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Pfeiffer apologizes to Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post over removal of Churchill bust
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
August 2nd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
August 2nd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer
wrote an opinion piece denouncing the Obama administration for removing a
bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office when it came to
power. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer issued a
stinging rebuke saying the allegations were "100 percent false." Proven
wrong, Pfeiffer offered a formal apology on the White House blog.
"There was clearly an internal confusion about the two busts and there was no intention to deceive. I clearly overshot the runway in my post. The point I was trying to make - under the belief that the Bust in the residence was the one previously in the Oval Office - was that this oft repeated talking point about the bust being a symbol of President Obama's failure to appreciate the special relationship is false.
"The bust that was returned was returned as a matter of course with all the other artwork that had been loaned to President Bush for display in his Oval Office and not something that President Obama or his Administration chose to do. I still think this is an important point and one I wish I had communicated better," Pfeiffer writes.
"A better understanding of the facts on my part and a couple of deep breaths at the outset would have prevented this situation. Having said all that, barring a miracle comeback from the Phillies I would like to see the Nats win a world series even if it comes after my apology," Pfeiffer then ends with his signature.
Pfeiffer's apology is seen as a welcome sign, but many others say they are not mollified by the gesture. Some say that the apology will not end the controversy over the decision by the White House to return the Churchill bust. Pfeiffer's words still have a defiant tone about them, and he categorically claims that the bust was sent back "as a matter of course." The bust's return to the British government was "not something that President Obama or his Administration chose to do."
The British newspapers The Sunday Telegraph and The Times of London ran major articles back in early 2009 revealing that British officials had made it clear to the White House that President Obama could keep the Churchill bust in the Oval Office. Some pundits feel the gesture is a deliberate snub of America's closest friend and ally, and it would be good for the White House to acknowledge the truth, rather than continue to spin a blatantly false and misleading line.
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.