After Obama Screws Up, Mark Halperin Wants a Truce on "Gaffes"June 11, 2012
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RUSH: I'll tell you what, folks, the White House hasn't had this much leaking since Billy Carter "watered" the Rose Garden. Remember those days? Down came the zipper, and zammo. Anywhere, it didn't matter, but the Rose Garden was a favorite target. He-he-he-he-he-he-he-he.
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You know, whenever the Democrats screw up, whenever Obama screws up, whenever a Democrat president screws up, it's always time for a truce. And the offering for a truce comes today from Mark Halperin, our old buddy at TIME Magazine in a short little blurb entitled, "Stop the Gaffe Patrol." Here's what he says. "The President doesn’t think the economy is 'doing fine.'" By the way, on that, you know, I live in Realville. I parse words. Obama did not correct himself on Friday. He went out there on Friday to a presser and said, "The private sector is doing fine." In the afternoon, he went out, ostensibly to correct himself, and said, "The economy isn't doing fine, that's why I went out there." He did not say the private sector isn't doing fine; he said the economy. He did not correct himself. He didn't say one thing different, but he made everybody think that he did.
So, anyway, Halperin writes: "The President doesn’t think the economy is 'doing fine.' Mitt Romney doesn’t oppose firefighters, police, or teachers." Do you believe that? Here's Axelrod on television yesterday, and Obama, too, all these Democrats: "The problem in our private sector is we don't have enough cops. We don't have enough teachers. We don't have enough firefighters." That's the private sector to them. Now, those are municipal employees, and nothing against them, but that's not private sector stuff. Those are municipal employees, and many of them are unionized, which is the key. At any rate, so Obama's being hurt by all that. There are stories about Obama's week last week being the week that he lost the election. The Democrats are all over the place writing that. The Democrats are all over the place worrying about that.
So here comes Halperin to the rescue. "The President doesn’t think the economy is 'doing fine.' Mitt Romney doesn’t oppose firefighters, police, or teachers. Yes, there are legitimate questions about the President’s understanding of how the private sector operates. And, yes, Governor Romney supports less federal aid to states and localities for such jobs than the Democrats do. But shame on the media for starting the week perpetuating the self-fulfilling prophecy that Friday’s gaffes will be a big deal in the election by continuing to pump them. These gaffes will matter because we say they do."
What gaffes? I thought the gaffe was Obama's. Did Romney commit a gaffe? Romney didn't commit a gaffe. So, anyway, Halperin says: "How can the press ever criticize politicians for trivializing our politics when we focus on statements that have little to do with the candidates actual views or their proposals for the future?" Mark, when the president of the United States goes out there and says the private sector's fine, or the economy's fine, whatever, it is substantively relevant. It's not trivial. The president of the United States I don't think has a concept of the private sector if he thinks that adding police officers and firefighters and teachers to it is the way you build it. It's highly relevant and I think Halperin knows this, and that's why he's offering the truce. When their guy starts getting creamed it's time to offer the truce.
And so here's Halperin: "How can the press ever criticize politicians for trivializing our politics when we focus on statements that have little to do with the candidates actual views or their proposals for the future? But also: shame on both campaigns for saying, in effect, the other guy’s gaffe matters but our guy just had some bad phrasing which should be ignored." I just love it. The Democrat screws up, always time for a truce.
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