Rep. Peter King thinks the Obama administration's failure to have either the president himself or one of his officials give a press conference on the attempted Delta airline bombing is somehow the same as Bush not showing up in New Orleans right away after Katrina. I guess King wasn't satisfied that Rep. Pete Hoekstra was the only one going out there making a fool of himself immediately politicizing this thing.
Sorry pal but President Obama not rushing out to do a press conference about this attempted bombing that they probably don't even have a lot of answers on yet is not even remotely the same thing as Bush completely ignoring Hurricane Katrina and what was going on in New Orleans to the point where his aides finally had to put together footage on a DVD days later and get him to watch it for him to even have any idea what was happening down there. Unbelievable. And CNN's Drew Griffin was more than happy to help King along with this history revisionism.
For a reminder of how Bush reacted to Hurricane Katrina, here's a timeline put together by Think Progress.
Griffin also pointed out right after King got off the air with him that Janet Napolitano was going to be on State of the Union on CNN Sunday morning. I guess that's not soon enough to suit King and of course Griffin didn't bring that up while he still had him on the air either.
The Political Carnival pointed out another problem with King's hackery here--Pete King's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Memory:
Just now on CNN, Petey said that the ObamAdministration banned the word "terrorism", which is, of course, why Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab managed to smuggle explosives on board a jetliner.
Lose a word, gain a terrorist. See the logic?
Me neither.
No, Obama never eliminated the word "terrorism" from the government lexicon. It was the phrase "war on terror", one of the stupidest phrases ever concocted by any administration ever. That's why this administration is using different words. President Obama, rightfully, wouldn't want any association whatsoever with BushCoSpeak.
See? Some there is some change we can believe in.
So hey, Bogus Petey, check this out. It may jog your "memory".
Full transcript via CNN below the fold.
GRIFFIN: Let's turn to politics now, because two of these stories are beginning to collide. The White House is calling this an attempted act of terrorism but the president is on vacation. Some lawmakers say they want answers from the commander-in-chief, not just press releases.
One of the critics is joining us now, Congressman Peter King, Republican from New York, the ranking minority member on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Congressman, you know what you're talking about when you're talking about security issues. Why is it important for us to see or hear from the administration?
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK (via telephone): Drew, this came close to being one of the greatest tragedies in the history of our country. If we had lost much 300 people on Christmas Day, this would have been remembered forevermore as the Christmas Day massacre. We avoided by luck and because of a number of very courageous passengers.
This was an assault on the United State and it is important at a time like this that the president of the United States or someone in the administration with stature step forward, whether it would be the vice president or the secretary of homeland security. But basically, there is no face of the administration on this issue.
And me, I just think of health care and global warming and some of the other issues where there's always somebody from the administration out there talking. And I'm not saying to grandstand it, I'm saying to be out there and just be a calm and reassuring voice for the country and for the world.
Whether it was President Bush or President Clinton or President Reagan, at times like this, the country looks for a leader. And I just feel that this administration is much more comfortable in talking about issues other than terrorism.
GRIFFIN: Congressman, we've heard from Ed Henry, who got a response from the administration, saying, you know, this just not is -- not the president's style. He'd rather let the investigators do the investigating and tell this story.
You seem to say it goes beyond just a terror investigation here.
KING: Yes, it does. Let me make it clear, from what I know, I agree with what the administration is doing as far as their policies, as far increasing the security, and as far as doing all they can to find out who was behind it and know what the facts are.
I'm saying, now, there's more to being a president and more to being an administration than just getting -- just having the technical work done. It's important to reassure the country, to show leadership, to show -- you know, to give a sense of confidence to the country. This is an attack on the country. And as commander-in-chief, I believe the president should be there or the secretary of homeland security or his homeland security adviser in the White House. And again, just to -- as a sign of strength for the country, especially, since in virtually every other issue, there's almost a race to the microphone.
GRIFFIN: I can almost hear the critics coming after you, saying you're trying to turn this into a political issue. But let me read what you wrote earlier today. You said, "They," meaning, the administration, "don't feel as comfortable talking about terror as they do global warming and health care." You are almost saying -- if I'm reading this correctly -- that this is a deliberate political move by the administration not to talk about terror.
KING: Yes. I -- first of all, they started off the first several months of the Obama administration refusing to use the word terrorism. Janet Napolitano said it would no longer be in the vocabulary of the Department of Homeland Security because they thought that it connoted fear. And Secretary Clinton is saying that the policy of the administration was not to talk about terrorism. Even when the president gave his speech at West Point about the troops going to Afghanistan, he didn't use the word terrorism. He spoke of extremism.
So, no, I don't think they are comfortable. And having said, let me make it clear, I think they are doing the right thing as far as their policies. Since this attack occurred, the FBI and, as far as I can tell, Homeland Security and all the agencies of the United States government are doing the right job.
But the president above all, who is a great communicator, should realize what President Reagan always did. The country looks for a voice of strength and reassurance, especially with the president being in Hawaii at a time like this.
Listen, think of all the criticism President Bush took because it took him several days to get down to New Orleans after Katrina. So, people do look for leadership in their president.
GRIFFIN: All right. Congressman King -- Representative Peter King out of New York, we'll see if they take up your advice. Thank you, sir, for joining us tonight.
KING: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
GRIFFIN: You bet.
Stay with CNN around the clock for the latest on the terror investigation.
Coming up tomorrow morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," one of those administration officials, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, she will be on at 9:00 a.m. with Candy Crowley.
