Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTREATING BENGHAZI LIKE BAIN
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2012/09/treating-benghazi-like-bain.htmlWhat was so bad about what Mitt Romney said about Cairo and Benghaziand with what he keeps saying? On Thursday afternoon, a new mob was around the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, a reminder that this is not just an abstract question. There is no prohibition, at such moments, from criticizing ones governmentand there never should bebut as a major partys nominee for President, Romney is also, by default, a participant, the leader of the opposition, and at least he had the obligation to treat this as something other than a game. It was striking to see a man who presents apologizing for America as the ultimate crime turning on Americansthe President, but also low-level embassy workersat a moment of crisis. He said that a statement issued by the embassy in Cairo apologized to the people attacking it, and called this a disgraceful response; faced with the puzzle of how it could be any such thing, given that the statement in question was issued before the violence began, he said that the Embassy had been wrong to stand by it. Perhaps they should have apologized for it? One might call that saying sorry for saying sorry, if not for one problem: Romney wasnt right about what the Embassy said, either. (We have looked in vain for an apology in the Cairo statement, the Washington Posts Fact Checker said.)
The incident is also a problem for Romney for some of the same reasons that the stories about Bain Capital areand, indeed, it reprises some of the same themes. Trouble at the Embassy? Go after those youve decided are the employees who arent performing; put aside questions of loyalty, or about the difficult times they may be going through. Act as though all thats needed for a transformation is a little managerial sleight of hand. Dont be distracted by suffering, not even by the knowledge that some of the people doing the same jobs as the ones youre attacking, in another branch office, are deadthat the next of kin for a couple of the victims havent even be informed. He wasnt reckless and premature in his judgments, just efficient: Its never too early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and to defend our valuessuggesting either that Mitt doesnt care that he got the chronology wrong, or that he has more control over the space-time continuum than anyone suspected. (Come to think of it, time travel might explain some of his investment returns.) When a reporter asked Romney what the President himself had done wrong, given that the issue was something an embassy-worker tweeted without clearance from Washington, and from which the White House had distanced itself, Romney came up with a theory of blame:
Its their Administration. Their Administration spoke. The President takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth, but also from the words that come from his ambassadors from his Administration, from his embassies, from his State Department
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2012/09/treating-benghazi-like-bain.html#ixzz26XdRueqD
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2012/09/treating-benghazi-like-bain.html#ixzz26XdJVVL1
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
0 replies, 467 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post