The White House on Monday worked to contain the damage caused by one of President Barack Obama’s closest aides, who, in a seemingly candid, behind-the-curtain magazine story, ripped the Washington press corps, boasted of creating an “echo chamber” of supporters to sell the Iran nuclear deal and appeared to dismiss long-time foreign policy hands, including Hillary Clinton, as the Blob.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes’ comments to The New York Times Magazine have sparked a mix of bewilderment and outrage in Washington’s political and policy circles. While some marveled at a savvy White House aide’s apparent eagerness to discuss what some consider the ugly sausage making of modern governing, other noted he’d kicked up a hornet’s nest of a debate over whether the White House oversold the legacy-burnishing deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
The article revived criticism of the agreement. In a statement issued Monday, Sen. John McCain, a long-time critic of the Iran pact, said the piece “provided a troubling glimpse of the White House spin machine that has put sustaining ‘the narrative’ above advancing the national interest.”
The piece portrays Rhodes, Obama’s top foreign policy speechwriter and arguably one of his most influential aides, as singularly in tune with his boss’s thinking and narrowly focused on crafting a messaging machine to support it. It quotes Rhodes lamenting the ignorance of Washington reporters. (“They literally know nothing.”) And it describes Rhodes, a former aspiring novelist, as focused on crafting a storyline and dismissing facts that don’t fit.
Rhodes appears to try to keep secret news that Iran had seized 10 U.S. Navy sailors until after the president’s State of the Union speech. The article quotes Rhodes and his aides describing how they used social media, journalists and friendly interest groups to disseminate White House-generated talking points about the Iran deal.
“We created an echo chamber,” Rhodes said. “They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say.”
Rhodes sought to soften the remarks on the website Medium. A post late Sunday included something of an overture to reporters he’s dismissed, saying the Iran deal had been well-covered and debated. He wrote that he didn’t try to dupe the press or spin Washington.
“It wasn’t ‘spin,’ It’s what we believed and continue to believe, and the hallmark of the entire campaign was to push out facts,” Rhodes wrote. “These were complicated issues.”
Still, some experts involved in the debate said they recognized the hard sell described in the story.
David Albright, a physicist and arms control expert with the Science and International Security in Washington, said he was surprised to see a White House official “opening up this can of worms again.” The intensity of the debate over the Iran deal left many in the arms control and policy world bruised, not the least because of the White House’s take-no-prisoners approach, said Albright, who was briefed by the administration during the negotiations and remained neutral on the deal.
“It was, ‘Are you with us or are you against us?'” Albright said, “The White House was looking for sound bites that beat the opposition, not necessarily sound bites that captured the truth of what was going on. I wish they were just putting out facts. They exaggerated and overstated to sell the deal.”
Not all saw the tactics described as anything more than good public relations in the social media age.
Initial reaction to the piece within the White House was good — Rhodes last week retweeted a Twitter follower’s compliments, and as the story circulated on Facebook it piled up ‘likes’ and glowing remarks from former White House aides.
In a sign of Rhodes’ popularity and position in the White House, the piece quotes a who’s who of White House figures, including chief of staff Denis McDonough, United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power, former Obama adviser David Axelrod and former CIA director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. National Security Adviser Susan Rice was interviewed for the piece but not quoted.
By Monday the White House was playing defense. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters he had never heard Rhodes describe the foreign policy establishment, including Clinton, as the Blob, as the magazine describes.
Earnest has said Rhodes’ concern about the timing of the disclosure of seizure of the sailors in January was primarily about the sailors’ safety — not about concerns that the news would interfere with the president’s speech. He said he was certain Rhodes would recast his description of the Washington press corps.
“I assure you that’s not how it was intended, and based on that reaction I’m confident he would say it differently if given the chance,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
First we had Gruber admitting how stupid Americans are in relation to Obamacare. Now we have Rhodes telling us we were conned again, lied to and continue to be subject to the incompetence of the Obama regime. Maybe Gruber and Rhodes are right. Americans, a large majority of them, seem oblivious to the agenda of our first muslime President and his muslime allies in the W.H. and else where. Yes, we are stuck on stupid and only have ourselves to blame for the chaos that confronts us worldwide. Can January come soon enough?
Lets pray that Obama and Hillary are both found guilty of cover up on everything. Obama’s policy, open borders and refugees has caused our country to have terrors and criminals every where. CAtch and release criminals in our communities. I live close to borders. Media either don’t know how bad it is or they are controlled by Obama’s administration. I am for borders being closed. Everyone should be made come in right way. Lots of fraud in Welfare. No more anchor babies! Mother illegal, baby can’t be citizen. STOP FRAUD.
Just how long are we going to allow Barack The Asshole Obama breathe? He should have been pushing up daisys by now.
Confuse, obfuscate and lie–the ingredients in Obama’s administration ever since day one! He is the singular most untransparent pos to have ever held the presidency. We will party like they did in ’45 when the war was finally over when he is finally gone which cannot come fast enough.
He is a Muslim.
Obama and Hillary are psychopathic LIARS!!!!
It’s sad that too many people would ignore our present state of the US and keep their heads in the sand. That posture will only get their asses blown off. The media carries so much of the guilt for not reporting without bias and doing what sells. The man on the street doesn’t concern himself unless he is directly affected. It’s a shame they can’t realize that government freebies are a form of slavery. The government buys their vote and rewards them with freebies much like training a dog.
Well said!!!
The saddest thing is, about 1/2 of the voters, those who actually vote, would
HAPPILY vote for Obama AGAIN if possible, and since that is not possible
they will happily vote for the 2nd choice, Hillary who will continue Obama’s
path of destruction to “Fundamentally change life in America.”
With 1/2 of the country CLUELESS can America ever rise again?
I Pray so, BUT fear NOT.
Mr. Rhodes better watch his back. He just ticked off Obama. The goons will be watching for him.
Please let us not forget how he went behind Congress back and set free some of the worst of terrorists, for one army deserter. That has TREASON written all over it.
We citizens need several Deep Throats to develop a case against this Administration of American Doom. After WWII in Germany we, our military I suppose issued something called script as money. Again I suppose they did it to get commerce moving again and there was no govt in place to issues marks? I have no idea how long this lasted or how the transition was made to Deuches mark as money? The idea of a massive financial collapse is not likely as our problem is too much money in circulation, not too little. The govt knows a lot more about money matters then they tell us. The idea of .the whole economy hinging on some interest rate is absurd. The role of the govt in the economy is at least two fold. The govt is the source of money, not the economy. And the govt needs to make sure money is too concentrated in the hands of the few. This is what we have now and the tax laws were written by the super rich to enable them to keep their money with is another word for influence. Influence over elected officials. Also we seem to have a new potentially war to further render the voters from the candidates. This is big business getting involved in politics which is open warfare on individual voters. The establishment consists big business and big banks and anyone that has a lot of money. And they all want to stay rich.since that is the preferred lifestyle. Also the establishment needs to take risks, and be responsible for, lose money, for bad decisions. Thus uncoupling the national debt from private super owners, who essentially have twisted the taxing power of the govt for private use. Much like taking people and giving money to a state run religion. Except the govt gives interest on the national debt, some 100 billion per year to the owners of the fed res. The bankers cannot lose their fortunes by buying govt paper.
The Estabishment are entrenched in every Bureaucratic Hole of our government that it is required to fire every departmental head and replace with handpicked individual by a Trump president. Most important that we use as many Black Patriots and put them in policy making positions that will last. We got Allen West, Herman Cain, Alan Keyes, J.C. Watts, Star Parker, Mia Love, Ken Blackwell and of course Dr. Ben Carson, just to name a few and there are many more. O Happy Days are here again.
Things that I do not understand:
1.There is one thing I don’t understand is the fact why Conservatives cannot unite and be effective in exposing the corrupt Left.
2. Conservatives gives to much credit by calling the Left Communists and Socialist “LIBERALS’. This cabal is Intolerant so why do we keep calling them Liberals, they are Radicals, Communist, Terrorist intent on destroying the USA.
3. We have billionair conservatives, why can’t they unite and create a strong Media presence
4. Conservatives are always on the defensive, they should be the ones to Legislate Laws to protect the little guy and stop Big Government from usurping powers it does not have.
I hope his family has a good life insurance policy on him. Another surprise heart attack or suicide coming.
Stupid is as stupid does. Wake up we are all fucked if a demwitacrat gets in office again. They say one thing and do the other. America the fucked. Time to tell the government we are not going to take it anymore.