During a telephone interview on MSNBC today Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) failed to reconcile the hypocrisy inherent in Republican criticisms of President Obama’s allegedly soft or slow reaction to the attempted attack on flight 253. As MSNBC’s Milissa Rehberger pointed out, then-President George W. Bush took six days to issue a response to shoe bomber Richard Reid’s failed attack in 2001 — far longer than President Obama took to address flight 253.
Plus, Reid had a trial in civilian court — though Republicans have jumped all over the Obama administration for not trying Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in a military tribunal.
After stammering momentarily to Rehberger’s question about the apparent double standard, Rep. Conaway offered an answer that didn’t address the question:
Well, I didn’t come out immediately and criticize the president. He has said let’s do this review. There’s some other steps he can take. … Let’s look forward to what we ought to be doing, and we can spend all the time we want to looking backwards, whether you want to criticize Bush or whatever. The truth of the matter is, there are active jihadists at work right now trying to come hurt and kill Americans.
