Please no drama, President Obama...

President Obama told a real doozy today...

For all of the defending of President Obama I've cheerfully done, there are a growing number of instances when I just want to shake him. Listening to today's appearance before the media at the White House, I heard him describe the cut in pay that the janitors of the would be experiencing almost immediately.

President Obama's comment:

“Starting tomorrow everybody here, all the folks who are cleaning the floors at the Capitol. Now that Congress has left, somebody’s going to be vacuuming and cleaning those floors and throwing out the garbage. They’re going to have less pay. The janitors, the security guards, they just got a pay cut, and they’ve got to figure out how to manage that. That’s real.”

Uh, no Mister President, it's not real...

Let's bring in the Washington Post who dubbed it "4 Pinocchios" (which isn't good). The Post takes a good look at the claim and provides supporting evidence why it wasn't true. In summary, the paper says:

"Obama’s remarks continue the administration’s pattern of overstating the potential impact of the sequester, which we have explored this week. But this error is particularly bad--and nerve-wracking to the janitors and security guards who were misled by the president’s comments.

We originally thought this was maybe a Two Pinocchio rating, but in light of the AOC memo and the confirmation that security guards will not face a pay cut, nothing in Obama’s statement came close to being correct."

I understand why he went there. Paint a sad picture of the humblest White House employees, taking a financial hit, etc. How many people really check the accuracy of a statement like that? Enough do that it shouldn't pass your lips unless you know for a fact, its true. There were other ways to make your point, you didn't need to exaggerate or embellish something. Especially when the Right has been bitching about you and your team doing that exact same thing over the last few weeks. 

There are times when I truly think the Obama Administration is tone deaf. 

President Obama and his staff need a reality check. The game of "out spin the other side" is not an attractive one for them to be engaging in. Perhaps the argument is that in the first four year, Obama tried often to take the high road and repeatedly look weak doing so and it earned him rather little in return. So, this time, after his re-election, perhaps a "we can play this game too" strategy seems right. Except that its not.

Barack Obama should remember that relatively speaking, the American people like him, while they hate Congress' guts. By all means, make your case. Even dare to be a bit passionate while doing so. Remember, you're the "no drama" guy, right?

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/sequester-spin-obamas-incorrect-claim-of-capitol-janitors-receiving-a-pay-cut/2013/03/01/3407535c-82a9-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_blog.html?hpid=z1