During his appearance on Face the Nation this past Sunday, RNC chairman Reince Priebus compared President Obama to Capt. Francesco Schettino (who was at the helm of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia when it partially sank on January 13th). The reason for Priebus' ridiculous analogy? According to him, President Obama campaigning for a 2nd term is akin to abandoning the American people. I don't recall past presidents being criticized for hitting the campaign trail. Now that President Obama is in the White House, a commander-in-chief trying to convince the American people he deserves reelection is comparable to manslaughter.
Not only were Priebus's remarks outrageous, but they are another example of the sad decline of the GOP. These comments weren't made by a right-wing media pundit or a run-of-the-mill conservative blogger. They were made by the head of the Republican party! Although this type of inflammatory rhetoric plays well with the people who already hate President Obama's guts, I doubt if it'll appeal to moderates or independents (you know, the people who can decide elections).
In the clip below, MSNBC host Martin Bashir discusses Priebus's comments with DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse.
Do you think Reince Priebus crossed the line with his analogy?
8 comments:
"Do you think Reince Priebus crossed the line with his analogy?"
NO! Why? Is President Obama immune to criticism?
And if you think he is, Why should he be? All president's get that sort of criticism, sometimes it's warranted and sometimes not, but it's a fact. So lets not put him on a pedestal and pretend that he's special. This is a big problem that I find with the blacks and especially "black" bloggers,Obama is no exception so why make his into someone special?
So stop complaining,quit crying, complaining, and grumbling, stop whining about Obama being mistreated all the time. And start acting like an American and stop seeing things through black eyes. It's high time that blacks wake up to the fact that being “a brother” is not enough of an excuse to warrant their uncritical support.
Me? Opinionated?: Thanks for stopping by. However, you are so off base, you aren't even in the ball park! I've never said President Obama is above criticism. However, the comments by Priebus are unprecedented. Can you point to an instance where a previous head of the DNC ever said something that outrageous against a sitting Republican president?!
Why you decided to bring race into this discussion is beyond me because my criticism of the comments by Priebus have absolutely nothing to do with President Obama being black. So much for the lie that it's only the left who plays the race card. When it comes to my view of right or wrong, I couldn't care less about a person's color or their political affiliation. You should avoid making baseless statements about me, because you have no idea what you're talking about.
As for your big problem with "the blacks", you'll get over it.
Comment by Melissa (via Facebook): I saw this. It's pathetic.
Comment by Shaw (via Facebook): So the GOP has hit the bottom of the sewer. Well maybe not. Each time we think they have, they suprise us with more idiocy. This time, the banana heads compare Mr. Obama to a cowardly man who was responsible for dozens of people's deaths? Cowardly, eh? After giving the gutsy go-ahead to get bin Laden, and last week, to rescue an American in Somalia? I think they're more stupid than mean, but the combination, nevertheless, is sickening.
When it's time to tear into someone, it's always convenient to become a stickler for details and to point out how things aren't apples to apples.
Nothing's apples to apples. Not even apples to apples.
I'm torn on the comment. And, of course, it can be viewed differently I suppose.
1: Schettino is a horrible captain who went off course to showboat, crashed his ship, made excuses about it, and tried to get away instead of handling it as a captain should.
So he's the new picture of a bad leader. Someone wants to slam a leader like Obama: "Captain Schettino!"
2: Obama's guilty of manslaughter.
Ahh. Huh?
If you say someone pulled a Cundiff, that doesn't mean they literally missed a chip-shot field goal that would have put an AFC Championship game into overtime. It means they screwed up with something on the line.
So the stickler for details hogwash makes me roll my eyes so hard I become dizzy.
But...whether it was appropriate due to the victims of the wreck is an entirely different story. It's a bit out of bounds in that regard.
If I were to criticize Obama on national TV, I'd go with Cundiff. I'm sure many would remind me that Obama's not an NFL kicker, but I wouldn't go to something that I just know some may find to be incendiary.
Too soon. Too tragic. Too blatantly attention whorish.
Malcolm said...
"Why you decided to bring race into this discussion is beyond me because my criticism of the comments by Priebus have absolutely nothing to do with President Obama being black"
Hmm, where do I start?
Perhaps because the stench of your blog reeks with racism!
"you are so off base, you aren't even in the ball park! I've never said President Obama is above criticism"
No, you actually didn't say that, but you certainly did imply that, and you do imply that all over this race infested blog, but you are so into your blackness that you can't even see it yourself
"I couldn't care less about a person's color or their political affiliation. You should avoid making baseless statements about me, because you have no idea what you're talking about."
Ah, but you do care, and there's the problem, just look at your posted topics! And you'll see the light, if you dare to take off your racist glasses.
People who dare to criticize this president are automatically racist in your eyes and in the eyes of your followers.
You've been covering race issues from day one and it's ALWAYS against people who are against Barack Obama for whatever reason. Thanks for allowing me here, I've said my 2 cents worth and I'm grateful for the opportunity. Have a nice day. See you in November
It seems great minds circle the same drain: http://whatwouldjackdo.net/2012/01/better-to-be-thought-a-fool-than-to-be-than-to-be-reince-priebus-and-remove-any-lingering-doubt.html
Well said.... ;-)
Josh: I don't expect the two parts of an analogy to match up point by point. I don't think anyone believes Priebus is saying President Obama is guilty of manslaughter. However, as you said, the Capt. Schettino analogy is too soon and too tragic.
Priebus's analogy is also weak because his premise is that President Obama is out campaigning instead of running the country. The president is getting his message out to the people just like any politician would do during an election year. If President Obama wasn't out campaigning, fools like Priebus would probably complain that the president is sheltered and out of touch with the American people.
Me? Opinionated?: The more you type, the more you prove my point... you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Your comments are classic case of projection. Although I don't mind right-wingers commenting here, talking to the likes of you is a monumental waste of time. Thanks for playing.
Jack: Thanks for the kind words. I'll be over to check out your post within the next few days.
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