I was taken aback when I first heard White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs used this phrase to describe the administration’s attitude about the petroleum giant (then again, Gibbs graduated from State …).
But when Tony Blankley noted that the phrase was uttered first by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, well, that really got my attention. Having covered Salazar for his final two-plus years in the Senate and his first few months at Interior, I’ll just say that’s out of character. I always found him to be an exemplar of civility in his public appearances and statements.
Then again, when Salazar left the Senate, he swapped the Stetson and bolo tie he routinely wore for a traditional necktie. And no hat.
If someone tells me Salazar (whose family has been in the cattle ranching business since the 1850s) has stopped wearing cowboy boots, I’ll know for sure he’s been abducted by aliens.
