In 2011 Jay Carney, White House press secretary, told reporters President Obama had never met his uncle Onyango “Omar” Obama, an illegal immigrant to the US, and a man the President wrote about in his book Dreams From My Father.
Today, Jay Carney acknowledged the President had not only met his uncle but actually stayed with him for several weeks when attending Harvard. Why this sudden admission to an act that was flatly denied 2 years ago?
During a deportation hearing for Uncle Obama recently, Omar stated under oath that the President had stayed with him after he arrived in Cambridge to attend law school while then law student Barack Obama looked for an apartment of his own.
Carney stated, “When Omar Obama said the other day, and there were reports that he said the other day, that President Obama, back when he was a law school student had stayed with him in Cambridge, I thought it was the right thing to do to go ask him,” Carney said. “Nobody had asked him in the past and he said that he in fact had met Omar Obama when he moved to Cambridge for law school, that he stayed with him for a brief period of time, until his — the president’s — apartment was ready. After that, they saw each other once every few months while the president was in Cambridge and after law school they gradually fell out of touch.”
When asked why they had said differently back in 2011 Carney confessed, “Back when this arose, folks looked at the record, including the president’s book, and there was no evidence that they had met and that was what was conveyed. Nobody spoke to the president.” Nobody spoke to the President? Well, if you didn’t speak to the president then you don’t know. The answer in 2011 should have been I don’t know if the president knows or has met Omar Obama, but I’ll check with him when I get the chance and get back to you. Right? Wouldn’t that be the proper way to handle that question without directly asking the president?
No, not with this administration. If anything comes up that looks like it could harm the reputation of this President the first rule of engagement is to deny. Just lie.
This isn’t a huge story. This isn’t an implication of guilt on the President or an indictment or a smoking gun. In fact the story is hardly worth repeating. So I don’t want to be misinterpreted as making this into something bigger than it is.
The only reason I bring it up is because it represents a consistent pattern with this administration. They are notorious now for stating untruths, which are later discovered, only to be met with a shrug and that incredulous look only Jay Carney can provide that says, “Really? You’re asking me about that? Really??
Behavioral patterns tell stories with greater depth and clarity than words ever could.
The patterns exhibited by this administration over the past five years are very concerning.
