The Jan Brewer/Barack Obama Incident: The Video

It doesn’t necessarily add very much to what we’ve already heard about what happen, but the Associated Press has released video of President Obama’s arrival in Arizona yesterday, and his encounter on the tarmac with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Unfortunately, the  President’s limosene was between the cameraman and where the President or Governor were standing when the encounter took place so we don’t get to see anything more than what the photograph shows:

Nonetheless, it brings to mind Brewer’s description of the incident:

“I was trying to be very gracious to [Obama] and he just reacted in just a very negative manor of which took me back – kind of left me breathless to tell you the truth,” Brewer said Wednesday night.”I had written a hand-written note to him to deliver, welcoming him to Arizona and to thank him for being here and gave him the letter and he immediately took umbrage if you will with the book that I wrote ‘Scorpions for Breakfast’ and was somewhat disgruntled.”

For whatever it’s worth, when the President emerges from behind the limosene he does not exactly look like a man who took “umbrage” at much of anything. It’s rather obvious that there isn’t exactly a good relationship between the President and the Governor of Arizona, partly because the President apparently feels that Brewer misrepresented their Oval Office meeting in her book. At the very least, it’s clear that the comments about the meeting in the book were very different from the comments she made after she actually met the President.

Judge for yourself, I suppose, but it should make the election interesting, because the Obama campaign has made no secret of its intention to treat Arizona as a state they believe they have a chance to win in November.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Hey Norm says:

    It’s like the McCain/Bush hug…only different.
    Brewer is wildly unpopular with Hispanics…68% disapproval.
    And there is no hometown Senator running.
    Point Obama.

  2. Jeremy R says:

    [Link: http://www.mediaite.com…]
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/movers-and-shakers/books/ref=zg_bsms_nav_mov_1_mov

    Gov. Brewer’s booksales spike 984,617% >_<. Wish I was joking.

  3. Jeremy R says:

    @Jeremy R:

    Sorry, the mediate link didn’t come through correctly. It’s their story. Here it is:
    http://www.mediaite.com/online/jan-brewers-book-up-over-150000-on-amazon-com-in-last-24-hours/

  4. Franklin says:

    Like him or not, one advantage Obama has is that he remains calm while his detractors wag their fingers and froth at the mouth. For more evidence, simply read the comments on the other post about this incident.

  5. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Franklin:

    Precisely. The adult in the room and rather a likeable guy as his consistently high personal favorables demonstrate. God knows what Brewer’s motives were for committing this breach of etiquette but it doesn’t redound to her credit outside of crazy people. Maybe this is the explanation?

    http://news.yahoo.com/low-iq-conservative-beliefs-linked-prejudice-180403506.html

  6. Gold Star for Robot Boy says:

    negative manor

    The residence of a depressed Bruce Wayne.

  7. Moosebreath says:

    “negative manor

    The residence of a depressed Bruce Wayne.”

    Not quite. It’s if he owes more on his mortgage than the current market value of his manor.

  8. Jenos Idanian says:

    According to the only account thus far, Obama greeted Brewer by complaining about how she wrote about him in her book. And according to the Official Democratic Protocol Handbook, when the President criticizes you, you should at least shut up and take it — if not abjectly apologize. Don’t you dare defend yourself or stand up for yourself or point out when he’s actually wrong, you stupid proles.

    I have a handy list of people Obama’s cheap-shotted and occasionally lied about to their faces, in situations where they were constrained from responding. Our president has a serious history of being what most people would call an “asshole.”

    There should be some respect for Obama based on his office. But when he stoops to this kind of crap, he forfeits the right to hide behind the office and needs to be called out.

  9. Doug, it’s “limousine” not “limosene.”

  10. Dustin says:
  11. Gold Star for Robot Boy says:

    @Jenos Idanian:

    According to the only account thus far…

    Yeah, her account – not quite an unbiased source.

  12. Brummagem Joe says:
  13. OzarkHillbilly says:

    The portrayal of a calm, friendly president seems to at least partly contradict what Brewer has said about the encounter in numerous interviews since Wednesday afternoon. She described the president as “tense” and said he walked away from her while she was in mid-sentence. She told a Phoenix television station she felt “a little bit threatened” by the encounter.

    Name me a Republican who has NOT been intimidated by a black man… “He argued with me, I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo intimdated…… I thought he wanted to rape me. ”

    Pussy’s.

  14. de stijl says:

    @Hey Norm:

    Brewer is wildly unpopular with Hispanics…68% disapproval.

    I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that 32% of Hispanics approve of Brewer.

  15. Jenos Idanian says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: Name me a Republican who has NOT been intimidated by a black man…

    Representative Allen West, Florida.

    Next question?

  16. Miscreant says:

    “For whatever it’s worth, when the President emerges from behind the limosene he does not exactly look like a man who took “umbrage” at much of anything.”

    Eyewitnesses would likely beg to differ…:

    “…The pool reporter, POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown, said the scene was far from the norm. Aside from the pointing, they appeared to talk over each other and he appeared to walk away from her while they were still talking.”

    http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/ariz-gov-jan-brewer-president-obama-didnt-feel-i-treated-112328.html

    “…The NBC producer said she ran over to try to get the crew to return to receiving line, but the president abruptly ended his dispute with Brewer by walking away. Obama then greeted others in the receiving line, before moving to the rope line as planned.

    Obama was spotted by one reporter at the scene flinging a letter Brewer had handed him into the limo as he walked toward the rope line crowd.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/44/post/why-is-there-no-video-of-obama-brewer-tiff/2012/01/26/gIQAR5AGTQ_blog.html

  17. bandit says:

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    You need to get help with your racial/sexual fantasies.

  18. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Jenos Idanian: @Jenos Idanian:

    Representative Allen West, Florida.

    Next question?

    I rest my case.

  19. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @bandit:

    You need to get help with your racial/sexual fantasies.

    You need help with reality.

  20. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Jenos Idanian: @bandit:

    You guys don’t actually know any black people (african-americans) do you?

  21. Susan Wilke says:

    Where is the entire video? I see the greeting, then it cuts to them standing behind the limo. The picture appears to be a still shot when they were standing out in the open…why doesn’t the video show the entire exchange. Looks to me like something is hinky about the video.

  22. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: And if you didn’t quite get that, Allen West is very intent on proving how black he isn’t while insisting how black he is….

    If you are confused, welcome to GOP world. You people don’t have a clue.

  23. Susan Wilke says:

    Again, as in previous post, I would like to see the entire video. You can make a lot out of body language and there is no opportunity for us to see that. The still shot appears to be out on the tarmac when they first met, but then the video cuts to them behind the limo. Looks pretty hinky.

  24. de stijl says:

    @Susan Wilke:

    You’re making this a conspiracy thing? You do realize that there were actual people on the tarmac and saw the whole thing? That there would be no point to hinkify the video?

    You folks make my brain hurt.

  25. Michelle says:

    Ahh, from someone else who was actually there, this looks like just what it seemed to be: someone trying to boost book sales at the expense not of the president, but rather of her fellow citizens.

    Nothing more selfish than that.

    Never mind that the media would have focused on something like jobs and growth for a cycle. With this gesture and the hype by the media, the focus was lost and far more people lose out. Their story will not be told and this bright spot was ignored, just to satisfy an old woman’s greed.

    Well done Republicans!

  26. Jenos Idanian says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: So, you are the arbiter about what it means to be “black,” and not a man who’s actually been black for more than fiffy years. Such condescension can only come from an arrogant liberal.

    Why don’t you tell us how Mr. West should act, if he wanted to be one of those “authentic blacks” you respect. Then, if you’re feeling up to it, explain how people like Sarah Palin and MIchelle Bachman aren’t “real” women.

    You really hate it when those darkies and broads get uppity and stray off the plantation, don’t you? Wouldn’t it be better if they just knew their place and lived like they should, good little credits to their kind and the property of the left?

  27. Ben Wolf says:

    You really hate it when those darkies and broads get uppity and stray off the plantation, don’t you? Wouldn’t it be better if they just knew their place and lived like they should, good little credits to their kind and the property of the left?

    Except that women’s rights and civil liberties were entirely the product and victory of the left against strong conservative opposition. Spin like a top, but that’s historical fact. Conservatism has been on the wrong side of every social issue since the French Revolution,but do go on luing about it. It makes you funny.

  28. Jenos Idanian says:

    @Ben Wolf: Shorter Ben: damned straight we bought and paid for them. Got the receipt right here.

    “Wrong side of every social issue?” All I have to do is find one single exception, and your absolute statement collapses like a punctured balloon.

    “May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”

    Let’s start with LBJ’s War On Poverty. 8 trillion dollars, and poverty seems to be winning. And that doesn’t even begin to count the non-dollar cost, such as the devastation of the black family. The Confederacy and the Ku Klux Klan — both major portions of the Democratic Party’s legacy — would be so proud.

  29. Fiona says:

    I love how the bitch is now saying that she felt threatened by the president. Yes, on a tarmac surrounded by lots of people including a ton of security officers. Dog whistle anyone?

    She got lots of love and attention on Faux News and plenty of wingers rallied around her to buy her book. Pretty good turnout for her if you ask me.

  30. Jenos Idanian says:

    @Fiona: I love how the bitch is now saying that she felt threatened by the president.

    Don’t be such a c-word.

  31. bandit says:

    Very classy name calling Fiona – the apex of leftist thought.

  32. Fiona says:

    Oh please boys! Bitch is pretty mild stuff and given how much name-calling and insult slinging I’ve seen you do to other commentators on these pages, I don’t exactly think you’ve got any moral high ground here.

  33. Jenos Idanian says:

    @Fiona: Sorry. I thought that if you used sexist language, you wouldn’t mind if others used it as well. I forgot the double standard at play.

    Stupid t-word…

  34. WR says:

    @Jenos Idanian: “Let’s start with LBJ’s War On Poverty. 8 trillion dollars, and poverty seems to be winning.”

    I guess you don’t understand that the phrase “war on poverty” is not actually a literal military attack on an abstract concept, but a set of government programs to help lift Americans out of poverty. And as such, it was quite spectacularly successful, dropping the poverty rate from 17.3 percent when it started to 11 percent in the early 70s. Perhaps it might have done even more, except then the Republlicans started fighting on poverty’s side, cutting or eliminating the programs that had been working in order to transfer the nation’s wealth to the very rich.

  35. Jenos Idanian says:

    @WR: I’m not surprised you didn’t want to address the destruction of the black family in the process. We actually made it more profitable to be a single parent than a couple — married or not. We made it incredibly expensive for fathers to acknowledge and support their children. And then, by an astonishing coincidence, we saw the black family disintegrate. Followed by the white families in the lower economic strata.

    Bravo. Give yourself a slow clap.

  36. peg says:
  37. N scrowba says:

    @Susan Wilke:

    I thought the same thing. Something is fishy about the whole thing.
    Lets post a bunch of photos of the President looking weird at an event and claim he’s drunk. Photo of him looking spacy and claim he was high and smelled of weed. See, a photo can be maid into anything you want it to be. Make a claim long enough and people start believing it. They think we are morons… A photo should only be used to show whom, what , where and maybe how but to tell a story, thats rudiculious!