WASHINGTON (AP) ? When President Barack Obama ran for re-election last year, he and his advisers were quick to condemn comments from Republicans that were deemed offensive or demeaning to women.
But now, with two prominent members of Obama's Democratic Party admitting to lewd online behavior and facing allegations of sexual harassment, the White House is conspicuously silent.
Republicans say that smacks of hypocrisy. But White House officials draw a distinction, saying Obama's comments last year were in response to the policy implications of the controversial views espoused by the two Republicans who were, at the time, running for Senate.
White House spokesman Jay Carney fended off questions Wednesday about both San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who is facing numerous sexual harassment allegations, and Democrat Anthony Weiner, the former congressman currently running for New York City Mayor. Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after admitting he sent racy pictures and messages over the Internet to women he did not know. Earlier this month, Weiner acknowledged that he engaged in similar behavior even after resigning.
"I don't have any comment on that any more than I've had comment on other similar issues," Carney said of Filner.
He responded similarly when asked about Weiner, saying "there's plenty of coverage, plenty of stuff to cover without us commenting."
The White House's silence has drawn criticism from Republicans. Party officials say the president's team is being hypocritical given how quickly Democrats jumped on controversial comments about rape made by GOP candidates last year.
"Interesting how we're hearing crickets from the Democrats when it comes time to condemn activity from some of their own," said Kirsten Kukowski, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
Indeed, Obama and his campaign advisers quickly denounced Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's assertion last year that women's bodies have ways to prevent pregnancy "if it's a legitimate rape." The president said the Republican congressman's comments were "offensive" and underscored a significant difference in approach to women's issues between Democrats and the GOP.
Obama's campaign was also highly critical of Richard Mourdock, who ran for the Senate from Indiana and said if a pregnancy results from rape, it is "something God intended to happen." The president's campaign said Mourdock's comments were "outrageous and demeaning to women."
Akin and Mourdock lost their respective races, while Obama ran up big margins among female voters in his contest against Republican Mitt Romney.
While the controversies surrounding Akin and Murdock focused on words, the spectacles involving Weiner and Filner center on actions.
Weiner, who is married, has vowed to stay in the New York mayor's race despite new revelations about sexually explicit messages he sent to several women. Filner, the mayor of the nation's eighth-largest city, says he will enter two weeks of "intensive" therapy as he battles a sexual harassment lawsuit from his former communications director, as well as detailed account of alleged advances by seven other women.
While the White House has stayed silent about both Democrats, other party leaders have not. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi rebuked Weiner and Filner for "reprehensible" behavior and said both men should "get a clue."
Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has also called for Filner to resign, saying his alleged misconduct is "reprehensible and indefensible." The chairwoman also backed Weiner's resignation from Congress two years ago.
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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-stays-silent-dems-mired-scandals-211726873.html
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One of the most memorable moments of Comic-Con was when actress Karen Gillan surprised fans by revealing she had gone bald for her role as Nebula in Guardians Of The Galaxy. When Karen Gillan made the surprise reveal, fans at Comic-Con cheered. However, some online fans evidently had a different reaction to Gillan?s baldness.
?The evidence points to a salad mix containing iceberg and romaine lettuce, as well as carrots and red cabbage as the source of the outbreak reported in Iowa and Nebraska,?? said Steven Mandernach, chief of the Food and Consumer Safety Bureau of the?Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA). ?Food Poisoning Bulletin has been reporting restaurant lettuce as a source of Cyclospora illness for weeks. ?Nebraska?s Department of Health and Human Services reported that the? pre-packaged, pre-washed salad mix ?came through national distribution channels.? The tainted produce was not grown in a garden or commercial field ?in Nebraska or Iowa, health officials said.
Cyclospora infections are treated with an antiobiotic that contains sulfa called Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) which is sold under the brand names Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim. There is no effective alternative to these drugs. Patients with a sulfa allergy can have supportive care of symptoms.
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Public release date: 29-Jul-2013
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