In an interview that will undoubtedly reverberate throughout this news week, Rush told Fox’s Chris Wallace that the President went to Dover, Delaware as a “photo-op” rather than as a Commander-in-Chief committed and concerned about the loss of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The statement came in the context of a discussion of the president’s Afghan policy and his slow progress on making a decision about troop deployment. Rush said that the visit to Dover was an attempt to appear more concerned and more invested in the Afghan effort because of recent outrage over his inaction. He also pointed out that the President was only able to find one family willing to allow pictures of the President to be taken as the other families abstained. I agree with Rush on this one. I think it would have been a classy move on the President’s part if he would have simply went and let the White House press pool write about the scene without the pictures. Asking grieving families to take part in a PR campaign is flatly ridiculous and a shame on the office.
Talk show host Rush Limbaugh accused President Obama of seeking a “photo op” when he traveled to Dover Air Force Base last week to witness the remains of fallen soldiers being returned from Afghanistan.
In an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” the conservative host suggested Obama scheduled the trip in order to dampen criticism over the amount of time it’s taken him to overhaul the Afghanistan war strategy.
“It was a photo op. It was a photo op precisely because he’s having big-time trouble on this whole Afghanistan dithering situation,” Limbaugh said.
Obama traveled to the Delaware military base in the middle of the night last week to see the flag-covered cases unloaded. The trip was made at the end of the deadliest month to date for U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod rejected Limbaugh’s criticism Sunday, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” it was “appropriate” for Obama to head to Dover.
“My reaction is that I think that the president of the United States went to Dover to represent the American people and pay his respects to the families who had made so much of a sacrifice, to those brave service people who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.
On the same show, Independent Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman said he disagreed with Limbaugh as well.
“I think he was there as commander-in-chief for all Americans. And I don’t fault him or question his motives at all. I was proud that my president was there,” he said.
White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett also defended Obama’s trip.
“Well, he wouldn’t have done it in public if the families had objected,” Jarrett said on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. “So the first and foremost thing is what is important to the families. And I think that it’s important for us all to recognize what is at stake…I think it’s a reminder about how deep the sacrifice is,” she added.
Watch the full interview here
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