A Performance Review For Dana Perino

Think Progress tells us the following from here…

During today’s press briefing, White House press secretary Dana Perino suggested the Bush administration would oppose any effort to extend jobless benefits — a stance the White House has taken before. She explained their position by saying, “we want people to be able to return to the workplace as soon as possible.” The suggestion was that extending benefits somehow prevents people from returning to work.

She concluded by saying that “the best way to help” the economy and unemployed people is for unemployed people to simply “get back to work.”

I’ll tell you what, Dana: drive down to the Home Depot near you (assuming such a place for what you would call the “blue collar rabble” actually exists in the posh Maryland suburb where you no doubt live) and ask the store manager what the chances are of hiring a “white collar professional” during these tough times to help him or her get by until they find a better job.

If this person were honest, what they would say is that they’d hire a professional perhaps skilled in a trade but probably not (probably even an illegal worker) for as little money as possible, and they would pass over a person from an office environment who might command more money otherwise and who would work hard since that individual would leave anyway.

But how silly am I to think you’re actually serious?

Well, since you’re working in the public sector after all (and I, as a taxpayer, contribute to your salary), I believe that I’m entitled to evaluate your job performance:

This tells us Perino didn’t believe the U.S. economy was in a recession.

This tells us of Perino’s lies on the question of GSE reform (for “government sponsored enterprises,” notably Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).

This tells us of more Perino lies about the supposed cleanup in the DOJ under Mukasey.

“Safe, environmentally friendly offshore drilling” here; need I say more?

Here, Perino covered up a program from DHS Secretary Mike Leavitt to actually not identify the names of retailers in this country selling tainted meat.

She basically said here that the stimulus checks (remember them?) were going to save people facing home foreclosure from the subprime meltdown.

Perino also said here that infrastructure repair “wasn’t a stimulative way to get the economy going” (oh, and I wonder if she ever read up on the Cuban Missile Crisis?)

Perino said here that Dubya could campaign for McBush “vigorously.”

Finally, she said here that “this Congress hasn’t sent us a single appropriations bill,” when in fact Dubya had vetoed or threatened to do the same to numerous bills of that type.

Gosh, Dana, based on all of this, I don’t know how to break the news to you, but all I can say is that you’d better update your resume (not that you’ll be around after 1/20/09 anyway).

And after all, you only got your job to begin with because this guy died, remember?

Update 4/25/09: Apparently, Mark Penn's new hire has a torture problem of her own (here).