White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest Monday insisted that President Obama could not have attended Sunday’s march in Paris because security arrangements would have had an adverse impact on the event, but he admitted that the White House had not even consulted the Secret Service on the matter.
Earnest acknowledged that some high ranking U.S. official other than the president or the vice president should have attended. But his effort to insulate the president from criticism appeared to fall apart when Julie Hirschfeld Davis of the New York Times asked if it was correct, as the Secret Service and told her, that the White House had not consulted with the Secret Service about security arrangements for a presidential visit.
The decision, it turns out, was based on a feeling about past events. Earnest said:
I’m not going to get into the planning or the logistics that went into the decision related to the march.
What I have merely reiterated is something that we have talked about on many occasions and applies to every time the president wants to attend an event alongside thousands or hundreds of thousands or even millions of other people, which is that that requires significant, onerous security precautions that necessarily have an impact on the ability of those who are attending that event to fully participate.
There is no doubt that had the president attended that march on short notice yesterday, the security precautions around his participation would have had an impact on those who attended the march.
Earnest provided no information on who, if not the Secret Service, made the judgement based on past experience about whether the security would be too onerous in this particular case.
Nor did Earnest indicate how the White House came to the conclusion that Vice President Biden, whose security requirements are far less than the president’s, couldn’t attend. Is Biden’s security really much greater than that used by someone like Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu or German Chancellor Merkel, both of whom were at the march?
While he said he thought Obama would have liked to attend, Earnest gave no indication about whether the president ordered anyone to run the traps and find out whether it was possible.
Obama spent the day at home at the White House. Earnest said he had no idea what Obama was doing. Biden was at home in Delaware. No one knows what he was doing either or whether he asked to go to Paris.
79 thoughts on “White House Effort to Insulate Obama from Criticism Falls Apart”
They lie when the truth would sound better
The truth is to be obscured whenever possible.
Truth is like castor oil to these elitist buffoons. It would be good for them, and they should try it, but it doesn’t taste good, and is sometimes hard to swallow.
They live to lie. They don’t know how to tell the truth. ValJar said that he needed to stay indoors and watch football because it was too cold and he might get sick. She wrapped him in his blankie and brought him a bowl of popcorn. Said “Don’t worry about what is going on in Paris, they won’t miss you”. So glad the word got out that he was hiding in his tv room.
He heard his Danish blonde friend wouldn’t meet with him so he bailed. Turns out she’s not interested in “girly men” such as barry.
Oh well, may as well stay home to be hen-pecked by moochie
and babied by valjar who insists he wear his snuggie while watching cartoons….
Real reason he didn’t attend: You can’t walk arm and arm and take a ‘selfie’ at the same time.
good one.
He did his very best to cover a major mistake. Failure!
F U Obama.
Hear, Hear!
It’s the same as old song………..I haven’t spoke to the President, so,I don’t know what he did, please………
Benghazi failure occurs no one knows where the President was and waht he was doing. The WH photographers are classified. He probably was playing golf in the underground golf course at the Greenbrier.
The WH is scheduling the World Security Summit close to his annual boys golfing weekend. That is the same weekend as the pilgrimage to Vail for the Obama Girls.
Who the hell does ‘Propaganda Sec’ not-so-Earnest talk to to get information…?
He talks to the Oracle of Coverups, who lives in a tin cup in the basement of the White House.
Good one, Marcus.
X2 lol
Hilarious – thank you for the laugh!
Has anyone been able to find out or recall why the Summit was delayed to begin with? It had been scheduled for October.
It was still golfing weather. My guess is that he got in lots of golf in October. February golf weather…not so much.
Sounds like (his) very important reason.
I got it. Obama was being considerate of others around him? Unlike every other time his “security arrangements” have screwed up people’s lives in countless ways? Like the couple in Hawaii whose wedding ceremony he f’ed up so His Majesty could play golf?
Bite me Earnest, you are a dirty no good liar, just like your boss.
And besides who would waste a perfectly good bullet on the likes of him?
You’re right. Obama never gives a second (or even a first) thought about inconveniencing others when it comes to satisfying his desires. It’s a concept that has never found a home in his head.
The reason is not hard to figure out. Keith had it an earlier report this morning. Here it is from the official WH schedule for today.
2:40 pm || Honors the 2014 NBA Champions the San Antonio Spurs; East Room
Optics have meaning…. You would think this man, of all people, would get that….
H
Yes, let’s talk about what’s really going on here. Did Obama figure out he couldn’t stand with Charlie in France and “stand with [his] Muslim brothers” too? I’d rather give him the benefit of the doubt on that one. But it’s pretty undisputable that he is an industrial-strength narcissist, he probably figured that he wouldn’t be the star of the show and decided not to go. Either that or Michelle found out that Helle would be there and she made him stay home.
“It’s all Helle’s fault” whines OBAMA…”Michelle would have allowed me to go until she found out that she was going to be there.”
Earnest and the Art of Tautology.
“I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” The Audacity of Hope
It’s getting pretty ugly now. This is one of the few, if not the only, promises he has ever kept.
Agreed. Barry would never attend any rally, parade, meeting, discussion or pot luck supper where islam might be criticized in any way.
Even a pot luck supper? ;+}
Well, he might attend a pot luck supper if they promised to serve dog.
True dat.
Or a pot luck supper with never-ending bong refills …..
You are soooooooo right!
Fear of ‘mal de mer’ he doesn’t know the sea from the air he’s too busy
having fun! What a jerk.
Did he ever consider the safety of our AF1 (he abuses) to be equal to a fancy expensive hotel? That would eliminate a lot of his security problems.
Obama spent the day at home at the White House. Earnest said he had no idea what Obama was doing.
C’mon, we all know Obama was busy watching the football playoffs all day yesterday.
Someone earlier today, said Biden may have been hanging curtains.
By the way, Ed Henry did a good job going at Earnest today. I love the way he asked the questions and set the trap, allowing Earnest to claim there wasn’t enough time (only 36 hours notice) to set up the required security for King Obummer. Then, Ed Henry brought up how the Nelson Mandela funeral was on short notice, but somehow Obummer was able to go to that…because he wanted to be there. Earnest tried to claim that was different, that it wasn’t really last minute because Mandela’s death was not a surprise, it had been anticipated for years.
I did miss that part of the Press Conference. I can only take so much of Josh.
Yes, kudos to Ed.
Also Jake Tapper was supposed to have penned an editorial criticizing the WH not going to France.
What a lame excuse about Mandela’s death being anticipated for years. He wanted to go and surely enjoyed himself while taking selfies with his new blonde BFF. How embarrassing that Michelle made him switch seats so she could separate the two of them. LOL
Big was on last night. He laughed. That’s one of the other comments he said at the Sports thing he attended today.
They just showed the “Big remarks on The Five.
I caught it as well.
I will stand with mus.till the winds shift in an ugly direction.
That is a comment o made in the past. It was just mentioned on The Five.
I had missed that comment of his.
It’s the only promise he ever kept.
Bob B. said march was a waste of time. Maybe he should have gone. March will get you knowing except more ter.
I have heard several well known Dems today against what they did.
I was thinking maybe, just maybe, Bob would have been p. also.
On the other hand it is a show. They need to disagree for their ratings. So who thinks Bob is really p.?
Bob called a couple of Countries woosis. Spelling on Woosis ?
On O’Reilly tonight, I heard both Juan W. and that smarmy Obama campaign stooge (who’s often on Megyn Kelly’s show) parrot the same thing, so the talking points are in full circulation. Like Beckel, they also pointed out why should we go to the march if they won’t join us in the battlefield fighting the terrorists. Two entirely separate issues and typical juvenile, schoolyard logic from Barry’s minions.
How would you like to be Josh Earnest. His whole life and career is spent trying to find ways to avoid telling the truth. Truly pathetic.
Josh The Earnest One is stuck in one of the levels of Dante’s Inferno, the level where you are required to permanently defend the indefensible. It’s a special kind of hell.
It’s difficult to believe that one person would lower themselves to the extent that Josh has .
x1 !
I meant x2.
What will be the cost , in blood and treasure , for the USA to recover its position as leader of the free world . Whatever it is, it will pale by comparison to the cost if it does not .
Hogwash! Which is what those so-called “journalists” need to say directly to Earnest.
That sounds to the point, and nice at the same time.
WOW. Merkel says Islam is Germany. Pro integration. Germany and Turkey to consult. Then what the heck was she doing at that march? And what the heck is she thinking?
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/merkel-says-islam-belongs-germany-ahead-dresden-rally-171632978.html
We are in trouble.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the West on Monday of hypocrisy for its stance over the attack on satirical journal Charlie Hebdo and hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket in Paris, while failing to condemn anti-Muslim acts in Europe.
And to add insult to injury…”Erdogan also denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for attending a solidarity rally in France on Sunday with other world leaders after the Paris attacks.”
http://news.yahoo.com/turkeys-erdogan-accuses-west-hypocrisy-over-paris-attacks-195756066.html
And if you read my link about Merkel — she is all in with alliance with Turkey. Maggie Thatcher she is not.
twitter is full of lib apologists trying to pretend that this is no big deal…but sorry…it is. even Earnest finally admitted they’d made a mistake not sending someone. I mean, Biden! that’s what vice presidents are for.
I used to joke that Obama could slaughter kittens on live TV and the libs would say “oh, he was probably tired.” but I’m starting to think that wasn’t so far from the truth.
possible topic for an open thread: what could Obama do that would make the libs say “OK, even I have to say that’s unacceptable”?
Back in November Saturday Night Live did a skit about that very thing… Unfortunately not too funny, but sad and true.
http://youtu.be/1VqgTdUFtq8
On PBS this afternoon Gwen Ifill and her correspondent in Europe, each blamed the tabloids for the issue! I guess neither watched the press briefing today.
Gwen Ifill is an Obama IT girl.
White House Chef Sam Kass’s wedding must have been a great deal more important than was mentioned at the time…
Perhaps Obama didn’t go to Paris because he thought he’d look silly with his 40+vehicle motorcade in the march.
It’s embarrassing that whatever the President was doing, it was so unimportant that Earnest didn’t hear of it from someone else. If it had been significant, I’d think office gossip would have supplied some idea, at least.
I suppose they decided that pleading ignorant would be the slickest way to hide his watching a game or romping with the dog.
Barry, “romping with the dog”? Not unless there’s a photo op in it!
What a load of BS. Do you think bhp gives any consideration to his comings and goings around the US during rush hour and people are at the mercy of his entourage. There is no excuse and this administration is making matters worse by insisting his actions were okay. What a bunch of amateurs (that’s the nicest thing I could say)
How can Obama miss watching NFL playoff games? Definitely a higher priority than ma check ng on Paris streets. No golf playing ng opportunity either.
Earnest has no idea what Obama was doing over the weekend, sounds vaguely familiar. Like the night of Benghazi.
Then it is too much planning for all of his other jaunts. He needs to quit spending money on unessential travel (like fundraising, campaigning, and vacations) and attend to business in his office in the White House.
Great comments here.. They are making fools of themselves, tripping over their lies. Pathetic!
Does anyone expect the Muslim in the White House, after blaming the publisher, to march against his fellow Muslims.
Sunday was same as Benghazi. Nothing.
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2014/12/23/attkisson-earnest-personally-hiding-obama-benghazi-night-photos/
The security issue is bogus — given that the same concerns existed (often to a greater degree) with other Heads of State that DID participate.
Some say President Obama is the worst president in US history. I disagree. Obama is no president. He’s a poseur. President Jarrett is the worst president in US history. Little doubt in my mind that she made the decision to skip Paris.
This entire administration is occupied by pathological liars. Actually Valerie Jarrett wouldn’t give Obama permission to go and play with the other world leaders in France. Obama, according to Jarrett is so far above all the other leaders in the world that he would have been bored. (end of sarcasm).
By his absence he solidified his support of muslims – always as stated in his book – his time spend at the madrassa – he is and always has been a muslim “the trojan horse”!
Wonder no more!
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