President Obama slammed Republican candidates at press conference in Ethiopia
President Obama in his customary low key manner, seared Mike Huckabee and several other Republican candidates at a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The President was asked about the comments Mike Huckabee made about his Iran Nuclear Arms deal.
In an interview with Breitbart News Mike Huckabee said, “This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.”
President Obama took the opportunity to appropriately skewer the lack of decorum as well as irresponsible and reckless comments made by not only Huckabee but several Republican candidates. “The particular comments of Mr. Huckabee are I think part of just a general pattern that we’ve seen that is, would be, considered ridiculous if it weren’t so sad,” President Obama said.
The President scolded Senator Tom Cotton for referring to Secretary of State John Kerry as Pontius Pilate. “We’ve had a sitting senator who also happens to be running for president suggest that I am the leading state sponsor of terrorism. These are leaders in the Republican party,” Obama said. The President was referring to the utterances of Senator Ted Cruz.
“When you get rhetoric like this, maybe it gets attention and maybe this is just an effort to push Mr. Trump out of the headlines,” President Obama said. “But it’s not the kind of leadership that is needed for America right now.”
President Obama pointed out that the Right, through their talk radio and news outlets have created a culture conducive to this bad behavior. He pointed out that many of those showing consternation over Trumps rhetoric attacking Senator McCain’s heroism were quiet when he was attacked with the same vitriol. Note there was also little complaints on the Right when Vietnam Hero Secretary of State John Kerry was swift-boated during his presidential run.
The President closed the commentary with a prescient statement that implicitly and justifiably belittled the cast of characters running for president in the Republican Primaries. “In 18 months I’m turning over the keys. I want to make sure I am turning over the keys to somebody who is serious about the serious problems the country faces and the world faces,” Obama said. “And that requires on both sides, Democrat and Republican, a sense of seriousness and decorum and honesty. And I think that is what the voters expect as well.”
Sadly it is doubtful that candidates on the Right would heed his call. Irresponsible behavior is paying dividends thus far.