Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer talked to Fox News’ Bret Baier regarding the differences between President Obama’s executing his likely executive action on immigration before or after the midterm elections:
Baier: “Here’s my point Charles, for someone like Kay Hagen in North Carolina, that whether you do the executive action now or you tell the Hispanic Caucus behind closed doors that you’re going to do it, what’s the difference for her or Mary Landrieu or anybody else?”
Krauthammer: “The difference is in the media coverage and the media environment between now and election day.”
“If he does it now, it will be the lead story, after ISIS, but ISIS will fade. It will be the lead story for two months. it will be an issue that come up No. 1 in any debates. It will be something Democrats will not be able to hide from for an hour and a half.”
“If he says, quietly, he’ll do it, and not everybody’s following the news on the meetings on The Hill between the Hispanic Caucus and the chief of staff. well it will be an issue. The opposition will bring it up. but its not going to soak through the environment as it would otherwise.”
“It is pure politics. It’s a way to get around the electorate and around the congress and, even though, the president is allowed to do it, certainly he’s the head of a party that’s all about politics. But what galls here is the way he lies about it so brazenly. When he spoke to Chuck Todd, he prefaced the lie, the idea that it had nothing to do with politics by saying ‘now I’m being honest here,’ which is always a sign, when you hear it from a politician, to reach for your wallet.”