Really? The Times on Obama's 'Buck-Stops-Here Philosophy'
President Obama provided some conservative belly laughs telling an audience of high school graduates in Kalamazoo, Michigan: "Don't make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes."
This from a president who has blamed the last administration (and the Republican Party in general) for various economic and regulatory failures under his watch.
This should have been an easy target for White House reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, but she whiffed, even signing on to Obama's "buck-stops-here philosophy" in Tuesday's "Obama Gives Students a Principle to Guide Them."
President Obama has been telling the nation that he takes responsibility for cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, he imparted his buck-stops-here philosophy to an audience of high school graduates, telling them: "Don't make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes. Take responsibility where you fall short as well."
Here are just a few of Obama's blame-shifts, courtesy of Senate Republicans:
"When I Showed Up After Inauguration, They Had Left A Big Mess On The Floor. So I Got A Mop, And I Started Cleaning Up Their Mess." (President Obama, Remarks, Norfolk, VA, 10/27/09)
"By Any Measure, My Administration Inherited A Fiscal Disaster." (President Obama, Remarks, 3/4/09)
"Now, If We Had Taken Office In Ordinary Times, I Would Have Liked Nothing More Than To Start Bringing Down The Deficit. But We Took Office Amid A Crisis." (President Obama, State Of The Union Address, 1/27/10)
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