White House Still Struggling to Explain Obama’s JV ISIS Crack

obama basketball

Remember the days when Obama’s people didn’t have to explain the stupid things he said? When he could claim that there were 57 states or that Austrian was a language and still be hailed as the smartest man who ever lived?

Not anymore.

Instead Obama’s people are struggling to explain his JV crack about ISIS. They  can’t deny that he said it or that it was stupid. So Josh Earnest just flails around.

“It’s important that we don’t sort of shorthand the analogy the president was trying to draw here,” Earnest said.

When asked about the interview, Earnest produced a copy of the president’s comments, which he then read in full. Earnest said he expected he would get a question about the “jayvee team” remark.

Sure, let’s not shorthand the flip shorthand analogy. So what does that get us?

I pointed out that the flag of Al Qaeda is now flying in Fallujah, in Iraq, and among various rebel factions in Syria; Al Qaeda has asserted a presence in parts of Africa, too.

“The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” Obama said. “I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.”

Earnest stressed that Obama was talking about multiple groups including Islamic State. He also said the president was trying to highlight the “different capability” of these groups and Al Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden, which Earnest described as having been “decimated” by the Obama administration.

Al Qaeda in Afghanistan had been decimated long before Obama got on the scene, but the media just keeps unthinkingly repeating that lie.

Still let’s skip to Earnest’s defense. He admits that Obama was talking about ISIS, but claims he was also talking about different groups. Except that Obama was specifically asked about ISIS declaring an Islamic State in Fallujah. At no point in his remarks did he differentiate it.

All Earnest can really do is vomit up a slightly varied version of the same old talking points that fails to actually concede that Obama was ignoring how dangerous ISIS had become.

  • Pete

    The DNC & some oligarchs like Soros put a jersey on Obama and expected him to play like FDR.

  • glpage

    I wonder if the various talking heads for Obama and his administration fear they’re turning into Pinocchio.

  • http://ruleofreason.blogspot.com/ Edward Cline

    Nerdy Gibbs was glib, then came geeky Jay the Carney-ville barker, and now there’s Josh the Earnest pulling our legs for fun and profit. Where do they find these guys? Do they place ads in newspapers that read: “Wanted: Presidential Press Secretary who is at ease lying, equivocating, dodging direct questions, and leaving the White House press corps and others wondering what questions had been asked. Must have wardrobe of Saville Row suits and college degree in English and communications. Salary and fringe benefits negotiable.”

  • MrUniteUs1

    He misspoke and said 57 states instead of 47 states, 6 years ago and right wingers still going bonkers.

    • Gee

      Tell us that in Austrian

    • http://sultanknish.blogspot.com Daniel Greenfield

      Tell me you would have forgotten it if Bush had said it…

      • MrUniteUs1

        Bush said a lot of silly things and often misspoke. I have no compulsion to dwell on them.

  • MrUniteUs1

    Every high school player know it’s possible to move from JV to Varsity. It takes time and improvement. President made the comment before the Iraqi Army fled leaving behind a bunch of American made weapons for ISIS, and access to banks. I read they got over billion dollars from banks. No question this boosted capabilities. Netanyahu helped recruit more money and fighters for ISIS every time he blew up Palestinian women and children.

    • Gee

      No stupid – Israel is the only one reducing the number of terrorists. But leftist morons are too stupid to know that

    • http://sultanknish.blogspot.com Daniel Greenfield

      If someone goes from JV to Kobe in a few months, it’s probably because you weren’t paying attention to how good he was.

    • Pete

      - Obama makes his Jayvee wisecrack on January 19, 2014
      - ISIS takes Mosul on June 11, 2014

      - There is less than 5 months between Obama’s flip remark and ISIS operation.

      What were they doing in those 4 1/2 months? Planning and positioning troops. Obama might have known this if he attended intelligence briefings on a more regular basis.

      Some of us follow good sites like Long War Journal and saw the fighting this spring at Ramadi, where an armor column got cut up and overrun. and other places. That is serious shat and Obama just sat their with his thumb …

    • Captlee

      Come on, it was a stupid flippant comment that no professional would have made. Why defend it.

    • iluvisrael

      I’m sure it’s perfectly ok for hamas to kill hundreds of its own and for syria to massacre over 160,000 syrians. A$$holes like you are only interested when Jews are involved – dunce.

      • MrUniteUs1

        Now if you really loved Israel. You would not be ashamed to show your face. And if you could counter something I wrote you would have.

  • Hard Little Machine

    “President Obama is high and somewhat functionally retarded. We tend to ignore most of what he says.”

    - Jen Psaki, State Department Spokeswoman.

  • William

    ISIS is nothing more than the new ‘al qaeda’, Obama’s latest bogeyman which he uses to scare people into supporting his war on terror.

    • Gee

      Tell that to the tens of thousands of people that they murdered. Yell really loud because they are dead and can’t hear you

      • Pete

        William could not come up with a TOE of ISIS to save his life.
        He could not compare TOEs to see which side may prevail. It is all beautiful unicorn farts and rainbows to him.

        en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_organization_and_equipment

    • Pete

      With a in your face or deluded post like that I want to ping you.

      What kind of dumbf_ck are you?

  • Gee

    I think the JV part is the Racist-In-Chief.

  • tickletik

    Local land dispute? They have taken over half of two damn countries! When are people going to figure out that the fix is in?? These animals are setting all of us up for a fall

    • Pete

      You must read a lot. Local land dispute is how the taqiyya babes & trolls usually explain away Muslim violence.

  • MrUniteUs1

    Feel better now?

  • MrUniteUs1

    The number of states he visited during the campaign.
    Anyone that needs to believe a Harvard grad from the 50th state, running for President, doesn’t know that there are 50 states, says a lot more about them than Mr. Obama.