(Via Instapundit) It’s the little things that underscore the pettiness that’s infesting the Democratic party’s leadership these days:
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) wanted to fly 10 lawmakers down to the Gulf of Mexico to see the damage caused by BP’s gigantic oil spill first hand.
House Democrats said no.
Do you know what is the fun part of these poor reviews of Obama’s Gulf performance?
[Chris] Matthews, speaking during an appearance with Jay Leno on NBC’s “Tonight Show,” said Obama’s response “scares me. He’s been acting a little like a Vatican Observer here. When is he actually going to do something?”
[James] Carville, one of the President Bush’s harshest critics in the wake of the 2005 hurricane that decimated New Orleans, called Obama’s response “lackadaisical.”
(Via Hot Air) It’s the confused outrage. Matthews’ I can understand; the talking head is not after all expected to be observant. But Carville’s usually not this dumb, so his befuddlement at the White House’s passivity is particularly enjoyable. Continue reading Obama not leading in Gulf. And this was a *surprise*?
Although we probably want the Gulf oil slick to churn more, if I’m understanding the experts properly. Anyway, I believe that the term of art here is ‘oops.’
Though his agency was charged with coordinating the federal response to the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Department of the Interior chief of staff Tom Strickland was in the Grand Canyon with his wife last week participating in activities that included white-water rafting, ABC News has learned.
Other leaders of the Interior Department were focused on the Gulf, joined by other agencies and literally thousands of other employees. But Strickland’s participation in a trip that administration officials insisted was “work-focused” raised eyebrows among other Obama administration officials and even within even his own department, sources told ABC News.
Via AoSHQ, and there’s not much to say further about this specific situation – but it’s stories like this that make me essentially discount the meme that the Democrats are going to avoid a drubbing in November because they’re forewarned about the possibility of disaster. They were also forewarned that the media will cheerfully focus on any hint that a public figure is dithering during a natural disaster, too – and yet Strickland still went whitewatering. You see, it’s not enough to know. You also have to do…
