Janet Napolitano’s Emily Litella moment
Yesterday Janet Napolitano was saying that the Christmas pantybomber failed because “the system worked.”
Today she’s had an Emily Litella moment:
Napolitano Reverses Course, Says Air Security Did NOT Work
In an interview Monday on NBC’s Today Show, Napolitano said her words in Sunday’s CNN interview had been “taken out of context.”
No, they weren’t. Go watch the video of yesterday’s interview.
She said the comment referred to the reaction in the 60-90 minutes after the suspect attempted to blow up the plane. Up until that point, did the system fail miserably, Matt Lauer asked. “It did,” she responded.
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“Never mind!”
UPDATE
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Tags: Emily Litella, Janet Napolitano, pantybomber, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
December 28th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
[...] day after claiming the system succeeded like clockwork, Napolitano concedes that it failed miserably, and that her comments were taken out of context. There’s still no walkback on the claim that [...]
December 28th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Eh. I think she’s probably just a Big Fat Idiot, but she’s got at least a plausible claim, here. And I’m not one predisposed to giving them credit not due.
If you listen to what she said, she did seem focused on the actions following the event, not leading up to it.
So, while I strongly suspect her to be a damnfool, I don’t think a reasonable person would infer that from this event alone.
December 28th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Yesterday nobody was asking NaPo about the response after the guy was stopped … everyone was asking how he got on the plane … if she didn’t make a point of saying that the system worked AFTER the guy was stopped (and she didn’t) then she loses the benefit of the doubt …
typical politician, don’t answer the question asked, then claim “out of context” when caught …
we are witnessing a Milli Vanilli administration full of no talent hacks led by the biggest no talent hack of them all, Obama …
December 28th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
@OBh
“she’s got at least a plausible claim”
No. Given the guy (1) got a visa, (2) got on the plane, (3) with explosives, (4) which he nearly succeeded in setting off, what is unbelievable is that *anyone* could say “the system worked” in any respect.
My only explanation: She was so busy trying to get her talking points out that she wasn’t paying any attention to the flow of the interview. And she was so intent on defending her agency that she failed to realize how — ahem — “explosive” “the system worked” would be.
No-talent hack indeed.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Why did his parents name their kid “Janet” anyway?
December 28th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Don’t worry, she’s busy looking for those “right-wing extremists”… like anyone who’s ever worn a uniform in his nation’s defense.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Ahahahhahaa…if ever there was an Emily moment, Janet nailed it. Emily was benign. I am not so sure about Janet. Thanks for the laugh.
December 28th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
The government that controls the present, controls the past… (Heck of a job, you’re doing Janet.)
Former AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano, all the ugly of Janet Reno plus all the corruption of former LA Gov. Kathleen Blanco and enough incompetence to match either of ‘em.
December 28th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Off to the unemployment for you.
December 28th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Out of context? In what context would the answer “No” in response to the question “Did the system work?” mean anything different?
January 5th, 2010 at 8:42 am
[...] “Never mind!” [...]