Remember when Obama bowed to the Saudi King?
Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, denied it. The claim at the time was that Obama is so tall, he had to bend a little to give the king a two-handed handshake.
The video we showed you and this picture proved that to be a bold-faced lie. That lie told us two things. One, it wasn't some kind of secret Muslim thing. Obama was embarrassed by it so he denied it through his spokesperson.
Embarrassing, but better than not saying anything. At least he recognizes he did wrong, and he's taking the sleazeball politician way out of it by pretending it didn't happen (and he knew the press wouldn't linger on it). It was telling though. When pressed into a corner and facing negative press, this administration doesn't mind lying about the little things. That suggested we needed to be careful about believing what they say in the future.
Now multiple sources are claiming the Obama administration is lying about something much, much worse. The Chrysler bailout is a big deal, as it's direct government intervention in a major industry, far removed from loans and guarantees. It seems that the Obama administration stands accused of threatening senior creditors with the destruction of their reputation by the White House Press Corps if they didn't acquiesce to the administration's demands to put the unions in charge.
Bob Burton unequivocally denied the charge earlier in the week that the White House had threated to use the press to get even with any creditor not willing to take the White House Deal. The charges came from Thomas Lauria, who told ABC news that Rattner had threated Perella Weinberg.
Today, Business Insider quotes more senior creditors who have said the story is true, and who refuse to go on record precisely because of the political threats. This is a serious charge. If the President of the United States is threatening executives in a negotiation deal, then we can no longer trust our system of government. This is the kind of bullshit that goes on in Cuba and Venezuela and Russia, not in a free market where the rule of law holds sway. This is the kind of dirty dealing that will cause the economy to nosedive. Who in their right mind would negotiate with the government if the government is willing to use street corner thug tactics to get their way? Is the official policy of the US government "You do what we want or we'll hurt you?"
Very, very disturbing. The Obama White House believes they can threaten business executives with the help of a complacent Press Corps. This should not stand, but as the Democrats move towards 60 votes in the Senate, the reality of who we put in office cannot be denied. The Dear Leader references are more apt now than ever. Republicans cannot afford to take this lying down.
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