Obama Takes a Shot at Bush during His Press Conference

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:45 pm

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During his second press conference, President Barack Obama was asked why it took him so long to respond to the AIG bonuses. Obama replied that he likes to know what he is talking about before he speaks. Could this have been a little shot at the Bush/Cheney years?

CNN’s Ed Henry tried to sneak in a follow up about AIG outrage, “It seems like the action is coming out of New York in the attorney general’s office. It took you days to come public with Secretary Geithner and say, look, we’re outraged. Why did it take so long?” Obama answered, “Well, it took us a couple of days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak. (Laughter.) All right?” This stands in contrast to the Bush administration which alternated between working in secret, and never seeming to know what they were talking about.

Of course, having their reporter’s question turned into a joke made the folks over at CNN a little cranky. As Bill Schneider posted that Obama’s answer, “seemed to imply the question was impertinent.” Somebody over at CNN decided to play up this moment as Henry getting the best of Obama, by adding CNN’s conservative contributor Bill Bennett’s thought that, “After Ed Henry, he looked like he wanted to go home.” Great job CNN, way to get your question turned into a joke. You have a long way to go until you become a pain in Obama’s backside like ABC’s Jake Tapper.

Was Obama sneaking in a little disrespect for the previous administration? Perhaps, especially since the public reemergence of Dick Cheney has led to things getting a little testy between team Obama and the former Bushies. Obama does have a point in that the Bush administration never seemed to think about what they were saying while they were saying it. The administration seemed to divide most of their time between designing stupid campaign like slogans with catch phases with Bush to stand near and talk about, for ex. “Mission Accomplished”, and figuring out new ways to mislead the media and the American people.

It is nice to have a president that thinks before he speaks, but it also a bummer for people like me whose lives were a lot easier when I could count on an almost daily gaffe and subsequent press release correction that would come from the White House after somebody talked without thinking.

In all seriousness times are too tough, and the last thing the nation needs is a president that reacts strictly on emotion and goes off half cocked. I saw nothing wrong with the White House waiting to talk about the AIG bonuses, because the story broke over a weekend, and this was a political story, not a national crisis, you know like a hurricane flooding a city.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association