Jason Linkins

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Jason Linkins

The Huffington Post

The Gift That Keeps On Giving: No Press Secretary Left Behind

December 9, 2007 03:57 PM


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Like Dana Perino, I was seven years old during the Carter administration. And back then, I hardly had an encyclopedic knowledge of world history. Frankly, I don't now. But, I know a little bit, and one of the things I know is that if you were seven during the Carter administration, and are currently serving as White House Press Secretary, it should not be possible for you to tell the story Perino told on this weekend's episode of "Wait...Wait...Don't Tell Me" on NPR.

I had a situation the other day when they said President Putin said that our missile defense program was like the Cuban Missile Crisis. And so I got asked about the Cuban Missile Crisis and I was panicked a little bit because I really know nothing about the Cuban Missile Crisis...I came home and I asked my husband...wasn't that like, the Bay Of Pigs thing? And he said, "Oh, Dana."

Rarely is it asked, "Is our press secretary learning?" Probably because we don't want to know the answer.

To hear Perino in the segment entitled "Not My Job," click here.

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- mae692 See Profile I'm a Fan of mae692 permalink

If she (the press secretary) is always lying and they (the press) keep showing up, what does that make them?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:22 PM on 12/11/2007
- Taan See Profile I'm a Fan of Taan permalink

Folks, please remember that the Press Officer is merely the public end of a pipeline that originates in the Oval Office. They cannot say anything that contradicts the input or they will be busy updating their resumes pronto. If the P.O. seems a bit evasive, artificial or downright uninformed, remember they are paraphrasing input from the man in the 10 gallon hat with a 2 quart brain. For these hapless souls, garbage in, garbage out.
Reply | posted 11:11 pm on 12/10/2007

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:12 PM on 12/10/2007
- Taan See Profile I'm a Fan of Taan permalink

Folks, please remember that the Press Officer is merely the public end of a pipeline that originates in the Oval Office. They cannot say anything that contradicts the input or they will be busy updating their resumes pronto. If the P.O. seems a bit evasive, artificial or downright uninformed, remember they are paraphrasing input from the man in the 10 gallon hat with a 2 quart brain. For these hapless souls, garbage in, garbage out.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:11 PM on 12/10/2007
- 430robin See Profile I'm a Fan of 430robin permalink

Checquoline asks, what is a white house press conference?? Answer: a joke every day. DP is perfect for the job

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:50 PM on 12/10/2007
- jqcitizen See Profile I'm a Fan of jqcitizen permalink


Question: What is "Creditable Deniability"?

Answer: Get an Ari Fleisher, Scottie McClellan, Toni Snow or Dana Perino to speak for you. Then when things go 'Tango-Uniform' the President can say It's not my fault.

Seems like wishfull thinking the US will ever again see a President that will face the press and answer questions personally.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:35 PM on 12/10/2007
- Checquoline See Profile I'm a Fan of Checquoline permalink

What is a white house press conference?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:00 PM on 12/10/2007
- Metacortex See Profile I'm a Fan of Metacortex permalink

Oh my God!! How could she NOT know that the cuban missle crisis occurred during the John Quincy Adams Administration right after Lincoln freed all the hobbits from Darth Vader?! Sheesh! I thought everybody knew that.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:00 PM on 12/10/2007
- lr See Profile I'm a Fan of lr permalink

I think Jason is referring to the fact that they are the same age, and could be expected to have a similar knowledge of history. I don't think he's implying that the CMC happened during the Carter administration. Trust me, as one who went through bomb drills at school herself, and who had dog tags provided to her, one doesn't forget it.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:58 PM on 12/10/2007
- Rocketmind See Profile I'm a Fan of Rocketmind permalink

Their charades cannot continue without a peanut gallery; only fools and supporters of traitors will continue to attend W.H. "press conferences" which, as political theater, limelight the (press's) unjustifiable tolerance and undeserved respect you "truthseekers" fawn and droll out on cue- just say no- boycott them- let them dangle from their own petards and lies. It is, after all, Not Our Government. Play not their game, and we may become Free of the chains of their lies, the blood of their wars, and the theft of all that humanity holds dear.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:23 PM on 12/10/2007
- bronceye See Profile I'm a Fan of bronceye permalink

Intelligence is the antithesis of neocondomism. They have their jim bob billy boys to lead. They do quite well, sorrily.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:46 AM on 12/10/2007
- thealater See Profile I'm a Fan of thealater permalink

I really hate to pick nits, but the Cuban Missile Crises happened long before the Carter Administration. Jason, do you perhaps refer to the Iranian Revolution?

If one is going to mock others for ignorance (and by all means, do!), one should perhaps get their own facts straight. That is all, carry on with the well-deserved mocking.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:40 AM on 12/10/2007
- Camel54 See Profile I'm a Fan of Camel54 permalink

Between the post itself and the comments left behind, I'm not sure which is more disappointing and more embarrassing. Here we've got people dogging someone for making a mistake, calling her all sorts of horrible names and done with misspellings, ridiculous punctuation, improper word usage. On top of that, the level of hate and bile dripping off these comments is far more indicative of the Republican base than it should be for progressives. AND the poster's referencing the Carter administration as having anything to do with the CMC, well now if that's not justice for arrogance, I don't know what is.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:38 AM on 12/10/2007
- JerseyBob See Profile I'm a Fan of JerseyBob permalink

Cuba eh? How about a question on the penal colony at Gitmo. Red in the face, maybe, her answer might be something like, "What a disgusting implication. Sex offenders are not sent to penal colonies. And besides, we are not a colonial power nor will we ever be one. Just absurd! Let's move on..."

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:36 AM on 12/10/2007
- DCMike See Profile I'm a Fan of DCMike permalink

Dana Perino is a corporate salesperson. She's doing just fine. When your job is to sell poison, style is much more important than substance.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:17 AM on 12/10/2007
- bethinCary See Profile I'm a Fan of bethinCary permalink

Dana Perino gives microphones a bad name.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:05 AM on 12/10/2007
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Nico Pitney is National Editor at the Huffington Post.
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Thomas B. Edsall is the Political Editor of the Huffington Post. He is also Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
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Sam Stein is a Political Reporter at the Huffington Post, based in Washington, D.C. Previously he has worked for Newsweek Magazine, the New York Daily News and the investigative journalism group Center for Public Integrity.
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Jason Linkins is a Political Reporter at the Huffington Post, covering media and politics. He's based in Washington, DC. Previously, he wrote for HuffPo's Eat The Press, and has also contributed to DCist and Wonkette.
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Rachel Weiner is Associate Politics Editor at the Huffington Post.
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Katharine Zaleski is News Editor at the Huffington Post.
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