Earlier today, according to several center-right and zero establishment press outlets thus far (based on an appropriate Google News search done just before 5 PM ET), White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that President Obama was only speaking "colloquially" when he told hecklers in an audience in Chicago last week that "I took action to change the law" in his November 20 announcement on immigration.
Video follows the jump (HT National Review):
Transcript, in which Major Garrett, to his credit, makes Earnest own his nonsense:
MAJOR GARRETT: Tuesday when the President was getting some blowback from the audience in Chicago during his immigration remarks, at one point he said, "I just took action to change the law."
Did the President misspeak in a moment of, uh, passion, to try to calm the crowd? Or does he fundamentally, do you fundamentally believe that he has taken action to change the law?
JOSH EARNEST: I think that he was speaking colloquially. That what he has put in place — uh, meaning that, obviously — well, no meaning that the, uh, that it’s the responsibility of the United States Congress to pass laws, and it’s the responsibility of the executive branch to implement and enforce them. Um, so, I guess my point is -
GARRETT: So what does he mean when he said, "I just took action to change the law"?
EARNEST: Well, I think the impact of the law certainly has been changed, in terms of the way that it affects, you know, millions of people who are in this country. And I think that’s what the president was alluding to.
GARRETT: So he does not literally mean he changed the law.
EARNEST: Well, again I think that he was speaking colloquially, colloquially there. Say that five times fast. Maybe, maybe I'll stop saying it.
Good idea, Josh, because it's a load of hooey. Garrett doesn't really believe it; nor does anyone else.
In Chicago, Obama admitted that he did what he said couldn't do on 22 previous occasions.
This type of contradiction, especially one which is clearly being claimed as a non-reversal in the face of all available evidence, would be the subject of nearly immediate saturation coverage in a Republican or conservative administration. The forecast here is for establishment press crickets.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
