Today\’s quote comes to us from Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
Mr. Cuellar made his comments during today\’s Andrea Mitchell show on MSNBC – which makes what he said all the better, because it provided viewers of that network a relatively unusual opportunit to hear another side of the story.
“He\’sso close to the border. And let me say this: when I saw, and I hateto use the word bizarre, but under the circumstances, when he isshown playing pool in Colorado, drinking a beer, and he can\’t even go242 miles to the Texas border, and plus, if he doesn\’t want to godown to the border, there\’s the Lackland Air Force Base where HHS isholding some of the young kids from the border. He could at leastmake that trip to San Antonio, but again, border community leaderswant to see him down there on the border, and I think the optics andthe substance of it is that he should show up at the border.
“…If theyare worried about putting a face, the president\’s face, to this humancrisis, humanitarian crisis, I think it\’s worse if he doesn\’t evenshow up because either way, he\’s going to be tied into thishumanitarian crisis. He either can roll up his sleeves and go down tothe border, or he can just look aloof and detached and not go to theborder, send surrogates down there, and say that he\’s got everythingunder control.”
“…When I saw that it just really floored me, because if he\’s saying he\’s too busy to go to theborder but you have time to drink a beer, play pool. The optics, I mean just the appearance, means he is not paying attention to this humanitarian crisis…”
Andrea Mitchell – who has been a steadfast Obama supporter throughout his administration – followed up by severely criticizing President Obama for his inaction on a number of important issues, and then asked Rep. Cuellar what he thought of the “photo-op” picture, taken last night, of President Obama and Colorado\’s Democrat Governor, John Hickenlooper, drinking beer and shooting pool. His answer:
“…WhenI saw that it just really floored me, because if he\’s sayinghe\’s too busy to go to the border but you have time to drink a beer,play pool. The optics, I mean just the appearance, means he isnot paying attention to this humanitarian crisis…”
Rep. Cuellar wins Quote Of The Day honors for showing us that, yes, there are Democrats who can\’t take this anymore; yes, there are Democrats who will no longer sit silent as Barack Obama behaves this way.
My congratulations to you, Mr. Cuellar. Your integrity is intact. Would that other Democrats – whose views on this issue, I am certain, parallel yours – could say the same.
