Posted on 05/05/2010 3:29:47 PM PDT by kcvl
Though his agency was charged with coordinating the federal response to the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Department of the Interior chief of staff Tom Strickland was in the Grand Canyon with his wife last week participating in activities that included white-water rafting, ABC News has learned.
Other leaders of the Interior Department were focused on the Gulf, joined by other agencies and literally thousands of other employees. But Strickland’s participation in a trip that administration officials insisted was “work-focused” raised eyebrows among other Obama administration officials and even within even his own department, sources told ABC News.
Strickland, who also serves as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, was in the Grand Canyon with his wife Beth for a total of three days, including one day of rafting. Beth Strickland paid her own way, Obama administration officials said.
The Stricklands departed for the Grand Canyon three days after the leaks in the Deepwater Horizon pipeline were discovered. Ultimately, after the government realized that the spill was worse than had been previously thought, officials decided that Strickland was needed in the Gulf so Strickland was taken out of the Grand Canyon by a National Park Service helicopter.
One government official, asking for anonymity because of the political sensitivities involved, told ABC News that some Interior Department employees thought it was “irresponsible” for Strickland to have gone on the trip, given the crisis in the Gulf, which was fully apparent at the time he departed for the Grand Canyon.
When asked about Strickland’s trip, Interior Department press secretary Kendra Barkoff told ABC News that “the federal government has been all over this issue from day one in a unified coordinated response.”
Oh, no she didn't!? Does the current administration realize that, by making all their spokesmen repeat the same line for the media, they sound like members of a cult? And it sounds even more cult-like a defensive response, now that we learn that DOI Chief of Staff was off on a rafting vacation with his wife while the oil spill grew worse.
We'll have to wait and see if this story makes it off the blog and onto ABC Nightly News. Don't anybody hold their breath while we wait for that, though.
Just following the example of his boss, Bozo the WH clown.
“
The Stricklands departed for the Grand Canyon three days after the
leaks in the Deepwater Horizon pipeline were discovered.
“
“Strickland, you’re doing a hell of a job!”
If Strickland isn’t sent packing, Obama is effectively saying that.
Don’t f*ck with Barry’s Monkeys.
“
One government official, asking for anonymity because of the political
sensitivities involved, told ABC News that some Interior Department employees
thought it was “irresponsible” for Strickland to have gone on the trip,
given the crisis in the Gulf, which was fully apparent at the time he
departed for the Grand Canyon.
“
One does wonder if Mr. Strickland is a blind deaf-mute hired under the
American With Disabilities Act.
(My apologies to anyone suffering from those conditions; it’s just
sad when our government officials not suffering from those conditions
act as though they are afflicted with them.)
“Very nice. I’m going to be watching you.”
Sam Kinison teaches class...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6JLHZ3eJZs
I miss the 80’s / Reagan!!!
Kendra Barkoff comes to the Department of the Interior from the office of Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), where she served as press secretary. Before joining Casey’s staff, she served as the Democratic Media Coordinator for the Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader, Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Before working for Senator Durbin, Barkoff worked at KRON-TV in San Francisco and in the press offices of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA). Barkoff has a B.A. from Washington University.
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