Last week, it was revealed in the Wall Street Journal by Peter Wallsten that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had once again disengaged that filter in his head which dictates decorum, decency, and diplomacy.
That’s right. Rahm has once again been reported as using the F word.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who follows the goings on of this administration, whether they support it or not. Emanuel is the perfect henchman for anyone who seeks out to fundamentally change the way things are done.
The context in which Emanuel used the colorful language strikes even a harsher chord for those outside of the targets of the tirade as well. According to the Wallsten article linked above, Emanuel attended a strategy meeting last August with liberal activists in order to develop a strategy for passing universal healthcare legislation. When the activist suggested they were going to start attack campaigns against conservative Democrats who were balking on the President’s goals, Emanuel responded that such an act was “F——g retarded”.
Naturally, such a revelation has caused uproar at least out here on the right. Sarah Palin posted a note on her Facebook page denouncing the remark and likened it to using the “N word”. Since the posting of Palin’s note on February 1st, Emanuel has delivered an apology to Tim Shriver, who heads the Special Olympics. The apology was accepted immediately, much like it was when the President delivered a similar call last spring. It’s safe to assume at this point that Tim Shriver has earned his own spot on the speed dial list at the White House.
First of all, allow me to point out a few fallacies surrounding this story. There are two big ones here and neither one is more glaring than the other.
Do you care to guess what they are?
Number one, the event took place in August. Why are we only hearing about it now? Why didn’t we hear about it back in August? I would be willing to bet that it would still be a secret today if healthcare legislation in its present form hadn’t fallen flat on its face a few weeks ago with the election of Scott Brown in the state of Massachusetts.
The other obvious notable about this story is the lack of outrage. If the comment had been uttered by a Bush Administration official, he/she would have been crucified within hours of making the remark. Even worse is that the person making the remark would have been sent packing along with the bath water. Republicans, after all, are more prone to turn on their own. You typically don’t see the same behavior among the Democrats.
Regardless of whether the ill reputed White House Chief of Staff and his potty-mouth will dine on a tasty bar of Life Buoy for displaying his verbal shortcomings, he doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Even still, I’ve got to wonder if Emanuel apologized for casting dispersions on those with cognitive and developmental disabilities. It would seem the machinations of the liberal activists in that meeting last August were being elevated to a higher station instead of being degraded.
Ponder that one.
