"First of all, Steele is being disingenuous in making it seem like yesterday was the first time Obama commented on the attack. In fact, one of conservatives’ main criticisms was that President Obama waited 72 hours before publicly commenting on the incident (even though he had been actively consulting with his national security experts, who were speaking with the press). So Obama publicly spoke about the attack in under six days — which Steele deemed appropriate in Bush’s case."
"Second, Steele said a President should not comment “without being very clear the direction the administration wants to go on this matter.” Obama’s speech yesterday was intended to report on the findings of the ongoing investigations by his counterterrorism and homeland security advisers — something that couldn’t have been done on Christmas Day."
"Finally, when President Bush did eventually address the shoe bomber, it wasn’t with a “clear…direction” about where the administration was headed; he mentioned it only in passing, when he said that an American Airlines flight attendant “saw something amiss and responded.” “It’s an indication that the culture of America has shifted to one of alertness, and I’m grateful for the flight attendant’s response, as I’m sure the passengers on that airplane,” he added."
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Think Progress » Steele: Bush Was ‘Right’ To Wait Six Days To Respond To Shoe Bomber, But Obama Was Still Too Slow
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