Obama calling scandals 'phony' creates political firestorm

by: jim kouri | published: 08 04, 2013

President Barack Obama stated during his hour-long speech on Wednesday that the GOP is attempting to evade Americans' concerns over economic issues by hyping “phony scandals,” according to Fox News Channel and other news outlets.

That same accusation regarding fake or phony scandals is being used as a talking point by members of Obama's administration including White House press secretary Jay Carney.

“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball,” Obama said during his economic speech given on Wednesday at Knox College in his home state, Illinois.

Obama’s statement echoes a line repeatedly used by Carney to describe the IRS targeting scandal and other Obama administration headaches, including the Benghazi terrorist attack.

"It was a slap in the face to all military families, especially those who lost love ones in Benghazi. Where is the news media's outrage? When will these so-called news outlets report the facts and not the White House spin?" asked a retired police lieutenant from New Jersey, Jack Mallory.

Meanwhile, more than 700 retired U.S. military special forces veterans, who served their country by participating in dangerous operations, such as the killing of terrorist-icon Osama bin Laden and rescuing American hostages from the likes of al-Qaeda ally Al-Shabaab in Somalia, were all but ignored this week by the news media when they held a press conference and delivered their Benghazi petition.

"The goal of the press conference on Tuesday was to urge Democrat and Republican members of the US House of Representatives to support "House Resolution 36," which would create a House Select Committee to thoroughly and completely probe the terrorist attack in Benghazi that left four Americans dead," said former U.S. Marine and NYPD detective Michael Snopes..

"With this nation's Commander in Chief calling Benghazi, the IRS anti-conservative activities, Operation Fast and Furious and other shameful incidents 'phony and fake scandals,' it's time for the U.S. Congress to demand a full, unvarnished investigation into the events of September 11, 2012," Snopes said.

The group delivering the petition to the congressmen -- Special Operations Speaks (SOS) -- said that the American public must be fully informed regarding the terrorist attack on U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities in Libya.

"We owe that truth to the American people and the families of the fallen," said officials with SOS.

According to the SOS statement, "It appears that many of the facts and details surrounding the terrorist attack which resulted in four American deaths and an undetermined number of American casualties have not yet been ascertained by previous hearings and inquiries."

"Among the list of questions SOS formulated for U.S. Representatives to use in their probe, they wish to finally be told who gave the "stand-down order" that left Americans to fend for themselves against savage attacks by Islamic terrorists?" SOS officials stated.

For many Americans, the gnawing question in the Benghazi scandal is: why did the Commander-in Chief and Secretary of State never once check in during the night to find out the status of the crisis situation in Benghazi?

President Obama may believe Benghazi is a phony scandal and his water-carriers in the news media may agree with him, but Americans are slowly discovering that it's becoming more and more likely that in the midst of a terrorist attack on a U.S. consulate, Obama simply went to bed, as alleged by former Justice Department Chief of Staff, now a top radio talk show host, Mark Levin.

"Our Ambassador, Americans, our consulate – under attack, fighting for their lives! And the President of the United States apparently went to sleep. Or maybe to a concert. Or maybe planning his next golf game. I don’t know. But he was AWOL,” said Levin on his radio show.

The petition delivered to the steps of the U.S. Congress states:

"A longstanding American ethos was breached during the terrorist attack in Benghazi. America failed to provide adequate security to personnel deployed into harm’s way and then failed to respond when they were viciously attacked. Clearly, this is unacceptable and requires accountability. America has always held to the notion that no American will be left behind and that every effort will be made to respond when US personnel are threatened.

"Given our backgrounds, we are concerned that this sends a very negative message to future military and diplomatic personnel who may be deployed into dangerous environments. That message is that they will be left to their own devices when attacked. That is an unacceptable message."

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