times they are a-changing!

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/03/news/03iht-globalist_ed3_.html

Vive la France!

[Still Sensible]

54. That obviously has changed since it is something

they can fuck over PBO about!

[Vinca]

4. Given the hoopla I bet the right is going to go back to eating French fries.

Ixnay the freedom fries.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. How about that Staged Photo Op in Paris.

Police closed off the street and hustled these so called leaders into to a tight group for the photo and all these so called leaders then split for their Security Details. Faux Noise fooled many again.

[ann---]

6. What was his excuse

for not going? I didn't watch the press conference. I think he should have gone - period.

[Tarheel_Dem]

20. Well that settles it. We should put you in charge of "his" security detail.

[YvonneCa]

61. Here...

... http://www.c-span.org/video/?323727-2/white-house-briefing

[leftynyc]

7. Has anyone mentioned this?

Gerard Araud, France’s ambassador in Washington, said the French people have been overwhelmed by the show of solidarity from the U.S.

“To be very frank, the first impression we had is the support, expressed by President Obama,” Araud said on MSNBC. He cited Kerry’s speech in France last week and his plans to return this week. “So from the French side, there is absolutely no feeling, no hard feelings.”



It's just the American right wing that's whining about this.

[FSogol]

8. That's a truism that can be applied to a lot: "It's just the American RW that's whining about this"

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. My wingnut brother-in-law was on it this morning on Facebook.

Had President Obama gone to France, he would have complained about the expense of the trip and why didn't he stay home and do some work instead of posing for a photo.

[leftynyc]

16. Maybe share what the

French ambassador had to say about it.

[greatauntoftriplets]

17. To keep family peace, we never discuss politics.

I roll my eyes at his crap, and I imagine he rolls his eyes at mine.

[leftynyc]

18. Probably wise (n/t)

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. It's worked so far.

[arcane1]

26. They hate Obama so much, they're willing to pretend to like France.

[DawgHouse]

29. Bwahh!!! nt

[DesertDawg]

9. The President just can't win!

President Obama doesn't go, they complain, had President Obama went they would have complained. He just can't win. I will say this, President Obama is a far better man than I am, that's for sure. If I were hammered over everything I do I would have snapped my first week. I don't know how he puts up with this constant BS.

[branford]

30. No one forced him to be president.

He wanted the job of governing 300 million people in the most politically, economically, culturally and militarily influential country, many of whom do not like or agree with him. He is also completely aware of and competent to engage in the politics of the position. Of course he will be criticized by the Republicans no matter what he does, but that is expected and should not matter when choosing the most prudent course of action.

Obama should have attended the rally, or at the very least, sent someone of appropriately high rank and stature like the vice-president or secretary of state. The White House screwed-up the politics, and has apologized. All the current defenders of the president are doing is raising the profile of the story and keeping it alive.

[davidpdx]

39. .....

On Mon Jan 12, 2015, 01:46 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

No one forced him to be president.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6076757

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This poster has an issue with the President's behavior for not going to France that has a concern troll flavor to it.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Mon Jan 12, 2015, 02:04 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation:
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: There is nothing in the post that is over the top or offensive. This is just a bad alert.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Yeah. I read his /her first sentence and scrolled on. Boring and ignorable.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I don't see anything hideable here. And I like and support president Obama.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: The alerter might want to try a breath mint or something. Whatever flavor s/he's tasting isn't coming from this post...
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: meh
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: well stated and not abusive, even if I disagree with it

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[countryjake]

41. No, it's Republicans like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz keeping the "story" alive.

Which is exactly what anyone watching that presser this morning learned.

There is no story here. France didn't give a shit who was in that photo-op of leaders at the demonstration and they have said as much, by thanking Kerry for his eloquent speech and thanking the USA for it's solid support since the attacks in Paris.

[branford]

43. Even if the French were terribly offended,

they still would not have openly criticized the White House, as it would have been impolitic. Given the domestic criticism, it is also unsurprising that the French would take the high road.

The criticism has also come from the the middle and left. Turn-on CNN or MSNBC or read any number of liberal newspapers or blogs. The White House has already conceded that a high-ranking notable should have attended the rally. Although hardly the end of the world, they acknowledged that they did not handle the situation in the best manner. The complaints about Rubio and Cruz were just meant to save face and throw some political red meat to the type of people still defending the president at all costs.

You complain that the rally was little more than a photo-op. On this point, we are in total agreement. However, some photo-ops, pr exercises and other symbolic acts are politically important, at least to a great many Americans and others. All politicians engage in crass politics most of the time. In fact, many believe that we have a vice-president precisely to attend events like the rally in France, and other assorted funerals and ribbon-cuttings.

I like and support the president. However, that certainly does not mean I will not criticize bad political choices, particularly ones of such minor importance.

[mfcorey1]

48. Obama should have done exactly what he did and that was not attend. If his security

is weak at home, he certainly should not put himself in a photo op. Those leaders did not march. They simply assembled together. The RW hypocrites would be complaining today about the cost of AF1 flying to France for a rally. I support the President and refuse to minimize the attendance of the Ambassador to France. Focus on the victims who this should be about and not the President of the United States.

[840high]

57. +1

[TexasTowelie]

60. It wasn't but a couple weeks ago that the same right-wingers

complained that sending Joe Biden to the funeral of the slain NYPD officers was not sufficient and that the president should have been there sitting on the back row of the church lest he draw attention away from the officer's death. The only way that they would have been satisfied is for the president to attend the rally and been assassinated. Otherwise he would have been criticized for taking the presidential jet to a photo op while he should have been in Washington guarding the country against imminent Muslim attacks.

[branford]

64. The Republicans were going to criticize Obama no matter his choices. So what, that's politics.

He wasn't elected to please the RNC.

Obama is the president, and should act in a manner he considers wise and prudent. He's more than capable of dealing with political criticism from Republicans. If not, he would not have been elected president - twice.

In this instance, by his own admission, he could have handled the situation better. Obama himself didn't even need to attend. He could have sent the vice-president or secretary of state. Eric Holder was even in France during the rally and photo ops. I still do not understand why he didn't just show-up and at least blunt some of the fallout. The effort to look good politically was negligible, and the downsides, as evident be the relentless criticism across the political spectrum, were significant.

The concern about his security is also somewhat disingenuous. There was already security in place to protect numerous prominent world leaders, including significant and less popular targets like Cameron and Netanyahu. I'm confident that the Secret Service would rise to the occasion, particularly if they needed only protect the VP or SOS.

[TwilightGardener]

10. You send Biden. That's 100% what a VP is for. Failing that, Kerry. Failing that, Holder

who was there in Paris. But, I will add, it's not the misdeed of the century, they just probably didn't know it would turn into as big a deal as it turned out to be.

[branford]

24. I basically agree.

However, aren't there career and political employees in the White House and State Department whose job it is to know if something like a rally involving a close ally, concerning terrorism, involving millions of people, and attended by numerous friendly heads of state and other notables, is in fact a "big deal?"

A number of important federal employees are incompetent and/or the president really dropped the ball.

[jeff47]

27. And all of those would result in complaints that it wasn't Obama.

(And careful ignoring of all the other countries that didn't send their President/PM)

[ChisolmTrailDem]

12. I had to turn the fucking TV off! nt

[Takket]

13. CNN is so full of shit

The headline on their article says "WH admits in erred on France rally" so you think reading that that they admitted Obama should have gone. But then you click on the article and it says the WH said they should have sent someone with a higher profile but that on 36 hours notice they could not make sure they had the proper security arrangement sin place for the president and that his presence would have put more restrictions on the people who had shown up. So if Obama went we would have heard the other leaders complaining they had to do this and that to appease King Obama's Secret Service and the GOP would be having a fit over how Obama made it "all about him" when it was supposed to be about France by causing them all these headaches over security arrangements to accommodate him.

[LordGlenconner]

58. Their explanation works for me

And it should work for anyone who isn't an insufferable asshole.

[YvonneCa]

62. Here..

... http://www.c-span.org/video/?323727-2/white-house-briefing

[Takket]

15. .

Rick Perry tweeted that Obama "should have stood with France in person to defend Western values and show support for victims."

Yeah, because I'm sure what every French person is concerned with right now isn't counting their dead and the possibility that a terrorist might show up and shoot them, its the fact that Obama didn't show up. That is why the French are losing sleep tonight.



does anyone actually think France gives a fuck?

[fredamae]

21. If Bush was concerned

If the Clintons were concerned, If Huckabee........if, if, if.....What stopped them from attending? What stopped FOX/CNN et al whiners from going "just to show support"? I didn't see their mugs amongst the marchers.
We had our Ambassador there-he Is the highest US Official in France and importantly- None of the "leaders" that Were there, actually marched, yet Holder is singled out for Not marching?
So now the WH says they erred for not sending someone higher up on the food chain, but did they really?

[AwakeAtLast]

25. Well, the terrorists have won

They made the Repukes like France again.

[CanonRay]

35. I don't know how the Press Secretary kept his cool

after getting asked the same dumb fucking question over and over and over again. I'd have blown a fuse.

[1bigdude]

38. It was prob a mistake not to go but it's certainly not THAT big of a deal. In the days of the 24/7..

news cycle, the Prez would catch heat over what he had for lunch.

[George II]

45. What kind of President takes time out to each lunch? The lazy bastard!

[1bigdude]

47. LOL! See what I mean?!! :) NT

[Ilsa]

50. Remember, the GOP talking-point word is

"Feckless" to describe the president, not "lazy".

[George II]

53. Yeah, I know, I guess I didn't put much thought into it, being feckless as I am.

[fadedrose]

46. The President now knows who HIS friends are

So far, I count 3 people who don't seem to like him, - Kim Jung Il (because of a movie plot), Putin (because of sanctions and criticism about Ukraine), Netanyahu (who seemed irked that he was put off because Obama had company from someplace else), and nameless terrorists who don't like to be bombed and chased by drones, and some nameless non-terrorists who don't like to be chased by drones.

Now there's a whole bunch of people with names whom he does not think like him and their names will be added to the stupid preceding paraqraph.

[George II]

44. Listen, if Jake Tapper and Ronan Farrow could make it over there, Obama sure should have!!!!!!!!

[branford]

49. Jake Tapper has been absolutely relentless and unforgiving in his criticism.

He blasted everyone from the president and Republican leadership to the 2016 hopefuls like Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. He's one of the primary reasons why the story has been covered so extensively on CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/11/opinion/tapper-paris-march-u-s-leaders-absence/

[George II]

52. Where the heck did he come from? I never saw him on anything until about a year ago...

....now he's all over the place being the "authority" on everything. Not only that, but every second or third word out of his mouth is "um" or "er"! Not that it should be held against him, but a first-line commentator on television? No.

[B2G]

59. Jake Tapper has been around for years. nt

[branford]

65. Tapper has been well respected for many years, and is an considered an "old school" journalist.

The majority of his career was at ABC News, and he was a big catch for CNN.

[tularetom]

67. Yeah, he's been around for many years, but "well respected" is sort of a stretch

Like most mainstream DC "journalists", he is where he is because he knew the right asses to kiss, and did so.

Most of my wing nut friends think anybody on CNN is a commie, and the few people I know who actually think, know he is a vacuous, careerist twit.

But I don't know anybody who respects him.

[notadmblnd]

51. I thought we didn't like France anymore? Conservatives especially

Member when the French were opposed to war? We got so mad we renamed French Fries Freedom Fries. You remember don't ya?

I didn't get the memo that we had kissed and made up? And if we have, why didn't the Republican controlled House and Senate send anyone? They're part of this country too. No one was stopping them. The entire damn congress could have suited up and went to Paris, yet where did they keep their asses? Why they kept them safe right here at home else they wouldn't be able to commence bitching when Obama didn't send someone they deemed good enough. Didn't they?

[butterfly77]

56. These are the same damn people...

who talked down the French and talked about freedom fries,now they have all of the fake concern? Hypocritical!

[JonLP24]

63. WTF Corporate news? I can't put into words how baffling this whole completely controversy is

Like I said yesterday I'm completely out of the loop as to what is going on in the world from 24/7 news channels but I'm very informed or in the loop, DU is my source as well as things that come up through link hopping so from my perspective is I'm completely in the dark but out of thin air this controversy emerged (I know where it came from too, French journalist saying he wish Obama was there -- as to what network and to who, the context of his appearance, I'm starting to become suspicious of the circumstances of that) and this is a non-story, something that would only be reported as a detail to a story on the rally and if other foreign leaders were there I could see pointing out who was or not there from the US could be relevant but it would be like "it happened at 7:00 am" that kind of detail.

The fact that this is still going on and there is an expected Press Conference (please tell me it isn't because of the France thing, please).

I don't know why I still get shocked again by this, but I mean really? I know they sensationalize ridiculous stuff all the time but I can't believe they choose this.

Just imagine if the roles were reversed (American reporter complaining on French news that their President wasn't on the rubble with Bush) or Bush was president, first it wouldn't even be a controversy but if the reporter said the same thing but meant Bush oh, it would be 'those cowardly French wine & cheese wimps that folded in World War II who needed us to come in there... you get the picture.

[SummerSnow]

66. If Obama had gone to France they would have called it a photo op.

[branford]

68. It was just a photo op, whether the president or another high-ranking American attended or not.

That does not mean we shouldn't have sent someone of sufficient stature.

Politicians engage in photo-ops all the time, and Obama is no exception. These symbolic acts are often considered politically important, and definitely well within any politician's the job description.

[ann---]

70. I don't think so

I think the French would have called it SUPPORT in the fight against terrorism - to show that we are not afraid.