l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 by Rick aka Mr. Brutally Honest
Is this incompetence or indifference on behalf of the President of these
United States?
On Monday morning, Washington awoke to learn that Commerce Secretary John
Bryson had been involved in a series of auto accidents in southern
California on Saturday evening, and cited with a felony hit-and-run by
responding police. This news was of course shocking.
For several hours, the White House and the Commerce Department declined
comment. In this vacuum, the rumors took a life of their own. Some
speculated there was alcohol involved, despite initial police accounts that
this was not the case. After official statements reported seizures were the
cause of the accidents, the ire turned on that initial speculation, blaming
the sardonic culture of Twitter.
But the entirety of blame did not lie with those on the social network.
Nobody can deny that Twitter is not a forgiving place absent of (sometimes
inappropriate) snark and vitriol, but it is also a venue for compassion,
which is evidenced any time a notable figure passes away and the timeline
becomes a place for remembrance and prayer. Some rightly issued apologies
for inappropriate remarks, and the discussion largely fell silent.
Part of the blame surely lay at the feet of an inept White House
communications operation, unable to provide the general public with any
answers to the health and well-being of a cabinet secretary. This media
stonewall continued in Press Secretary Jay Carney’s daily briefing.
In Carney’s first answer, we learned that President Obama had not
spoken with Secretary Bryson. This seemed odd. A cabinet secretary is
hospitalized following serious traffic incidents and a police citation and
the president does not pick up the phone to check on his welfare?
Pressed for details, Carney continually directed questions to the
Commerce Department. As if this matter had nothing to do with the White
House. On the fifth question, Carney was asked: “So as the matter stands
right now, is the Secretary healthy and fit to serve?” Carney referred the
question to the Commerce Department.
Later in the briefing, Carney said the White House was alerted on Sunday
evening and the president was informed on Monday morning. Again, this
strikes even the casual observer as odd. The Commerce Secretary istenth in
the presidential line of succession and there is a government-wide
Continuity of Operations Plan(COOP) that ensures that the executive branch
leadership is accounted for and able to serve.
Did the President of the United States really find out at the same time
as the general public that 36 hours beforehand his Commerce Secretary had
been hospitalized? And if so, was his first concern the fact that his staff
left him in the dark unnecessarily for so many hours?
Later that afternoon, the president did a series of local television
interviews, in which he was asked about the situation. The president
reiterated that he had still not spoken to Secretary Bryson and that he had
“just found out about this today.”
Later that evening, at 10 pm, the White House issued a statement
declaring that Secretary Bryson was taking a medical leave of absence and
that Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank would serve as Acting Secretary. While
White House statements at 10 pm are not absolutely abnormal, they are rare.
This fit the mold of the bizarre events of the day.
I'm not sure bizarre is the right word.
The sort of behavior manifested would seem to be par for the course for a
man focused entirely inwards, a man known for his narcissism, a man known
for his detachment.
A man who never should have been elected.
Do your part to ensure in November that come January, he can be as inwardly
focused, as narcissistic, as detached as he wants to be without imperiling
the rest of us. |
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