Posted on 12/07/2015 6:02:19 PM PST by markomalley
White House spokesman Josh Earnest blamed Republican presidential candidates for a lack of national unity after the San Bernardino terrorist attack during Monday’s White House press briefing.
Earnest was responding to a question posed by Andrew Beatty, the Agence France-Presse’s White House correspondent, who asked why the country does not appear to be coming together as it has after similar national tragedies in the past.
“The president’s address last night included a call for national unity,” Beatty began his question. “I was wondering if you’re surprised that there hasn’t been that kind of unity as you may have seen in previous attacks, for example after 9/11.”
Earnest responded that two ideas “immediately come to mind,” the first of which being that the United States is a diverse country “very united around a set of core principles.”
Second, Earnest cited Republican 2016 presidential candidates as the primary cause for disunity.
“A lot of these issues are being discussed in the context of a hotly competitive presidential election,” Earnest said. “And we have seen a willingness on the part of some candidates…to use some divisive rhetoric. And they have done that, I think, in rather cynical fashions, understanding that it runs contrary to the values of our country but also understanding that the intensity of some of those emotions could propel their political campaigns.”
Earnest concluded his response by questioning whether some of these candidates are qualified for the presidency. “So that’s a pretty cynical conclusion that I think some might say is automatically disqualifying to serve in the Oval Office, but obviously the American people will make that determination.”
Earnest was referring specifically to Republican presidential candidates as he criticized Republicans and the president’s “political opponents” throughout much of Monday’s press briefing for widespread dissatisfaction with President Obama’s speech on Sunday night.
Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office to discuss the threat posed by the Islamic State and terrorism as a whole to the United States and the rest of the world.
The president sought to ease anxiety over the growing fear of terrorist attacks occurring on U.S. soil after the recent Islamic State-inspired shooting in San Bernardino, California killed 14 people and wounded 21 others, which Obama called an act of terrorism.
Much of the speech focused on the president’s strategy to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the center of its self-declared caliphate. Despite widespread calls from both Republicans and Democrats for Obama to change his approach to defeat the jihadist group, and expectations that he may do so in his address, the president reaffirmed that his policies are working but will take time.
Republicans immediately lambasted the president for his remarks, but they were not alone in their criticisms. David Axelrod, for example, a former senior adviser to the president, said the address was good but “didn’t meet the threshold of Oval Office speeches because it offered nothing new,” according to Yahoo News.
The president also spent part of his speech calling for stricter gun control laws, which Republican lawmakers are saying politicizes the San Bernardino attack and the need to focus on terrorism.
I wonder when Josh Earnest is going to leave to spend time with his family? Seems like it would be hard to always have to promote such un American stupidity on a daily basis.
So, was this the little headline that Obama and Hillary came up with during their chummy luncheon today ..???
There the White House goes again blaming Republicans..they can’t seem to shake that addiction..
Of course they are never to blame for anything...even the dumb speech Hussein gave on Sunday nite...
My values won’t let me be unified with Islamo-Communism! EVER!
Consider the source.
We're not exactly dealing with MENSA graduates here...
They actually bought the BS Josh Earnest was spreading.
It's a strange universe where one of two entities can destroy "unity," but not the other...
ALWAYS someone else’s fault to a stunted mind leftist.
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.