BREAKING: State Dept Bumblewoman Jen Psaki To Become Obama’s Comm. Director

Barbara Boland | February 19, 2015
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Leaving behind her role as State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki has been named President Barack Obama’s new communications director.

Let’s take a look at a few of her career highlights:

She became a minor celebrity in Russia when she spoke during a press briefing about “carousel voting” in the Ukraine, then admitted she didn’t know what the term meant.

Her photo became a popular meme and “Psaki” was used as shorthand for “stupidity and incompetence.”

The verb “Psaking” describes “when someone makes a dogmatic statement about something they don’t understand, mixes facts up, and then doesn’t apologize,” Kiselyov, a Russian TV host, explained. Kiselyov said that “Psaking” was a metaphor for “low-quality American diplomacy.” 

She introduced the phrase “hashtag diplomacy” in the U.S. when she tweeted this photo:

 

She coined the unforgettable phrase, “live by the promise of the hashtag,” which was instantly mocked as the “hashtag doctrine.”

 

 

Then there are her frequent press briefing bumbles, which Russia Today was only too happy to highlight:

 

Psaki was left speechless when asked about the Obama administration’s lack of transparency:

 

 

Matt Lee’s run-ins with Psaki became legendary:

 

 

Psaki’s most infamous and embarrassing press briefing had to be that time the press corps openly laughed at her for her claim that Obama "doesn't give himself enough credit” for his foreign policy successes.

 

 

“Jen, you would argue the president doesn't give himself enough credit? How much credit would you give him?" Associated Press reporter Matt Lee responded.

Reporters began to laugh, and Psaki looked uneasy. "Well, I think I'd give him more than he's given himself, that's what I just said."

"What, like 200 percent credit?" Lee returned.

"I'm sorry - credit for what?" the reporters chimed in, demanding to know what "specifically Obama doesn't get enough credit for."

If Psaki’s remarks there sound like those of a political operative, it’s because her background is not in diplomacy or foreign policy but instead on working for the campaigns of Democrats.

She started her career working for a pair of Iowa Democrats, then moved on to a job as spokeswoman for Kerry’s wife and children and John Edwards (when they were running for president and vice president respectively.) In 2008, she became Obama’s deputy press secretary and served as deputy communications director until 2011. She was named to her post at State Department in 2013.

So she should be right at home in her new position.

We’d say that now there will be fewer utterly embarrassing State Department statements, but … there’s still Marie Harf

 

 

 

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