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Dead Drop May 13

Dead Drop May 13

BUMPY RHODES:  Much of the inside-the-beltway national security elite crowd spent the weekend buzzing about a New York Times magazine profile of NSC official Ben Rhodes. In the lengthy article, the 38-year-old Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications, takes a lot of shots at the American foreign-policy establishment (which he calls “the blob”,) and at know-nothing reporters. But after opening fire – the only clear hits Rhodes landed were on his own feet. The article, by David Samuels, is odd because it gives the impression that the writer admires his subject and yet skewers Rhodes by exposing his hubris and “lack of real-world experience” for his job.   The impression left is so devastating – that Tom Ricks – a left-leaning journalist took to the pages of Foreignpolicy.com and headlined his review of the article as: “A stunning profile of Ben Rhodes, the asshole who is the president’s foreign policy guru.” Carlos Lozada in the Washington Post was only slightly kinder – calling the profile” “just gross.” By Monday spokesman Josh Earnest was doing damage control insisting that in the view of the White House, Hillary Clinton is not part of the “blob” and suggesting that Rhodes now wishes he had stated a few things differently in the interview.  The Dead Drop thinks that the lesson here for those of you members of “the blob” is to avoid spending too much time congratulating yourself in the media about how much smarter you are than everyone else. Also – while Samuels seems impressed by Rhodes’ intellect –if the White House had Googled the reporter’s work before agreeing to cooperate with the reporter – they would have found that had been a strong opponent of the Iran deal that Rhodes brags about spinning into existence.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: Speaking of Josh Earnest’s efforts to clean up Rhodes’ dust – there was an amusing exchange in Monday’s press briefing.  Springing off an impression left by the NYT article, Fox News correspondent Kevin Corke asked the White House spokesman: “Can you state categorically that no senior official in this administration has ever lied publicly about any aspect of the Iran nuclear deal?”  Apparently mishearing the question – Earnest responded: “No, Kevin.”   We’re pretty sure he meant to say “Yes.”

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