A point that will be remembered: Brewer vs. Obama and rudeness in politics
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer points at President Obama after he arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on Wednesday.
The President of The United States, fresh off the State of the Union speech, comes down the steps of Air Force One and waves to cheering crowds on the tarmac in Phoenix, Arizona. Right so far. But at the bottom of the steps, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer greets the president, and then appears to be aggressively wagging her finger in what looked like an exchange.
The governor has been going on the radio since to call the president “thin-skinned” and “tense” when she brought up her book on immigration. The White House said the president noted that the governor, in her book, inaccurately described a previous meeting between the two. In “Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border,” Brewer described Obama as being ``patronizing’’ and ``condescending’’ during a 2010 White House conversation about immigration. The seemingly contentious runway run-in with the president raises once more questions about civility in public life – especially in public. Rude, or forthright? Like the congressman who shouted “you lie” at the president during a joint session, the Arizona incident grabbed the headline away from the president’s policies and into the optics of the moment.
WEIGH IN:
Where’s the civility line, or should there be one in the rough and tumble of democracy?
Guest:
Hans Nichols, White House Correspondent, Bloomberg News
- Patt Morrison for January 26, 2012
- A point that will be remembered: Brewer vs. Obama and rudeness in politics
- Should grief be included in a diagnostic list of disorders?
- G-rated GPS: Microsoft’s GPS patent dubbed the “avoid ghetto” app draws ire
- LA redistricting – why it matters and is it logical or just “old school patronage politics?”
- Behind the scenes at LACMA’s Rodarte exhibit
Also on this episode
Events
Comedy Congress Live
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
7:30 p.m.
- 9 p.m.
Tickets for this event are sold out. Please email Forum Coordinator Jenny Smith at jsmith@kpcc.org to be added to the waitlist. Thank you!
The comedic material emanating from Washington D.C., and state capitols across the country, is enough to make any sitcom writer jealous, even if most of that ... » More info
