Althouse: Jay Carney walks out on a black female reporter who's asking a polite question about the Obamacare website.

October 22, 2013

Jay Carney walks out on a black female reporter who's asking a polite question about the Obamacare website.

"White House spokesman Jay Carney today abruptly walked out of the briefing room after struggling to answer questions related to Obamacare."

43 comments:

Michael K said...: Racist ! I mean you, not him.; 10/22/13, 7:09 PM
richard mcenroe said...: She looked inauthentic to me. She demanded truth from a Democrat.; 10/22/13, 7:12 PM
Carl Pham said...: Carney looks even more like a privileged frat boy than George Bush. I'm guessing Obama enjoys letting him twist like this. He probably frowns at Carney when the latter crawls in to report. Didn't handle that too well, did you Jay? No sir, sorry sir! Well, you know the rules, Jay. Assume the position...

I bet figuring out how the modern journalist thinks would have life-saving utility in helping battered women who keep returning to their abusers.; 10/22/13, 7:12 PM
madAsHell said...: There going to need a bigger, and better crisis!

Is Syria still on the table??; 10/22/13, 7:16 PM
Carol said...: Black - and female!

What was he thinking???; 10/22/13, 7:21 PM
Chance said...: Yeah, the fact that Althouse called out the reporter's race just shows she's too old to be part of our post-race America.; 10/22/13, 7:22 PM
PB said...: Black don't crack. Carney does.; 10/22/13, 7:22 PM
SteveR said...: Its pretty sad how this is transpiring. Since I need insurance for myself and my family, the concept of affordable insurance is important but this system is not working and I've tried. Carney's performance exemplifies the big problem.; 10/22/13, 7:24 PM
Ann Althouse said...: My point is that he had extra reason to be respectful and he was not.; 10/22/13, 7:30 PM
Chance said...: Ageism is the new racism though. Maybe if she was younger he would've shown her more respect.; 10/22/13, 7:35 PM
Mark said...: What's the over/under on Carney's date of resignation? He's a weasel, but even weasels don't deserve the hell his professional life must be, even with the press basically working for him.; 10/22/13, 7:37 PM
CWJ said...: Agreed Althouse. And in a backhanded way the commentariat is agreeing with you as well.

But for Carney, I think the pure stress of his position and keeping straight the lies that he has to consistently tell prevented him from thinking clearly as to the demographics of the situation.

All the more reason to be amazed at how smooth and situation aware Bill Clinton would be. Very hard to get inside his decision making loop.

Now with President Obama, getting inside is a piece of cake. If he didn't have press enablers and when that fails people to shuffle him off stage without taking questions, he might self-destruct more obviously than he already does.; 10/22/13, 8:06 PM
Victor Erimita said...: Extra reason to be respectful? He should have been more respectful because of her race/gender bona fides? Maybe more worried about being attacked. But the Obamaites own the media. They don't have to worry about what anyone thinks of them now.

But in a post-racial culture black women won't deserve more respect, any more than they will deserve less.; 10/22/13, 8:06 PM
Hagar said...: It is called Obamacare, not Sebeliuscare; his name is on it and he is the boss.
Someone in the White House should point that out to him.; 10/22/13, 8:21 PM
Scott M said...: My point is that he had extra reason to be respectful and he was not.

Why? Because she's black? Or because she's a woman? Or because she's a black woman? Or because she's a black woman and he's a Democrat?

Why?; 10/22/13, 8:26 PM
Clyde said...: Brave Sir Carney ran away.
("No!")
Bravely ran away, away.
("I didn't!")
When questions reared their ugly heads,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
("I never!")
Yes, brave Sir Carney turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
("You're lying!")
Swiftly taking to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat.
Bravest of the brave, Sir Carney!

(with apologies to Monty Python); 10/22/13, 8:28 PM
Patrick said...: I'm at least as willing as the next guy to believe Carney's a jerk, but this video doesn't show much. I'd like to see what happened immediately before.; 10/22/13, 8:38 PM
Robert Langham said...: There is a certain satisfaction in watching the National Press bunch get treated this way. Let them eat their cake and enjoy it.; 10/22/13, 8:43 PM
theo said...: Let's check back in a year and see if the IRS has audited her.; 10/22/13, 8:48 PM
Kelly said...: What struck me was the snark from the other reporters..."oh just go to the web site" one said sarcastically. I enjoyed that.; 10/22/13, 9:22 PM
The Godfather said...: I've got no use for Carney, but Patrick is right that the video clip doesn't show him "walk[ing] out on a black female reporter". The clip shows him already walking out when she is first heard to speak.; 10/22/13, 9:38 PM
BarryD said...: "Extra reason to be respectful? He should have been more respectful because of her race/gender bona fides?"

Not because of her race/gender bona fides, but because it's his job, as Press Secretary, to do his best to avoid creating subtly-damning video clips for the opposition to use.

"Optics" as the Democrats like to say about far too much...

I think they're all filth, but that's not the point. It just looks bad on video when a fratboy like Carney treats a black female reporter like she doesn't exist. And Carney's supposed to be polite and try to make things look good, because the President is too damned lazy to do it himself -- and because whenever he goes off-teleprompter, he looks like the petulant, narcissistic little snot that he really is.; 10/22/13, 9:46 PM
SteveR said...: There are longer snippets than this one and he had checked out long before she spoke, his snide was standard FU stuff. He doesn't respect the process, meaning that most of the time, the American people deserve straight answers or good reasons why they aren't given them. the press is the conduit (theoretically).; 10/22/13, 9:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Smarmy little bastard should be horse whipped, or perhaps that is too crude? Nah!; 10/22/13, 10:26 PM
Paul said...: George Bush, nor any of his spokesmen, ever walked out on a news conference.

And stonewalling was not part of their policy either.

As for the reporters, THEY should walk out on Jay the next time he has a meeting with reporters. They should to that to put him and Obama on notice they are fed up of this chickenshit.; 10/22/13, 10:38 PM
DCS said...: Set my DVR today to record CBS and ABC national news casts. CBS, to its credit, led off with story of the ACA website fiasco. ABC led off with puff story about lower gasoline prices and NEVER mentioned the ACA website problems, even with pro-Obama spin. ABC News evidently stands for A Bigger Communist News.; 10/22/13, 10:56 PM
gk1 said...: Why would anyone in the Obama administration respect these press whores in the morning? They can't make their contempt towards the press any clearer and these enablers still won't take a clue.; 10/22/13, 10:58 PM
traditionalguy said...: The media spin trick today to stay in an alternate reality... like a movie script of sincere Dem heroes facing an attack by monster GOPnoids.

This black lady got herself miscast as a monster GOPnoid, thus requiring a scene cut and re-filming the scene another day.; 10/22/13, 11:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Little Jay disrespected a black woman.; 10/22/13, 11:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Paul said...
"put him and Obama on notice they are fed up of this chickenshit."

Chickens love chickenshit.

You have to respect yourself before other people would respect you.

The chickenshit reporters have disrespected themselves and their profession, they deserved to be fed chickenshit.; 10/22/13, 11:44 PM
lge said...: Man! He couldn't even say, "Thank you, the press conference is over"? He had to run out like a bank-robber? Nice manners!; 10/23/13, 1:11 AM
lge said...: In the middle of a question, he folds his tents and quietly steals away. That's class!; 10/23/13, 1:16 AM
Fiftyville said...: If you want the definition of the word "clenched", look at Jay Carney after a bunch of Obamacare questions.; 10/23/13, 2:09 AM
Fiftyville said...: If you want the definition of the word "clenched", look at Jay Carney after a bunch of Obamacare questions.; 10/23/13, 2:12 AM
Rusty said...: She obviously violated court protocol. Rightfully shunned by the Kings Page for her presumptuousness.
It is doubtful she will be invited back. Certainly she will never be presented to the King to ask odious questions concerning divinely inspired policy.; 10/23/13, 6:08 AM
Limited Blogger said...: CBS just reported the O-Care sites are now grossly underestimating people's premiums. What an egregious bait-and-switch. Stunning.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57608843/healthcare.gov-feature-often-lists-wrong-prices-for-coverage/; 10/23/13, 8:17 AM
damikesc said...: CBS just reported the O-Care sites are now grossly underestimating people's premiums. What an egregious bait-and-switch. Stunning.

If one of those evil private insurance companies did that, it'd lead to criminal prosecutions, mind you.

Here? Nothing to see here, chumps.; 10/23/13, 8:25 AM
TosaGuy said...: Not a single story is hatched from the White House Press Room.

The fact that 90 percent of that room voted Democrat is not the problem. The problem is that everyone seated in that room is a cow lined up at the feed trough waiting for a story to be handed to them.

Do some real journalism and make the WH Press briefing irrelevant.; 10/23/13, 8:39 AM
Sam L. said...: How can, and why would, you say Carney has more season to be respectful of her? She is a Subject of the King! She has NO rights! And by asking, she was UPPITY!; 10/23/13, 9:32 AM
Rusty said...: Sam L. said...
How can, and why would, you say Carney has more season to be respectful of her? She is a Subject of the King! She has NO rights! And by asking, she was UPPITY!

She obviously didn't know her place.; 10/23/13, 10:46 AM
wildswan said...: Carney kept saying that all questions about the Obamacare website should be directed to HHS. When reporters kept on he walked out. But note the question she was asking because it was pretty good. She wants the someone from the White House to "watch anyone without insurance go through the website, trying to help this situation." In other words: why don't you get a real sense of the situation and then try to help? Different groups approach situations in different ways and the African-American approach is notable for solid common sense. This is what we have here. She isn't snarking or making political points. She asks - why don't you find out what's going on and try to help. So that how African-Americans might come to condemn Obama. Not for ruinous taxation or abandoning our allies but for being too arrogant to notice how a regular person who needs insurance is being treated by the Obamacares-not-all website.

PS I used the new tool. There were constant warnings that the prices did not show the subsidies I might get. Then I was told that I did not qualify for subsidies or anything else and I should get a job that paid more so I could afford insurance. I'm on Medicare and entitled to it. Other than that there were no glitches; 10/23/13, 11:27 AM
Scott M said...: Different groups approach situations in different ways and the African-American approach is notable for solid common sense.

Holy cow.

Really? The percentage of babies born out of wedlock with African Americans is notable too. Does that take a solid, common sense approach?

Wow.; 10/23/13, 1:25 PM
eddie willers said...: It is called Obamacare, not Sebeliuscare; his name is on it and he is the boss.

You'll know she's under the bus when Obama says, "When we first conceived Sebeliuscare....."; 10/23/13, 1:53 PM