White House Scrambles to Say Biden Doesn’t Speak for Entire Administration After Bold Libya Comments
The White House is claiming Vice President Joe Biden speaks only for himself and President Barack Obama, not the entire administration, after he said “we” weren’t aware that U.S. diplomats in Libya wanted more security.
Biden’s statement during Thursday’s vice presidential debate that “we weren’t told they wanted more security there” was directly at odds with the State Department, which acknowledged it received multiple requests for increased security prior to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
A top White House official told Foreign Policy magazine Friday that neither Obama nor Biden were aware of the requests and that Biden does not speak for the entire administration:
The Cable asked Deputy National Security Advisor for Communications Ben Rhodes whether Biden was speaking for the entire Obama administration, including the State Department, which acknowledged receiving multiple requests for more Libya security in the months before the attacks. Rhodes said that Biden speaks only for himself and the president and neither of them knew about the requests at the time.
The State Department security officials who testified before House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s panel Wednesday never said they had made their requests to the president, Rhodes pointed out. That would be natural because the State Department is responsible for diplomatic security, not the White House, he said. Rhodes also pointed out that the officials were requesting more security in Tripoli, not Benghazi.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Friday blasted Biden’s answer and accused him of “doubling down on denial.”
“The vice president directly contradicted the sworn testimony of State Department officials,” Romney said. “He’s doubling down on denial. And we need to understand exactly what happened as opposed to just have people brush this aside. When the vice president of the United States directly contradicts the testimony, sworn testimony, of State Department officials, American citizens have a right to know just what’s going on.”
Later on Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney also made to separate Biden’s comments from the administration Friday as well.
“The vice president was speaking about himself and the president and the White House. He was not referring to the administration, clearly, since there was a public hearing for four-and-a-half hours where it was discussed openly by individuals working at the State Department requests that were made,” Carney told reporters. “He was speaking about himself and the president and the White House.”
But even that explanation has potential problems, as one YouTube commenter noted:
Does Jay Carney understand what he just said? He’s trying to say that the US Commander and Chief did not have the information that is critical to National Security for more than a week after they FALSELY told the world that what evolved into a global uprising was because of a poorly made video about Muhammad loaded into Youtube that only had a few hundred views at the time. That’s a wee scary eh?
This post has been updated since it was first published to add comments from Mitt Romney and Jay Carney.
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Comments (172)
Brad Wesselmann
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:32pm—-”The White House is claiming Vice President Joe Biden speaks only for himself and President Barack Obama”—-
Biden is second in command of the Executive Branch of our government of which the State Department resides within. If the first and second in command doesn’t speak for the organization then who does? Who is running this Micky Mouse organization that is calling it our leadership?
These people are woefully incompetent and need to be replaced…the buck never stops it just gets handed out over and over again until the next crisis occurs.
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beekeeper
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:56pmMakes perfect sense to me, this is the same administration that initiated a law enforcement operation involving the transporting of assault weapons across our borders into Mexico and neither Eric Holder’s office nor ANYONE in the Mexican government knew anything about it.
The much-celebrated ‘Biden victory’ last night is falling apart fast… Which isn’t surprising, remember 4 years ago he barely held his own against Palin, a person described by the Left as incompetent and ignorant.
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Justus39
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:03pmIt is possible because the President hasnt attended a Security Briefing in months according to rumors. He is too busy politicking and playing golf for such small matters to interfere.
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blackyb
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:05pmThe Communists, Marxists, and Socialists have been running the Administration, along with the spineless, treasonous suckups who will not stand for the American Republic and that for which she stands.
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Jezreel
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:13pmObama didn’t attend security briefings because he don’t care about the lives of Americans and he is a traitor and a muslim. Wake up people! It will not be long when what he sows he will reap. Just as he has been responsible for the deaths of Americans, death will come his way from the Muslim brotherhood. Only on that day when the muslim brotherhood sticks the knife in his back will he realize that he is getting what he deserves.
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johnjamison
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:38pmWhat the liberal quote do you want this inexperienced uneducated halfwit a heartbeat awy from the presidency
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RightWingLeftyGolfer
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:53pmDon’t forget though that it is not a crisis – it’s just a bump in the road. Maybe Mr. Obama should visit the grave sites of the four dead and see the “bumps” over their caskets!!
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AvengerK
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:11pmBiden had to lie and he had to make the lie a big one. He had no choice. He was told not to mire himself in the Benghazi situation it’s too messy. Unfortunately the lie made things worse for him and his boss.
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ginger100
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:51pmAnd Sarah Palin is a crazy whacked out woman?
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doomytram
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:53pmObozo the clown and The Joker Clown are the laughing stock of the universe….. These clowns are are going to struggle to win 4 or 5 states this year. LOL. The communist democrat party has been rapped of it’s conservative democrats.. These rape victims, these broke back mountain democrats, have MITT Stickers on the back of their Buick, Oldsmobile’s, and Caddy’s.This is the democrat party of Marxist’s. These CA, NY, and IL
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nzkiwi
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:08pmI agree, Brad.
It is ludcrous to suggest that the vice president does not speak for the administration. He is the second highest ranking member of the administration and the potential leader of the free world (well, not any more, hopefully).
The Obama administration is caught in a huge lie and can find no way to extricate itself. It was a blatant attempt to subvert the first amendment, an Islamic initiative which the president clearly supports, and it has blown up in their faces.
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Michael61
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:15pmEven if nobody in the White House knew anything (given their total incompetence, I may believe it), Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rise work for the State Department, they definitely knew everything, and they lied, and lied, and lied…
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harvbell
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:33pmIt is very interesting that Bush was blamed repeatedly for WMD .”Bush lied, people died.’ He was relying on all of his advisors and acted accordingly, but when this administration lied and people died in Lybia it’s a big pass by the mainstream media.
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Porkchop_sw
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:38pmI couldn’t even stomach watching this after 15 minutes, the “ignorant grinning idiot” made me sick. What a moron, and this guy is second in charge, lets hope someone doesn’t do the unthinkable and put Joe Baffoon at the helm!
“When a wise person debates with a fool, the fool rages and laughs, and there is no peace and quiet.” Proverbs 29:9
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Mulder1
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 5:06pmObama is throwing Hillary under the bus. Let’s see how she reacts to that. Hillary has already stated that the State department knew from day one that the Libyan attack was a terrorist act and not a spontaneous reaction to the anti_Muhammad video. The plot thickens.
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Claus
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 5:38pmVP Biden kept demanding that his opponents step up and take responsibility for something. Wow – how many scapegoats did VP Biden dump on to cover his and his boss’s time in office, even just the last 4 weeks – they do have a record now that the campaign lawyers can not hide – and yes, they did build that.
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Hiswill
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 6:44pmMaybe Obama should start attending those security briefings.
Vote this bunch out of our house.
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damon_k
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 6:46pmApparently no one in the adminsitration speaks for them. Read political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 6:51pmDAMON: Have you ever considered actually purchasing some advertising space instead of mooching off The Blaze?
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Wolfgang the Gray
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 6:55pm“It’s almost over for them now, Larry. Can you feel it?” – Glenn Bateman – The Stand.
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dwilco77
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 8:48pmFor 6 days they had him sequestered to try to fill his brain full of talking points. He is saying the same thing Jay Carney was saying, and the same thing Obama was saying two weeks after the event to the UN. Now they are disavowing what he said in the debate. When does the right hand talk to the left in this Administration, and don’t they realize that video is forever, and that they will be accountable for what they say today tomorrow. They think the American people are too stupid to follow events from one day to the next. I am sure that the lady who got clocked in the jaw on the bus will vote for Obama if she wakes up in time to vote, but the majority of Americans are going to wake up before this election.
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RANGER1965
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:31pm“The trouble ain’t that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain’t distributed right.”
Mark Twain
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Think_4_yourself
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:30pmThere is a much bigger issue behind this tragedy. Amb Stevens was in a dangerous part of Libya unprotected at midnight. There is a coverup happening. Thats why so many different versions are going on.
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Gary_K
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:37pmThe cover up is many times worse than Nixon’s Watergate. This clearly shows how corrupt the administration and the media are.
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Think_4_yourself
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:47pmMy guess is that Stevens was meeting with the “rebels” to try and get back the weapons supplied by the US Government, things didn’t go so well. It would look pretty bad if it came to light that Obama supplied weapons to the middle east camel jockies right before the election? Makes you wonder….
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Gary_K
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:55pmHow this has “gone down” makes me wonder if Stevens was a political hit.
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Dismayed Veteran
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:30pmWow, the Vice President of the United States of America, the second most powerful person in our government, speaks only for himself. He doesn’t represent the current administration. I guess that means everything he said Thursday night was his personal opinion and does not represent any of the views of President Obama.
Biden is a damn idiot and clearly a liar.
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LeadNotFollow
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:30pm.
I don’t think Obama and Biden hardly ever speak to each other.
When you rarely see them together, they seem to have seething hate and loathing for each other.
You don’t see that with Romney and Ryan. They have a close relationship. You can tell Romney and Ryan are on the same page, and that they genuinely like each other.
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blackyb
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:30pmThey are rarely seen together for security reasons for the most part. They are a drag on each other, for sure. There is so much going on that it is reasonable for them to stay apart because there are nuts out there who would try to put them together for harm. They are so bad that Biden is too crazy to be a President, they could oust him on that alone, probably, and just think how they got it lined up for Nancy Pelosi to come in. I was taught that the Sec. of State would take over if the Pres. and VP were unable to perform their duties, but they got it different somehow, probably it affords them more safety from the nuts, or from someone taking a chance that Pelosi would hold the reins and that would deter anyone from acting like some off the wall destroyer of human beings. The times are-a-changing. It may not get any better for yet a while.
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huey6367
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:24pmSuccession for the Presidencey is:
1 Vice President of the United States
2 Speaker of the House
3 President pro tempore of the Senate
4 Secretary of State
5 Secretary of the Treasury
6 Secretary of Defense
7 Attorney General
8 Secretary of the Interior
9 Secretary of Agriculture
10 Acting Secretary of Commerce
11 Secretary of Labor
12 Secretary of Health and Human Services
13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14 Secretary of Transportation
15 Secretary of Energy
16 Secretary of Education
17 Secretary of Veterans
18 Secretary of Homeland Security
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Vickie Dhaene
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:29pmHe is exactly the representative for this whole administration. We will not let any of you forget this administration will go down in History as the worst in in all our years as a REPUBLIC.
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The-Monk
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:28pm“The White House is claiming Vice President Joe Biden speaks only for himself and President Barack Obama, not the entire administration, after he said “we” weren’t aware that U.S. diplomats in Libya wanted more security.”
Translation…. “We knew all about it and didn’t tell Biden and Obama.”
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:53pmHi MONK, I think it is like this,”That’s Uncle Joe, he’s moving kind of slow….at Centre College…”
Hmmmm, wasn’t there another well known leader who was also known to his public as Uncle Joe? Its on the tip of my tongue…..ummm…..oh yeah, Uncle Joe Stalin.
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Gary_K
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:26pmDreams from my Real Father is available for streaming on netflix.com
It is a must watch if you can.
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jetmech568
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:24pmWell then the problem is if they were to go to the “security” briefing everyday they would know what is going on. I think that is as much as a problem as not tell the truth. There is no excuse for this bunch.
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smokeysmoke
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:22pmi believe that biden was speaking truthfully… and as being 2nd in charge he should have had information about what happened during the terrorist attacks relitivly quick… bidens responses are those of the administration
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godlovinmom
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:27pmHow about the first in charge…he didn’t know anything either…scheduling conflict with “the view”.
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Peraslax
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:43pmEasily understandable why Biden was clueless on this one. Watch the hearing. Nordstrum while commenting on how he fought a losing battle to get more security stated You cant have a cookie cutter security policy. Can’t believe no one picked up on that as Mrs Lamb stated more than once that she did nothing wrong as they handled Security numbers exactly like they did in other embassies. This isw endemic of a large central planning government ahd shows a real difference in the Democrats and Republicans.It has been shown over and over that a one plan fits all ideology does not work, but Dems hang onto this idea, giving us Obamacare and culminating in the deaths of 4 patriots. So sure, Biden didnt know about it. There was a system set up and Lamb made sure it ran. No need for oversight. All was centrally planned and working wonderfully.
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momrules
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:21pmIt seems that no one in this administration has a clue what anyone else in this administration is doing or saying.
It would be nice to have a President that took responsibility for his White House decisions and actions. Instead we have had a whining petulant child accepting accolades not due him and laying blame on others when he is at fault.
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Vickie Dhaene
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:27pmCouldn’t have said it any better.
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godlovinmom
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:28pmThats what we get for “hiring” a community organizer!
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chopped_bug
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:20pmThe buck stop THERE!
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RightWingLeftyGolfer
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 7:59pmActually, the plug nickel stops 11/6/12!!
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woodyee
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:19pmThe Fit has Hit the Shan!
Thank you, Joe Biden, for this self-inflicted coup de gras on your re-election prospects!
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HKS
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:18pmIt would appear that Biden is lying and someone is falling on a sword for him and Obama.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:01pmAgreed. If #1 and #2 don’t know what is going on, then who does? I don’t believe, for a second, that Biden did not know they asked for security repeatedly. That’s what security briefings are about. Obama knew, too, unless he skipped out on all security briefings like I heard he does. His pay needs to be docked, because he is NOT doing the work we are paying him to do. Cancel the rest of his vacation time, chain him to the White House before anymore people get killed. If Owebama didn’t know, then Valerie sure as hell DID! And she could have, should have, told him. Gross incompetence.
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carolewash
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:04pmHillary knew and can’t trust Obama so she does things on her own. Valery tells Obama what he can and can’t do so Hillary skirts that problem.
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Frodo RinosBane
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:17pmOh, yes he does.
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honor007
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:17pmIt is seriously time to vote the kids out of the White House.
No one wants to take responsibility for anything.
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eaglesview
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:16pmetohasketch – how many specifics did you/we get from Bam on “hope and change”, and more critically “fundamentally transform the country”?.
NONE !, and you fell for it.
Look at what it’s got us now.
Why weren’t you asking questions 4 yrs ago goof ?.
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godlovinmom
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:20pmWhy isn’t he asking questions NOW?
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TSUNAMI_22
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:14pmO.K., then what part of the administration does #2 speak for?
The liars can’t even coordinate their own lies?
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.
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Lachoneous
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:11pmSo these are the kind of things Obama missed in all those security briefings. So they are completely incompetent and unqualified for the offices they hold, our once again showing that they are pathological liars.
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godlovinmom
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:17pmMaybe if Obama got off the campaign trail or vacations or the view or….
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:11pmTo team Obama – too little, too late. Biden has done a wonderful job of melting down the left position in the most excellent of ways.
Come November, adios El Presidente. El fin.
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TimPatriot
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:10pmThe inmates are running the asylum…..
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bullcrapbuster
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:07pmSo in other words “we admit that Biden was lying’
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Bobj_1960
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:07pmQUOTE: Politics
The White House is claiming Vice President Joe Biden speaks only for himself and President Barack Obama, not the entire administration, after he said “we” weren’t aware that U.S. diplomats in Libya wanted more security.
If Obama and Biden are not the White House, who is the real administration? Are not they the bosses?
Please forgive my ignorance.
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TimPatriot
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:11pmFollow the money….Soros is the man you are seeking…
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EtchASketch
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:05pmNo specifics from Ryan on what he would cut, and which loopholes he would close. NONE. Pressed by the moderator…still…zip, zilch, none. “Trust us,” he says.
Follow the wolf, little lambs. You deserve what you get!
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SREGN
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:11pmObama/Biden has released their plan: tax the hard-working and give it away to the non-working.
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coachd_34205
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:14pmyes, just like hope and change was so specific to what this lame a$$ president gave us when he was running..He still hasn’t given us his plan, come on now kool-aid drinker…whats his plan…hmmmmm..let me go look it up at media matters….please at least know what the heck you are trying to say..when we haven’t had specifics from the president for over 4 years now…move along little obummer, move along…
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U.N.hater
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:19pmHe said they would work with congress on wich tax cuts to get rid of. You have a hearing problem? Your also off topic commi. Valerie Jarret runs our country NOT obama. Now go back to russia commi….
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godlovinmom
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:20pmWOLF????…umm the only Wolf I saw last night…was the laughing hyena!
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The-Monk
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:27pmLooks like wango has invited his boyfriend, EtchASketch, to post….
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Eastinfection
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:41pmCheck it out Monk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqa9dON2Dpk
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RightWingLeftyGolfer
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:59pmYo Sketch – are you kin to Stephanie Cutter, Robert Gibbs, Jay Carney or Allan Colmes?
SSDD —– look a donkey – deflect, defend, deny!!
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:05pmEAST, more like ETCHASKETCH, has gone all WETSU over this one. Hmmmm, any chance he may be one and same as the ‘artist’?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k3FRCIDbco&feature=related
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The-Monk
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:07pmI remember that commercial East…. LOL
I was in High School then and had given my Etch-a-Sketch’s to younger siblings.
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Eastinfection
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:25pmHey Monk and RJ…
i loved my etch-a-sketch until my little brother dismantled it to see how it worked… he builds custom furniture now…
nice video RJ…. nobody should be THAT good at anything.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:40pmEASTINFECTION, I think our very own ETCHASKETCH and George might be one and the same. There is also an Etch A Sketch blog out there that just slobbers all over 0bama and his administration. There are no coincidences.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 2:43pmEASTINFECTION, LOL, forgot to mention that I had a family friend who was a couple of years younger than me back when I was still a kid. He took his Etch A Sketch apart on the carpeted floor in his room. I thought his mom was going to kill him.
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team1blazer
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:02pmAnd how’s that hope and change working out for you? Just what specifics did Obumbler give about how he was going to “fundamentally change America”? ANSWER – 1 cut the deficit in half, 2 close gitmo, 3 be the most transparant administration in history 4 search for bipartisan solutions to all problems 5 open all debates to the media 6 cut unemployment to under 6%…..and the results in each specific are dismal failures and lies; 8 +% unemployment, gitmo still open (thankfully), the most closed door, deceitful administration of all times, obummer care railroaded thru without ANY input from republicans, fast and furious, 940 executive orders, US embassy burned and ambassador killed……..and you want 4 more years of this moron? Wake up idiot.
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EtchASketch
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 3:02pm@coachd_34205, you’re correct. “hope and change” was not specific either. Glad to see that you understand libs/cons are one in the same.
Seriously! Look at 2008, the Obama base. Lapping up the vagueness. Look at the Romney base, lapping up the vagueness. Romney is a shapeshifter too. So NOT conservative.
But you don’t care. You’re too much of a dumdum.
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floridareader
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 5:41pm@ Etchasketch
You liberals and ignorant independents followed the Marxist that disguised himself in hope and change, and this is what we all got: a country near bankruptcy, Americans divided, our basic rights in danger and the American dream turning into a nightmare.
Maybe you are living out on Obama’s money, Obama’s phone, Obama’s rent.
WE THE PEOPLE who really love America hope to change this course on Nov. 6th.
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JeffJ1985
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:04pmIf Obama and Biden don’t know about security situations happening at our embassies, I’m even more concerned than I was when I thought it was “just” negligence. Who is running things over there?
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U.N.hater
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:14pmValerie Jarret?
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toemas63
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 1:31pmRemember, the President doesn’t attend his security briefings.
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Walkabout
Posted on October 12, 2012 at 5:44pmValerie Jarret has led a relative affluent life from birth. She is tied in with the Chicago machine that sees to it that she stays affluent. She is out of touch with reality.
Still it is better for to run things than Obama. She is no doubt smarter than a man, who is lost without TOTUS.
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RedManWalking
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 6:48pmTOEMAS63 hits it right on, if the top dogs (and I mean dogs) do not hear from the Intelligence Community of what is hot then they stay cold. outside and out of touch.
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