How refreshing. Obama: 'I screwed up' Obama said he was "angry and disappointed" to lose Daschle and Nancy Killefer, who also withdrew her nomination today over a failure to pay some taxes. And the president also took part of the blame. "I appointed these folks. I think they are outstanding people. I think Tom Daschle as an example could have led this health-care effort ... better than just about anybody," the president remarked. "But as he acknowledged, this was a mistake. I don't think it was intentional on his part but it was a serious mistake. He owned up to it and ultimately made a decision that we couldn't afford the distraction, and I've got to own up to my mistake which is that, ultimately, it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules -- you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes." Obama later added, "I'm here on television saying I screwed up, and that's part of the era of responsibility. It's not never making mistakes; it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that's what we intend to do." He also offered one more mea culpa: "o, did I screw up in this situation? Absolutely and I'm willing to take my lumps, you know that's part of the job here. But I think it's important not to paint a broad brush here, because overall, not only have we gotten in place a -- functioning government in record time -- but overall the quality of [the other appointments] are outstanding." On the economy and his stimulus plan, Obama told Williams, "I'm waking up everyday thinking, 'How do I make sure that ordinary families are able to survive, thrive, send their kids to college, keep their homes, keep their jobs?' And there's no magic bullet. We dug a deep hole for ourselves, and because of some bad decisions that we made, we have the worst economy since the Great Depression." And Obama also spoke about his consultations with the joint chiefs on Iraq and Afghanistan: "The encouraging thing is that there's actually I think a convergence between myself and the joint chiefs and my national security team about what we have to do. I think there's a general view that we've got to drawdown our troops from Iraq; that we've got to do it responsibly; that we've got to do it carefully. I think the timeframe is closer than it may have appeared during the campaign. I think there's also a shared view that Afghanistan is getting worse, not getting better. And that we have to have a comprehensive strategy that not only deals with the military side but also the diplomacy." http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/03/1779622.aspx
A hilarious and totally transparent attempt at spin. This 'reaction' is an attempt at diverting attention away from Obama's corrupt picks... The media jumped all over McCain for allegedly not vetting Palin (even though all of their rumors ended up being lies...) yet Obama's failure to vet Geithner, Daschle, Killefer, etc is spun as 'responsible'. Try 'incompetent'. Obama is just so far in over his head.
um, since when is "I F***** UP" spin, if anything that's probably the most direct thing to say. lol. your logic, it fails XD
In all fairness, Obama had two nominees for cabinet positions withdraw due to tax issues. Not to mention that Daschle has ties to the industry Obama wanted him to regulate. Going on TV and saying "I screwed up" is like John Madden stating that a player that runs into the end zone with the football scored a touchdown. No s***. It may not be spin, but it is an attempt to save face.
yes. but it is refreshing to see the president admit screw ups. Sure, there's been the occasional "I'm sorry" but to flat out say I was wrong, I screwed up is something I think people are unused to. Think back the last 20 or so years. Extramarital affairs, utter collapse of the financial system, a ruinous war...nothing. And now we have a president apologizing to us about tax returns.
T_J's here! Ann Coulter's scriptwriter! YAY! Uh, the other members of your party are already here. BigTexx and Basso are over there on the right---no, the faaaaaaaar right....yeah, behind the pillar; be glad we're giving you a table at all.....
You're right despite his admitted mistakes the competence is refreshing too... As refreshing as an Artest thread the needle pass to Yao Ming.
Lemme add on to that. He will be great IF he is able to bring the nation out of recession and if he is able to not squabble away money in foreign nations so much
No one is perfect. The great leaders will admit they made mistake and try to correct it instead of going down the same dead end without regards to the outcome.
for the record At the dawn of the Obama Administration we have witnessed: four high-level appointees blow up over various issues, tax and otherwise (Richardson, Daschel, and Killefer get axed; Geithner stays); the appointment of at least 12 lobbyists to positions in the Administration -- in direct contradiction of campaign promises; a pork-laden economic stimulus bill without precedent in US history; and the reversal of campaign positions concerning controversial policies like rendition.
