At his news conference, Gregg went out of his way not to criticize Obama, simply explaining that he could not give “110%” in service to Obama, and wishing Obama well. Gregg bent over backwards in an attempt not to denigrate Obama, and to put the blame on Gregg himself for the embarrassing episode.
So how doe Obama react? The White House releases a statement which amounts to a “you didn’t quit, we fired you” rant:
Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.
To add to the insult, Obama mocked Gregg during Obama’s speech in Springfield, Illinois, at a celebration of Lincoln’s birthday. Envisioning a day in the life of Lincoln in 1854, Obama noted how Lincoln was
“possibly in his law office, his feet on a cluttered desk, his sons playing around him, his clothes a bit too small to fit his uncommon frame — maybe wondering if somebody might call him up and ask him to be commerce secretary.”
Well, Judd, that’s what you get for being nice. You go out of your way not to throw Obama under the bus, and you end up with tire tracks on your back.
Just like Jessica Simpson, who hadn’t crossed Obama, but did beat him out for the cover of Us Weekly, resulting in an Obama joke about her weight problems. Or George Bush, who went out of his way to create a smooth transition, only to be insulted at the inauguration. Or Obama’s grandmother, that “typical white person,” who raised and loved Obama only to be characterized as a racist when Obama needed cover for his association with Jeremiah Wright. Or Jeremiah Wright, who Obama could not “disown”, until Obama disowned him for political gain. Or Joe Biden, who Obama mocked at his press conference earlier this week. Or Hillary Clinton, who was only “likable enough.” Or the racist people in small towns who “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Or Joe the Plumber, who had the temerity to ask a good question, only to be mocked by Obama. Or John McCain, who Obama mocked for not being able to use a computer. Or Nancy Reagan, who Obama mocked for supposedly holding seances. Or the entire population of the United States, who Obama singled out at his Berlin speech as a uniquely imperfect people.
Is it me, or is there a pattern here? The fierce urgency to mock.
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UPDATE 3-21-2009:
He’s at it again, this time mocking the “special olympics.” But since the teleprompter made him do it, I’m not sure it’s his fault.
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