Tuesday, May 15, 2018

And It Matters To Whom?


Burgess Everett and Eliana Johnson of Politico  report

Everything happens for a reason. And sometimes the reason is you’re stupid and made a bad decision,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “She ought to apologize publicly. If it were my administration, and it’s not, I would also apologize on behalf of the administration.”

Monday marked the fifth day that the White House declined to express regrets publicly to McCain and his family after Sadler joked that the Arizona senator’s opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel “doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway.” Sadler has spoken to the McCain family, but has not issued a public apology. Neither have White House press aides; on Monday, spokesman Raj Shah said the matter was being handled “internally.”

Republicans have donned their sad face. Politico Everett/Johnson note

the morbid joke by communications aide Kelly Sadler last week, delivered at a staff meeting and promptly leaked to the press, made them wonder when the administration is going to start treating McCain with more respect.

“Everything happens for a reason. And sometimes the reason is you’re stupid and made a bad decision,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “She ought to apologize publicly. If it were my administration, and it’s not, I would also apologize on behalf of the administration.”

No one knows whether a President Kennedy would apologize publicly.

He might be so foolish. However, Donald Trump became President in part because he spoke what some voters had been thinking, and never, ever apologized (except for once, belatedly and half-heartedly, over the Access Hollywood Tape, since reneging).

If everything does happen for a reason, Sadler's statement was made for a reason and was leaked for a reason. The conventional wisdom is that it was leaked by an opponent of hers in the Administration.

While that is likely accurate, there was no danger to the President in the leak being made.

Not only will his popularity not suffer, it likely will rise because of it indirectly.   It prevents the public from being focused on turmoil in the Mideast, selling out American security against the Communist Chinese, and the refusal to fire Scott Pruitt.

And there is no downside.  Sadler's remark, pertaining to the impact of John McCain's opposition to CIA nominee Gina Haspel, would better have been worded it "doesn't matter. He's in Arizona rather than on the Senate floor, anyway."  If it had been, the media could better have determined the validity of Sadler's comment, now that the number of senators expected to change their vote following McCain's eloquent statement opposing Haspel's bid to become C.I.A. director has soared to..... zero.








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