Didn’t get the memo
White House press secretary Dana Perino has been front and center of the White House’s push to continue to label Iran a rogue state for its pursuit of uranium enrichment technology. This comes against the backdrop of a new intelligence estimate positing that the Islamic state abandoned its nuclear weapons in 2003. Turns out she doesn’t know quite so much about nuclear weapons as she supposes. And we’re not talking about Iran.
Appearing on National Public Radio’s quiz show, “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me,” this weekend, Perino admitted a story she’d previously only shared in private: When a reporter asked her a question during a White House briefing in which he referred to the Cuban Missile Crisis — she didn’t know what it was. “I was panicked a bit because I really don’t know about . . . the Cuban Missile Crisis,” said Perino, who at 35 was born about a decade after the 1962 U.S.-Soviet nuclear showdown. “It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I’m pretty sure.” The exchange was first noted in the Washington Post.
“I came home and I asked my husband,” she said on air. “I said, ‘Wasn’t that like the Bay of Pigs thing?’ And he said, ‘Oh, Dana.’ ” Perino was referring to the White House briefing held on October 26, when a reporter asked her, “Do you want to address the remarks by President Putin, who said the United States setting up a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe was like the Soviet Union putting missiles in Cuba, setting up a Cuban missile crisis?” “Well, I think that the historical comparison is not — does not exactly work,” Perino had responded.
Sigh, Oh Dana. I guess its OK, cause she shore is mighty purty.
For laughs, ask anyone under 40 about the Battle of the Bulge or the U2 Incident and see what they say.
Come on, everyone knows the U2 incident is when bono forgot his trademark sunglasses and was almost blinded by all the flash photography at a concert.
Yes, I am over 40 and no, not everyone under 40 will be ignorant of these historical events.
Typical of a credential society, zero qualifications but is well credentialed and gets the job. being purty don’t hurt either.
Tony Snow she ain’t. She looks pretty hot, though.
They like ’em dumb in Dumbya’s administration; I guess hotness is just icing on the cake.
I don’t care if some random people under the age of 40 don’t know about these events.
But it’s disturbing when the White House Press Secretary doesn’t know about these events.
#6. Exactly!!!!!
Did she go to public school or private school.
This is worse than Britney not knowing the Beatles, which was somewhat refreshing.
About 10 years ago, I was talking to a Georgetown University political science graduate. She had spent many years studying in Washington DC, and wanted to go into politics. I remember saying some joke that referenced Watergate. And all I got back from her was this blank, uncomprehending stare followed by a quizzical look.
Upon talking to her further, I was stunned when I realized she had never heard of Watergate. You know, that little 1972 burglary scandal that introduced the US to that scary hitman-wannabe Gordon Liddy, sent high level White House officials to prison, and ended President “I am not a crook” Nixon’s presidency. Now why wouldn’t Watergate be covered in a political science program’s curriculum?
Geez.. I’m younger than her, and I know about the missile crisis. And I don’t hold a job that requires me to know about historic political events.
That’s just 6th grade history class.
In other news, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is declared “Lawyer of the Year” by the Journal of the American Bar Association.
Which year of the 13th Century was not specifically mentioned in the article.
well, the bush administration has consistently had trouble with intelligence shortcomings
#9 KB – Watergate was clearly covered by Forrest Gump when he complained about the flashlights keeping him up. He did this in 1994 referring to his stay in the hotel.
Surely everyone should know about Watergate.
Dana Perino is definitely doable though…..
The other day I was talking with someone about government databases – and I said it was “Orwellian”.
And they didn’t understand me. So I said, “you know – George Orwell, he wrote 1984…”.
And they still didn’t understand me. This person graduated from University in 1998.
First rate people hire first rate people,
second rate people hire third rate people.
– Leo Rosten.
Yet another example of the dumbing-down of youth by the US Educational system. American history is ignored in the curriculum, in favor of “conflict resolution within a peer group” and other new-age liberal touchy-feely crap.
Thank the NEA for these kinds of citizens!
Kinda hard to tell from the photo, but IS SHE A BLONDE???
If so that explains everything.
Seriously:
“Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it” or something like that….
Schlitzpisser
No surprise at all that he would put a snazzy looking and maybe even administratively experienced, but intellectually and historically clueless individual up there (like himself). Typical.
George W. Bush… oh no, yet another Republican presidential boo-boo! When will these people ever get it right?
and yet she is correct in noting that GOUSA placement of defensive missles in Europe is not the same as the placement of offensive missles in Cuba.—ie many other countries in Eurasia and MiddleEast can launch missles whereas only cuba could.
So–that job of press secretary is pretty sweet. Don’t have to know anything to know that two situations seperted by 40 years and 9000 miles is not the same.
Hooo, boy. Dumb.
Any bets she took top honors in her Journalism class?
But she admitted it!
I’d Still Do Her™
@bobbo
I’m sure the Russians told their people that their missiles were also defensive, and not offensive.
Us having missiles in Europe so they’re closer to potential “targets”, is no different than Russia having missiles in Cuba to be closer to it’s potential target.
As scadragon pointed out, “Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it”. You prove that point.
For Dana, the Cuban Missile Crisis was when Bill offered a cigar to Monica in the White House.
Luckily for her the present administration is limp when it comes to ladies.
When questioned on this, her boss George Bush said, ‘ain’t never heard of it either, was that with Teddy and the Rough Riders?’.
Is that the standard now, that we are only supposed to know about the history of which we lived through?
The cuban Missile Crisis was before my time, neither history, nor foreign policy issues are part of my job, I’m kind of hot in my own early middle aged white male geek sort of way, and I still know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was.
She’s got no excuses. But at least she was forthcoming about not knowing.
Sean, the USSR was making expansionist noises at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and we had missiles in Turkey to counter the expected invasion. Remember, this was just after WWII, and Russia was still invading other countries.
Castro had also come to power recently, and was making the same sort of noises Chavez has been making, except a lot more and louder. No one could be certain just what he was going to do. They could guess, but what if they were wrong? And did he take into consideration that the US could crush him like a bug whenever we felt like it? He is a meglomaniac, not sane. A kook. No telling what he would do.
Kennedy quietly pulled the missiles out of Turkey, and most people in the US never realized they were there.
That’s really bad.
That’s as bad as when JFK was embarrassed about the graves of dead U.S. servicemen located in Russia who fought the Bolsheviks from 1918-1920. He should have known, too. Khrushchev had no problem rubbing his face in it. It angered the USSR that we pretended not to have been involved in their civil war when we apparently had no clue we were involved in their civil war.
she’s still a one on the binary scale.