White House Disavows Internet Fringe Remark

[SpartanDem]

Harwood's a hack and I swear there are people here gullible enough who would believe an unnamed source that said Obama kicks puppies.

The White House is strongly denying a report making the rounds that it views gay critics and bloggers as part of an “Internet left fringe,” with a senior adviser asserting to me that this sentiment “does not reflect White House thinking at all.”

Yesterday, CNBC correspondent John Harwood set off a min-firestorm on the left after he claimed that the White House views gay and blogospheric criticism of the administration’s foot-dragging on gay rights issues as part of the “Internet left fringe.” Harwood claimed that an anonymous adviser said that “those bloggers need to take off the pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult.”

Asked for comment, White House senior communications adviser Dan Pfeiffer emailed:

“That sentiment does not reflect White House thinking at all, we’ve held easily a dozen calls with the progressive online community because we believe the online communities can often keep the focus on how policy will affect the American people rather than just the political back-and-forth.”

Whatever you think of the White House’s record on gay rights issues or the respect it does or doesn’t have for the blogosphere, paraphrased second-hand claims from a single anonymous adviser don’t really seem like grounds for sweeping conclusions about the White House’s alleged disdain for the online community.


http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/white-house-disavows-claim-that-gay-critics-bloggers-are-part-of-internet-left-fringe

[Curtland1015]

1. I don't think it's "gullible" as much as it's a DESIRE to believe it.

People will always believe what they want to believe.

[bluestateguy]

2. If the remark was even made at all

it was surely some pissant 32 year old staffer trying to be a big shot with the news media.

[EFerrari]

3. What gullible? It sounds like stuff that is leaked every week

from Anonymous/Rahm/someone else.

lol

Whatever. I'm glad they're denying it anyway.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

4. I saw a picture of him kicking a puppy

:spank:

[Jim Lane]

8. Ah, but have you ever seen the puppy's birth certificate? (n/t)

[gratuitous]

5. Easy enough to resolve this

The White House is basically calling Harwood a liar, or at least very sloppy, and by extension his employer CNBC. Harwood could simply name his source (it's not like his source outed a CIA agent or anything); but I'm guessing that he's not going to do any such thing. There's one of two reasons for that: Harwood didn't have a source, or he rushed to file his report based on the second-hand gossip of some underling that any experienced reporter would have known not to quote.

[kestrel91316]

6. Harwood based his report on second-hand gossip, that much is obvious.

[EFerrari]

7. Well, the video shows how sloppy he is.

The subject went from GLBT -> the left fringe -> bloggers. It would have been comical except for its potential to hurt a lot of people's feelings.

[C_U_L8R]

9. "closely divided"

that's what republicans want people to think.... that's the give-away right there