White House spokesman Jay Carney just held a press briefing that was equal parts absurd and horrifying. Even as American embassies are mobbed by radicals, and our flags are torched and replaced with Islamist banners, Carney continued to repeat — almost as if he were trying to convince himself — that the riots are purely a reaction to a low-budget anti-Islam Youtube film. Nothing to do with the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Nothing to do with anti-American sentiment. Nothing to do with support for al-Qaeda or Islamic terrorism.
“Let’s be clear: these protests were in reaction to a video that had spread to the region,” said Carney. “We have no information to suggest that it was a preplanned attack.”
“The unrest we’ve seen around the region has been in reaction to a video that many Muslims find offensive,” added Carney. “It is not a response to 9/11.”
And it continued on like that for the rest of the briefing:
“The unrest around the region has been in response to the video.”
“What we have seen is unrest around the region in response to a video that Muslims find offensive.”
“We are working to ensure that our diplomatic personnel and our diplomatic facilities are secure as we deal with the response to this video, which we believe is offensive and disgusting.”
“The cause of the unrest was a video. And that continues today, as you know, as we anticipated. And it may continue for some time.”
“The reason why there’s unrest is because of the film. This is in response to the film… this is not a film that the United States government had anything to do with. We reject its message and its contents we find it both reprehensible.”
“My point was simply that we are responding to and coping with and dealing with…unrest brought about by this offensive video.”
“The unrest we’ve seen is a reaction to a film with which the U.S. government has had no involvement, which we’ve denounced as offensive. As I said yesterday, it can be difficult to see in some countries why the U.S. can’t simply eliminate this expression…but as you know…it’s one of our fundamental principles.”
“We find the video reprehensible and disgusting…This video has nothing to do, has nothing to do with the American government. It has nothing to do with who we are or what we believe.”
Even if the video fueled the protests, how did a low-budget Youtube film that nobody had heard of before last week get dubbed into Arabic and distributed around Muslim countries? The answer is fanatical Islamist leaders who used the film to incite outrage on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
And if you believe the video was the sole drive behind the protests, then why were U.S. flags replaced with the flags of al-Qaeda? Why were terrorists groups reportedly involved in organizing the protests weeks in advance — before the film even came to light?
The Obama administration does not want to talk about terrorism, because it wants to pretend it defeated terrorism by killing Osama bin Laden. They don’t want to mention al-Qaeda, unless of course it’s in the context of a drone our military dropped on one of its leaders. But as the embassy attacks illustrate, the Islamic terror threat has not disappeared. It hasn’t been vanquished by the lofty speeches of a Nobel Peace Prize-winning president, or eradicated by his policy of covert assassinations. The fact that the White House hasn’t seemed to grasp this is what made today’s briefing so tone-deaf, and so startling.
I just saw a Romney interview with Stephanapolous, asking about Egypt. Can one be livid and angry and limp at the same time? That's exactly how I feel. Romney looked and sounded like he was making an effort in self hypnosis. Some of my Comments friends are tired of my negativity. Watch that segment and tell me this is the candidate who will win the debate on this issue(or any other).
Romney should not talk to stephanopolis. That guy is in love with 0bama, literally! when he interviews him he blushes._Romney needs to get tough and not step down. He had a presidential moment, when he let 0bama have it after the killing of the Ambassedor. Dont let up on that..
I saw parts of that interview. What id you want him to do, start waving his arms and shrieking? This is important stuff. He did fine.
ATR – I didn't see it the way you did. I thought he sounded, dare I say, presidential. What you saw as self-hypnosis I saw as somber. And I thought he gave a nice cogent summary of Egypt's obligations if it is to remain an ally. I thought it was better than what Obama's admin is cranking out. nAt any rate, Romney is in a tough position. He's going to get hammered if he talks tough, and he'll get hammered if he doesn't. But you know, I'm not sure it matters a whole lot. After all, Romney can pontificate – but Obama is the President. He's the guy who can actually do something, and he isn't doing much – that is coherent, at any rate. If voters decide this is an important national security issue, and that national security is an important election issue, and I hope they do, they will then decide whether the President is up to the job.If they then determine he isn't up to the job, and as long as his challenger doesn't look like a total flop, they'll give Romney the chance.
I'm not your "friend," but how can you not be 'negative' about Romney. He is simply awful, and for the precise reason you say he is. The feeling we all get from him is this: that it's up to us to change the way voters look at him. But that's what we went through with George W. Bush, another GOP politician who could not communicate with American voters. Ditto with John McCain. Now this guy! n nIt's easy to read a speech or deliver a series of observations or comments to the press. What's hard is answering questions on the fly, engaging one's opponents in debate, reacting to just about anything confidently and honestly. But that's what we look for in our politicians. Even the Romans and Greeks felt the same about their legislators and consuls. Imagine, giving us Mitt Romney to go against Barack Obama, after what occurred when McCain tried the same thing! n nWhat can explain it? My belief is that two dynamics were in play last winter, when a group of Republican politicians decided to compete for the nomination via those televised debates. First, there was the feeling that, even if a Republican beat Obama, what he'd be faced with would be a disaster—the mess Obama created—and that the "mess" could easily turn into a catastrophe—as we are seeing right now. n nSecond there were the debates themselves, which were a total waste of time (as we also see—else how did Romney emerge from them as "the one?"), and also the nature of the Republican "base," which is horrific. This "base" is not the Tea Party, which is all about smaller government, low taxes, and fiscal restraint. Very little of that all-important conservative political thinking is of any interest to the Republican "base," which cares about abortion, religion, sexuality, gender and holds a schizophrenic rather than a pragmatic view about the nation's immigration policies. The result of these realities is that our best and brightest stars did not enter those debates, nor did they give any thought to seeking the nomination at the convention. Who in his/her right mind would put one's family and oneself through that awful mess—and then have to face Obama and his mess? n nThe result—a potential destruction of our country, thanks to two dysfunctional political parties. But what are the parties, except two factions of the American people? And so it is ourselves we have to blame for this, what we have become since the 1960s, a nation divided by social issues of such pettiness and irrelevance—including the abortion issue, which is more about pornography and repressed sexuality than it is about whether or not a woman aborts a foetus! n nHow can a nation as powerful and as complex as ours keep on this way? It cannot, I assure you. We have rested on our laurels—the ones we earned by "making the world safe for democracy" during World War II—for over 50 years, and in all that time we have done precious little to assure that the nation's children are growing up educated properly and morally "straight." Instead, we let our schools—their schools—go to seed and we have let the kids run wild. We have in effect allowed the ties that bind the generations together, into a unity, to break. Kids today have contempt for adults. And why, because there's a human gene for "contempt?" Hardly! No, they feel contempt and alienation from elders because that's what we allowed and even encouraged them to feel. And now—we are standing at the brink of collapse. Trust me, this problem goes way past Mitt Romney—though he is a symptom of what ails us. n nTo field a candidate of his level of mediocrity takes some doing. You don't find such awful presidential candidates easily. You have to put a lot of work into finding them, and that means you have to believe that mediocrity is "good." n nSo, your "negativity" or "pessimism" is simply your objectivity about what is occurring before your eyes. You should trust it. But you should also try to change the reality itself, not simply complain. Choose an area of history that interests you—and learn all you can about it. Perhaps US presidential history, perhaps our military history, or the history of America's relations and interactions with the Middle East etc. Then you'll be able to filter everything through the lens of what you know, rather than relying on and communicating through unfounded and therefore unreliable "opinions." n nGood luck.
"The feeling we all get from him is this…" nI don't get that feeling.
How can you be so long winded and so FOS? Easy. You imitate Obama.
Amazing …. n nOur President – - – the guy who's in charge now … sends his minion out to spout a pathetic line blaming a STUPID VIDEO for these attacks. n nAnd you want to talk about Romney?
Jay Carney and his boss live in a bizzaro alternate reality and can not begin to fathom the extent of Obama's foreign policy failures.
Carney, Obama's chief propagandist, is full of it. The so called film had nothing to do with the Libyan murders. This was a well planned atrocity. It was planned far in advance of the "film" that is being ballyhood thruout the Radical Muslim world.
If it weren't for the offensive film Jay Carney would have to blame the on-going fiasco on Bush.
finally someone said it, how soon will obumer say it
well, post a link or tell us how to watch the clip. I tried but did not find anything on website. BTW- do you blame romney as he is cautious after the flap on the cairo stuff earlier this week?
I posted the clip above. What Rubin says was more significant to me. I sometimes think the MSM is making Romney twitch at shadows (at anything) — because no matter what he says it's a headline used to trash him worldwide! Rubin keeps saying he has to get on the news in his own words to bypass the MSM.
The answer is fanatical Islamist leaders who used the film to incite outrage on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks n nThe answer is exactly how it got into the hands of Islamist leaders. The middlemen were 500 Islamist journalists,but who emailed the 12 minute snippet of the film to the "500"?. Also,the "500" were told that the film was to be aired in prime time on national US television on 9/11. nWere I in charge,I would use redition and black ops on those behind this terrorist act.
very nice observation, however this administration has no interest in the truth, just espousing more propaganda.
Sadly,the u201ctruthu201d is rarely the concern,well,of anyone. Still,if it were up to me,Terry Jones would disappear from the surface of the earth.
Oh, Rex, you take half a step forward, and run 200 steps back.
How did those rocket launcers get there so fast if it was just because of the video?
The prospect of a two term Obama is truly frightening. It will make V for Vendetta look like a documentary.
Let's see…we want YouTube to take down a video because it's offensive to Islamists, but for years we've looked the other way while governments who receive billions of American aid dollars broadcast hour after hour of anti-Western, anti-Israel, anti-American or anti-Semitic television programming. The kind of hatred we're seeing is a result of years of indoctrination, not the sudden appearance of a YouTube video clip. (How many on the "Arab Street" have even seen the video?) n nUntil we insist that, in return for our aid, Government-run media should be conditioning people for tolerance and co-existence instead of continuing to incite them to hatred and violence, we will see more and more attacks on our people, our property and our values.
BRAVO!!!
Does the fact that Carney repeated himself so often mean that many White House Press Corps reporters pressed him on the issue? And if there were that many questions, could it mean the Corps blinders are coming off? It would be nice if we are reaching the bottom of the white-wash bucket, but I doubt it.
This is deception. nI wonder why the WH has not blamed the Mormon yet!!! or BiBi! nT J must be enraged by the dhimni attitude of the West and its constant bashing of Israel. This being said, I disapprove totally of his conduct. nThe Islamists need to be dealed with like the Nazi. Fanaticism is fanaticism!
This is getting depressing. It has become cliche on the Right to say that Obama is in over his head, and I would certainly agree with that assessment in general. But this mess is almost beyond belief. Embassy after embassy is coming under attack, and our President and his minions can't seem to figure out where to direct their fire. Heck, they aren't even in agreement about who is and is not an ally. Carney's position is ludicrous, of course, but par for the course – just another idiotic statement from an administration uninterested in anything that doesn't further their radical agenda.
This is so clearly a deliberate lie, it is at least borderline to a felony. And coming from the (ugh) president during what amounts to a war, this must be an impeachable offense.
The Obama White House is doing what it's supposed to do: shape its message so it comes out looking as if Obama is doing all he can to keep our foreign policy in the Middle East on course. n nI don't think that "message" is true, neither do most readers of Commentary, and for good reason! Obama is a liar. He may be worse. We will probably not know how much "worse" for many years. n nTo the point: It is the job of the GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, to set the media and voters "straight," i.e., to shape the GOP message in such a way that it is both believable and convincing. Romney can do neither. That is why we are having these back-and-forth discussions on this blog, and why we are a bit frantic to see the Obama version virtually unopposed in an effective manner by the Romney campaign. n nAgain, how many of us are motivated to sit at phone banks and advocate for this man? Our only motivation is because we're afraid of what Obama will do to our country–and perhaps to the whole world—if he gets another 4-year shot at us! But that is not sufficient. Few Republicans other than true activists are going to push hard for Romney. He doesn't speak to us, or to anyone else. n nThe question remains: what to make of an election at such an historic moment in world history, where the most powerful nation in the world is deciding between two men such as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney! What does it say about us? Forget these two guys, who as individuals are not worth thinking about! What about the people of the United States? Who are we? What have we done to ourselves, to arrive at this sad pass? And what have we done to this lovely country, especially to its children? Where were we when it was all happening over the last 50 years? In an RV bound for Tucson? Or staying at a time-share in Baja? Or wine-tasting, perhaps. Loading up on the junk at Walmart, or Costco? Hanging out at "the mall?" Watching videos? Checking "my tweets" perhaps? And so on. n nWe have trivialized our lives beyond anything one could have imagined would happen, from the vantage point of the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s. Our economy collapsed, because the markets have become toys, rather than useful tools for ensuring stability and creating real value. We let the foxes into the financial chicken coop, when we let computer-geniuses loose to play in them! Who are these kids, after all—they are boys and girls who grow up on video games. Is that who we want moving trillions of dollars through the markets every day—post-teens at play? n nWe have lost our grip. Political correctness has numbed our spirit, and our critical sense that "this is not that, you are not me, yours is not mine." n nAnd because of these things, and many more, we find ourselves choosing between Obama the narcissistic hustler, and Mitt the flatline businessman. Obama's "qualification": his years as a community organizer and then law professor. Mitt's claim to fame: CEO of Bain Capital and utterly forgettable governor of Massachusetts. n nMeanwhile—-Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Reagan– must be rolling over in their graves!
It all boils down to this: Islam is the articulation of and justification for very, very ugly societies, which are the syntheses of brutal, sterile environments and the people who inhabit them. When these ugly, ugly peoples are confronted with a mirror, such as the Danish cartoons, Theo Van Gogh's film or the video in question — when they are confronted with the truth about themselves — they are filled with such self-loathing that they fly into a homicidal rage. n nIt really matters little whether the video directly incited the latest wave of Muslim mob violence or is just a pretext. The fact is that the very existence of Western civilization — its values, its achievements, it's attractive peoples and their humane societies — is a continual and, thanks to ubiquitous communications, inescapable reproach to the bungled and botched of the world, united by Islam under the banner of lethal resentment.
This has become liberalism's standard response to terrorism: what did we do to MAKE them do this? It is co-dependent thinking, like the pathetic strategy of the child of an alcoholic to gain control of her chaotic world. But co-dependency writ large is no basis for a foreign policy. We need to get sane, sober adults back in charge.
The fears many of us had about Romney's inability to frame the issues and to formulate responses sharply and concisely from a conservative perspective are now being realized. Directly and indirectly this is coming through in the frustration on this forum. Try to imagine how Gingrich would be responding to the ignominious collapse of Obama's foreign policy dreams. But alas, we don't have a candidate with Gingrich's rhetorical skills. So what do we do? I think it was Burke who coined the phrase "little platoons" in reference to democratic governments with their vibrant private institutions that help to prevent tyranny. So, let's "march." Go to a phone bank. Knock on doors. Distribute campaign literature. Donate. Unfortunately, we can't make Romney Gingrich. As Bill Bennett said the other day(out of frustration), he's the only candidate we conservatives have. I'm sure I'll continue to gnash my teeth, vent my frustration on this forum, and continue to compare Romney to Bob Dole's candidacy. But this week I'm off to a Tea Party meeting. How about you?
I'm certainly not trying to change anyone's mind – just prevent too much of a tipping point here. I don't see Romney the way you and some others here do. I DO think he does a good job communicating my views, and I trust him to do the job if elected. I certainly would not want Gingrich at the helm right now! Goodness gracious – he is capable of saying the most ludicrous things. The story really would be about him. nObama is incompetent. We are seeing that very clearly now. So are other voters.
It would be very good for Gingrich to campaign for Romney. He is aggressive, intelligent, and a great speaker. Romney needs someone to tell off that consummate liar Obama. Tell him off with aggressive gusto. Gingrich can do it. Get out there Newt, we need you. n
I've seen the trailer to the movie and it is laughable. It shows all the skill that a community theater group might. To ask us to believe that this silly movie, and not anti-American hatred is the cause of these well-timed 9/11 riots is also laughable. This White House is being run by amateurs.
Carney is a twit with zilch knowledge apparently of the Arab MidEast. The continuation of unrest is delibertae and obviously has govt backing.r nWhilst the video was an excuse nobody happens by with RPG weaponry to attack an embassy/ entourage. There was a leak.r nI am not an American and I cannot for the life of me understand how you put a muslim in office – he may speak English but he bows East.
Mike, I readily admit that Gingrich can make ludicrous statements, at times. But no one formulates issues better or understands how absurd and dangerous the consequences of liberal premises and ideas are than Newt. How bad would he be over the length of a presidential campaign? Well, other than a statement about colonizing the moon(I can't keep a straight face as I wrote that), I don't remember Newt saying anything preposterous. And if and when he does, he knows how to fight back. Romney does not even know how to begin a fight. Yes, I agree: Romney does say a great deal with which I agree. But his task is not to present conservative arguments that the base already believes in—that was done during the primaries—but to articulate these arguments for the unconvinced. I also agree: he would be a fine president. And of course I agree: Obama is incompetent. I hope you're correct that others are now seeing that, but the evidence is rather thin.
Reading the various comments this morning I am beginning to understand your viewpoint a bit better, and it has merit. Like vandag1 says up above, maybe Gingrich can help out. nI'm still fairly confident, and I'm still not sure another Republican would be doing better, though it is hard for me to say that because I'm not so sure Romney is doing poorly! Anyway, time will tell.