As of 9:15 p.m. (saved here for future reference), the home page at Politico had no story on developments in Egypt, even though story teases on unrelated matters from Thursday and Friday were still present. A browser search on "Egypt" within the home page came back empty. As millions protest in Egypt, some claiming in banners that "Obama Supports Terrorism, the most important story this evening is "5 messaging challenges for Obamacare."
In Jennifer Epstein's latest story about President Obama's African adventure, it almost seemed as if Egypt isn't on the African continent:
Obama: U.S. must 'up our game' on Africa
President Barack Obama recalled his own political awakening Sunday as he sought to inspire the young Africans he addressed Sunday in South Africa.
Speaking at the University of Cape Town, where Robert F. Kennedy gave his “ripples of hope” speech, Obama urged Africans to push for change and promised the assistance of the United States.
Ailing former South African president Nelson Mandela inspired Obama to "make choices that reflect not our fears but our hopes," and to live out that vision, he said, "I'm calling for America to up our game when it comes to Africa."
Calling for more partnerships rather than foreign aid, and efforts to teach farmers to produce more rather than delivering food to Africans, Obama said the United States wants to help Africa without intervening in internal affairs as colonizers once did. “You will always find the extended hand of a friend in the United States of America.”
One key way the Obama administration will assist is by partnering with African nations to expand access to electricity, with a project called Power Africa, which aims to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa by 2050. The administration is starting with an initial $7 billion effort to work with six countries -- Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania – over the next five years, all in the interest of helping Africans create and seize opportunities before them.
... As a teenager, Obama told a crowd of 1,100 that included many students, “I thought that cynicism, a certain ironic detachment, was a sign of wisdom, sophistication.” All that changed when he was inspired by the anti-apartheid movement and decided to get involved with fellow students at Occidental College who were pushing for the college to divest from investments in South Africa.
Last time I checked Egypt was still on the same continent as the planned electrification beneficiaries, bordered Egypt to the south -- and it still is.
Other establishment press outlets have at least taken note of the White House responses on Egypt thus far:
- The Hill -- "White House: Safety of diplomats in Egypt ‘top priority’ amid protests"
- Associated Press -- "US EYES CAIRO EMBASSY SECURITY AMID EGYPT UNREST"
- A June 29 (today's print edition) story at the New York Times included this quote from Obama: "We do not take sides in terms of who should be elected by the Egyptian people. We do take sides in terms of observing a process for democracy and the rule of law."
But not Politico, which claims to "focus relentlessly on beating our competition to the big stories, emerging trends and sharpest analysis of Congress, the White House and public policy," isn't getting any comment from anyone in Washington about what's happening in Egypt.
There was even a press gaggle with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney where Egypt came up. Crickets at the Politico, whose idea of "covering" the President means "protecting him from association with any and all bad news."
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
