jsteele wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that if President Obama is so confident in the ability to screen and vet the refugees, he needs to convince the American people.
He needs to address the American people in a serious manner, explain the vetting process in detail, and explain the criteria for the refugees that the US will accept.
He has not done this. Having his spokespeople go out to the media and say that we have “robust screening procedures” is not enough.
In other words, he needs to lead.
Instead, he chooses to criticize and demonize (in a sarcastic manner) those who disagree with him. This is not appropriate and certainly not helpful. And, it makes the American people doubt his words. They just don’t believe him, especially when he talks in this manner.
People get angry, scared, and panic with a lack of information. His administration has not handled this crisis well.
This is a reasonable approach. The administration is meeting with Congressional leadership today, I believe. Maybe Obama will follow-up with an address or press conference to assure the American people.
Think back to the ebola scar. Lots of people -- including many DCUM posters -- were convinced that we had to close the borders immediately or we would all die from ebola. Administration officials testified that there would not be a major outbreak in the US. Critics jumped all over them. Anything Obama said was ridiculed. In the end, Obama proved to have been correct, though is critics will never give him credit for it. I have a lot of doubts that this time would be different.