The unlikeliest of all unlikelies happened as Glenn has agreed with President Obama yet again. This time, it was White House Press Secretary Jay Carney's response to questions about the hypocrisy over Mr. 'no lobbyist' Obama giving more than 200 donors cushy government gigs.
Jay Carney told reporters, "Now, the people we have appointed, the president has appointed to key positions all have sterling academic credentials, years of public service, in the private sector, and they are imminently qualified - to which they were appointed. And I would make the point here that having enacted these ethical, high ethical standards, the highest in history and having pursued and delivered on a level of transparency that is unprecedented. It is important to note that being a supporter does not qualify you for a job or guarantee you a job, but it does not disqualify you obviously."
But one intrepid reporter asked, "And how does that square with what the president said in his announcement speech in 2007. He said the Senate and the lobbyists and the special interests have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. They get the access while you get to write the letter. He said the time for those politics is over."
"You were asking me about supporters of the president who may have been donors who have gotten positions, and I would point out to the fact that those, the people who got those positions got them because of their credentials. They also happen to be donors and in some cases there are obviously numerous and far more ‑‑ far many more cases of people who weren't donors who were appointed to jobs," he responded.
"We learn that it's just an amazing coincidence that the most qualified people also happened to be the biggest donors," Pat joked.
But Glenn could see what Carney was saying. After all, the janitor at the White House probably wasn't a big donor.
And maybe Jay Carney wasn't a donor. In fact, maybe they could give Carney's job away to a donor! "I'd rather have the paper cartoon mouse than some of the people that are working at the White House," Glenn joked.