This guy looks like he belongs on the Love Boat.
Posted on 09/06/2014 9:36:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Bill O’Reilly came under criticism from the Obama administration this week for stating that Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the State Department, “looks way out of her depth” and that “just the way she delivers, she doesn’t look like she has the gravitas for the job.”
The criticism was delivered by Psaki’s deputy, Marie Harf, who claimed that O’Reilly’s comments are sexist because she doesn’t “actually [doesn't] think [he] would ever use [those words] about a man.” O’Reilly’s actions are “not ok,” Harf lectured.
Harf, who makes Psaki look intellectually hefty, should think again. O’Reilly has used similar words to disparage the new White House press security Josh Earnest, calling him “befuddled” and stating that he “looks uncertain” and “doesn’t look like he has a lot of credibility.”
We are left, then, with a baseless, whiney complaint against O’Reilly, the real thrust of which is that it’s “not ok” to express the opinion that a woman is “out of her depth,” even if that’s what one believes. Since when is policing speech part of the job of an administration flak?
The more interesting question is why Team Obama selects obvious lightweights to hold forth to the press on U.S. foreign policy. There are two answers, I believe.
First, Obama is playing to a core component of his base — the young. Those of us of a certain age may be put off by seeing U.S. foreign policy explained by someone like Harf who looks like she just stepped out of a Student Congress session. But to Obama’s youthful fans, it probably seems very cool. So, perhaps, does Psaki’s widely ridiculed (by old people) hashtag diplomacy.
Team Obama was ridiculed for using “Pajama Boy” to pitch Obamacare; yet it may have gotten the last laugh when enrollment by the “invincibles” picked up. Think of Psaki and Harf as the flak equivalents of Pajama Boy.
It may also be that Psaki and Harf are popular with women, or at least the significant portion of them who apparently buy into “the life of Julia”/war on women narratives.
But there’s a second, and think more fundamental, explanation for the State Department’s use of Psaki and Harf. I believe Team Obama is trying to “demystify” foreign policy — to make it look unthreatening almost to the point of child’s play. Psaki and Harf provide visual expression of this view just by standing at the podium and talking.
If one believes that the world is a dangerous place and that the U.S. must, accordingly, respond with constant vigilance and, at times, forceful engagement, then you want your spokespersons to look and talk maturely and somberly — to project, in a word, “gravitas.” For those of us who see the world that way, James Haggerty (Eisenhower’s press secretary who once said “if you lose your temper at a newspaper columnist, he’ll get rich or famous or both”) is a model.
But suppose you don’t believe the world is all that inherently dangerous. Suppose you believe, as Obama does, that the U.S. is at the root of many of the world’s problems and that a new dawn in international relations is possible if America will just lighten up.
In that case, you will be quite happy with light, breezy young foreign policy spokespersons. And if, like Harf, that spokesperson likes to get snarky with conservative journalist, all the better.
I’ve always thought that politicians and public officials tend to get the staff they deserve. This pet theory seems particularly applicable when it comes to spokespersons, and applicable on stilts to Psaki and Harf.
JOHN adds: Yes, and let’s not forget Tommy Vietor, a van driver for the Obama campaign who became a foreign policy spokesman for the Obama administration and famously said, in answer to a question about Benghazi, “Dude, this was like two years ago.” Barack Obama proceeds, always, on the assumption that voters are idiots. I think his choice of spokesmen is just one facet of that cynical perspective, which so far has proved sadly accurate.
This guy looks like he belongs on the Love Boat.
they are in these positions to deflect attention off obama’s incompetence.
Proof of their stupidity and utter lack of professional savvy: By criticizing BOR they put the whole episode in play, teeing it up for the multitudes of pundits. Had they just STFU, nothing more would have been heard about it.
The majority of American voters are idiots.
Telling lies for a living, however, is bad karma.
The degenerate imbeciles at the State Department have LOTS to answer for.
No doubt these chics got their jobs because their daddies donated to the dnc...
I’m no fan of O’Reilly. He may actually be a vile sexist. Heck, I even agree with Juan Williams more than Bill on how to respond to ISIS.
HOWEVER, his criticism of the Obama flaks is not sexist. There is no way that O’Reilly would criticize somebody like Jean Kilpatrick as a lightweight, even though she was a Democrat. And I certainly don’t recall him criticizing Condoleeza Rice.
The fact is that the Obama SoS flaks are lightweights, and way out of the depth. They project weakness, and the enemies of liberty gain tremendously from their ineptitude.
Their whining about criticism being sexist makes them all the more pathetically incompetent.
Is anybody keeping track of the number of times these clowns have singled out Fox and even its individual people for public berating or “special” treatment, e.g. shut out of press conferences? A dozen? More?
Bookmark
For once I agree with BOR.
> Harf, who makes Psaki look intellectually hefty, should think again. O’Reilly has used similar words to disparage the new White House press security Josh Earnest, calling him “befuddled” and stating that he “looks uncertain” and “doesn’t look like he has a lot of credibility.” We are left, then, with a baseless, whiney complaint against O’Reilly, the real thrust of which is that it’s “not ok” to express the opinion that a woman is “out of her depth,” even if that’s what one believes. Since when is policing speech part of the job of an administration flak?
Psaki is a lying puppet with Zero’s hand up her ass, so, she’s risen as high as her gifts will allow.
Who is that clown?
lol I like your description of Psaki....Her public presentation is done Valley Girl style
This whole episode and these two girls spouting off on Twitter was amateur hour on full display. They sounded like they just got off the bus from middle school. Absolutely embarrassing.
These people are brain dead!!!!! :-(
You forgot the mandatory barf, er, I mean harf alert. I am going to say that, every time I feel like I am going to toss my cookies.
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