President Obama made an impassioned speech about the need for gun laws in the wake of the Oregon shooting today. And since Fox News has not found a way to blame Obama for the tragedy yet, they’re attacking him for commenting on it.
In a Special Report discussion, Charles Krauthammer sneered that Obama’s reaction was “kneejerk.” As if Fox’s wasn’t.
KRAUTHAMMER: I don’t doubt that the president’s statement was 100% sincere and 100% kneejerk. He has no idea what the gun was, how it was obtained, who the person is and what the motive is. What does he do if it turns out it was a terrorist? Obama himself said there’s a special category if it’s a terrorist. We don’t know whether it is or not and to make a pronouncement at this time when, I hate to say it, the bodies are still warm and the wounded are now in surgery, I think is at least premature.
Panelist Charles Lane was the only guest not to attack Obama. He noted that while gun violence is down, mass shootings have spiked and they are “often connected to large size magazines and certain kinds of weapons that can wield them.” He also said that if this incident led to the passage of legislation to deal with that, it would be “a saving grace.”
Then came Fox contributor and the show's conspiracy theorist, Stephen Hayes.
HAYES: Like Charles, I don’t doubt that the fact that the president’s passionate about that. We saw that tonight. We have seen that before from this president. But to say this now before we know anything about this - I mean, we don’t know anything about the circumstances of the shooting. We don’t know anything about the - how the shooter obtained the weapon in question. We don’t know any of this and, yet, the president is using this occasion to urge us to change our gun laws? There were 50 shootings in Chicago over the weekend, for the second straight weekend in a row. Why didn’t the president go out and make a statement then? I’m sorry. It’s a very cynical thing to say. But you know, he’s had an avalanche of bad news over the past 36 hours. And I think he is using this shooting to get out from under it.
Host Bret Baier chimed in and helped legitimize Hayes’ accusation.
BAIER: He has not said anything that I know of on camera about the situation in Russia or post-his meeting with Putin or any of the other things but he did choose – and he’s clearly passionate about this, Charles, but he didn’t address anything else.
Krauthammer took the cue.
KRAUTHAMMER: It would be nice if he showed equal passion about the complete collapse of six and a half, eight years of policy in the Middle East and the abandonment and the bombing of our own allies on the ground whom, as you showed, our Secretary of Defense had said we had some obligation to protect and we have not protected anyone.
And Hayes threw in the black-on-black crime accusation.
HAYES Why hasn’t he spoken out about Chicago? …He’s the one who said we should politicize this. Well, he did. I think that’s what he did here. I think he’s distracting attention from his other problems.
Lane looked astounded at the commentary around him. But really, it was completely predictable. He merely said, "I do not think he spoke out today to distract attention."
But Krauthammer was right back on anti-Obama message.
KRAUTHAMMER: All I’m saying is, if the entire Middle East is aflame and every one of our allies is terrified because of the U.S. abandonment under a policy he has exercised, he ought to say something and he has said nothing.
Who’s really trying to distract here?
Watch it below, from the October 1 Special Report, via Media Matters. Also below is President Obama’s powerful statement. It starts at about 23:15 into that video.
Some right-winger they softballed tasked with an obvious mission to fear-monger a weak Obama is ceding all to a strong, focused Russia spread the thickest and smelliest layer of b.s. I’ve witnessed in a long time.
Recall, GOP TV™ previously has diaper filled Obama can’t bomb, bomb, bomb the Middle East enough as long as the count doesn’t approach the height of Bush’s Iraq War. I get GOP TV™ thinks Dubya’s Iraq War was the best one ever until Obama spoiled it all but it’s transparently hypocritical to smear Obama for dropping fewer bombs while growing hysterical with the fear-mongering the Russians who did a mere 9 sorties today are somehow seizing control of the region. Seriously, how stupid are the cons watching this baloney? ;^)
Looking at Russian failures in Afghanistan and Chechnya who seriously thinks a weak, post-Soviet era Russian army is going to roll over ISIS and the rest of Assad’s opposition? There isn’t a snowball’s chance Putin can put Syria back together again and use as a puppet.
Speaking of debunking stuff, Steve Hayes is one of the most transparent liars routinely featured on Fox News. Look at this gem:
“I’m sorry. It’s a very cynical thing to say. But…”
They say when you use “but” you negate everything which proceeds it which is perfect here because you just know the knee-jerk hack isn’t sorry at all about being cynical regarding Obama. Heck, it’s his day job at GOP TV™.
The humor never stops flowing from Fox News because here we have our typical all-star “Special [as in special education] Report” over-weighed with hard-nosed cons. Conservative host Bret Baier daily boasts (read: lies) the show is “unafraid.” Well, if you’ve got to pack the panel with hair on fire cons to pick on some anemic, mousy moderate you appear weak and afraid of the opposition to me. Put either of these clowns on “Bill Maher” and watch them melt like ice on hot summer asphalt.
When you’re in a party who knows your ideas have no chance, anything you spew with confidence sounds good. Like The Donald mouthing off he’s so great we’ll get tired of all his successes as president, Krauthammer and Hayes endlessly carp like the ultimate know-it-alls offering pretty much nothing but tough, substance-less hot air for solutions. If nothing else, right-wingers have no shortage of rage.
