White House press secretary Jay Carney feeling the heat from reporters lost his cool and openly mocked them at yesterday’s press briefing.
The episode all started when new Fox News White House Chief Correspondent asked Carney about the president’s prime time address on the debt ceiling on Monday.
Henry: I wanted to follow in order because if you’ve basically got this Boehner plan that you say can’t get through the Senate and you’ve got a Reid plan that the Republicans don’t think you can get through the Senate or the House, and you say you’re saying we want a compromise what was the point of giving a prime time address to the nation without an Obama plan and say neither of these plans could work?
Carney: I understand the idea that there is not an Obama plan is point number one is point number one on the talking points issued by the Republican Party. I get it. Ok?
Henry: No no no it’s not a talking point. Show us the plan. It’s not a talking point. That’s not fair.
Carney: First of all the president puts forward in detail his principles at George Washington University. Quite a lot of detail. The president stood before you, I can’t remember if you were here Friday night, some of you weren’t because you cut out early but a lot of you were.
At this point several members of the press corps erupts in a collective “Awww” expressing their feelings that Carney had just taken a cheap shot at them.
Carney went on to assert that there is plenty of detail and that the senior leaders of the House Republican Conference can pull out of their desk drawers reams of paper of the president’s proposal, counter-proposal and counter-counter-proposal.
That wasn’t satisfactory and when pressed for more detail, perhaps on paper Carney grew impatient.
“I mean, look, you need something printed for you, you can’t write it down?” he said. “There is ample detail.”
Once again Carney showed that he is clearly not cut out for his job as he mocked and scorned the press during the briefing which will only lead to even chillier relations in the future and isn’t what the White House expects or wants.
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