Jake Tapper of ABC News has the best take I’ve seen so far on Barack Obama’s Auchwitz-Buchenwald mix-up: Obama deserved to be called out on his mistake, but something is off in the GOP/conservative response and the media needs to keep in mind the bigger picture.
I am certainly part of the media world that pounces on politicians when they screw-up. As such, I’m often guilty as charged when it comes to not seeing the forest for the trees. In this instance, the forest is the deliberate extermination of 12 million people. And the sacrifices of the brave Americans who risked and gave their lives to save those people victimized by Nazi barbarism. Not to mention our fighting men and women through the generations who have had to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a conversation about which prompted Obama to mention his great uncle.
In particular, Tapper called out the headline and combination of graphics used in this Washington Post blog post.
No matter where you stand, I guess I just don’t particularly care to see Concentration Camp survivors on the same page as cartoon Pinnochios. … And do we really need the headline “Where In the World Is Auschwitz?” This isn’t a joke.
Plus, Tapper throws in a good bonus question: Considering all of his efforts to connect with the Jewish community, why hasn’t Obama mentioned his great uncle’s role in World War II before?
