President Obama has earned criticism from members of his own party over his comments Monday about the terrorist attacks in Paris. The Hill,
Influential liberal columnists and Democratic strategists say Obama came off as condescending and scornful during his press conference in Antalya, Turkey — missing an opportunity to show strength and leadership in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“I don’t want him shooting from the hip and making empty threats, but I think he could have done a better job in articulating the anger that many people feel toward what happened in not only Paris, but Beirut as well,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley, a former adviser to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
“What happened in Paris and in Beirut is going to require an aggressive response.”
Those comments echoed Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson’s assessment that Obama’s tone “was all wrong” in addressing the Paris attacks.
Typically an Obama ally, Robinson in a column published on Tuesday wrote that “at times he was patronizing, at other times he seemed annoyed and almost dismissive.”
“That’s not the tone you want to strike to the public, that’s not the tone you want to send to our allies and enemies,” said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.
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