Posted on 04/16/2011 5:42:25 PM PDT by milwguy
President Obama told reporters on Thursday that his meeting with Qatar's emir was cordial and useful, complete with banter about tickets for the 2022 World Cup.
But he struck a different tone later that night at a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago, saying Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani isn’t doing enough to promote democracy in his own country, even as the TV news network he sponsors promotes democracy to the entire region.
The diplomatic gaffe was the result of the same “open mic” problem widely reported Friday: Obama thought he was speaking in confidence to Democratic donors, but CBS News’s Mark Knoller was able to record an audio feed of the president’s remarks, which ranged from the brief mention of Qatar to Republican budget-cutting efforts.
Of Qatar’s emir, Obama said: “He is a big booster, big promoter of democracy all throughout the Middle East. Reform, reform, reform — you're seeing it on Al Jazeera." He continued: "Now, he himself is not reforming significantly. There's no big move towards democracy in Qatar.” The president noted that Qataris enjoy a very large per-capita income, which will "dampen a lot of conflict."
His candor was a departure from what he told reporters about the emir of Qatar earlier that day:
"I expressed to him my appreciation of the leadership that the Emir has shown when it comes to democracy in the Middle East and, in particular, the work that they have done in trying to promote a peaceful transition in Libya. ...
"And so, we've had discussions about how we can continue to promote democracy, human rights, increased freedom and reform throughout the Middle East."
In a gaggle with reporters on Air Force One Friday, at which point CBS News had only reported on the president’s comments about last week’s budget negotiations with Republicans, White House press secretary Jay Carney said what Obama said to donors on Thursday was the same thing he said in public, and that the president wasn’t embarrassed by what he said.
This is important stuff.
Bumpy road ahead. Gasoline will be dumped on the mideast fire next month and gasoline will be dumped on our fire here at home. Obama and lots of like minded folks are pushing for a global revolution.
I would not expect a buffoon to be so utterly consistent about alienating out allies and empowering our enemies.
Code Pink and Ron Paul would be proud.
What a doofus!
Sick John Bolton on this guy in the 2012 race.
0bama is not a buffoon. 0bama is an evil man with an agenda.
As long as the United States is strong and soverign, the New World Order/One World Government cannot come about.
The mahogany Stalin would not recognize democracy if it bit him in the ass. And, it will in ‘12!
Zer0 has his head where the sun don’t shine. This isn’t the first and it sure won’t be the last time he’s ticked off allies.
Qatar was actually one of the most US-positive, market economy-oriented places in the ME...obviously, they had a way to go, but they were working on it.
But that’s not the type of “change” Obama wants in the ME. What he wants is the Islamic theocratic dictatorship as a political system, and Marxist collectivism as an economic system.
Obama, mentally, is a flyweight...no, maybe that should be fleaweight. He’s dumb as the day is long, he’s a sociopath, he’s amoral, but he has found the simple keys to dominance...and he is thus exactly like any other raving dictator from primitive times to the times of Hitler and Stalin and even Pol Pot.
There are people behind him who are smarter than he is, but the fact is that without him, they would be nothing. They have found the perfect rabble-rousing psychopathic vehicle.
“The mahogany Stalin’’. I like that!
More stupidity from a very stupid man with an agenda.
It will be to squeeze as much money as possible from Dem donors.
It will be fund-raiser after fund-raiser. Will the liberal MSM take up the cry they take when a Repub is in office "there's too much money in politics?"
Don't think so.
Bfl.
That's why I think the "open mic" is BS. That was deliberate.
Two open mic within a week or so? Are some of the sound engineers falling out of love with the “One”?
Qatar eyes multimillion dollar hotel in Cuba
Qatar and Cuba on Wednesday launched a joint $75 million project to create a five-star resort on the Caribbean island, officials said.
Obama eases Cuba travel restrictions
"President Obama has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country's future," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.
...saying Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani isn't doing enough to promote democracy in his own country... Obama thought he was speaking in confidence to Democratic donors, but CBS News's Mark Knoller was able to record an audio feed of the president's remarks...Well, after lots of ridicule from the partisan media shills, Knoller will be out of a job.
Democrat "stash" amount unknown, but certainly substantial and growing with each Obama campaign stop.
I entirely agree. The “open mic” was probably staged by Bambi’s handlers, but he’s a petty, spiteful, devious person and this is exactly how he goes about things.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.