Jan Brewer and Obama Face Off Over Her New Book
From where reporters were standing, it looked like heated words were being exchanged between President Obama and Gov. Brewer in front of public officials and reporters Wednesday, during his post-State of the Union tour. According to White House officials, the confrontation was based on Jan Brewer’s recently published book, which includes a written account of a meeting she had with Obama in the White House in June 2010. When Air Force One landed, President Obama walked down the steps and was greeted by Gov. Brewer and a traditional greeting line of other politicians. Brewer handed Obama a letter, later reported to contain an invitation to sit down and talk about a tour of the US-Mexico border, and Arizona’s economic “comeback.” A White House aide said that Obama happily agreed to sit down with Brewer, but also told her that he thought she was wrong in her description of their meeting back in 2010. Brewer’s book is called “Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure the Border,’’and it deals with Arizona’s illegal immigration challenges and her conservative approach to dealing with them. According to a review of the book by the Arizona Republic, Brewer “casts Obama as “condescending” and skewers him repeatedly.” The newspaper said that she originally called the meeting “cordial”, but in the book, she called Obama patronizing and said that he lectured her. When interviewed by reporters, Brewer said “He didn’t feel that I had treated him cordially. I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt.” The excerpt, which is currently posted on Amazon, Brewer defends the Arizona bill SB1070, which has been the subject of much controversy since it was signed into law in 2010. It’s toughest provisions were recently overturned by a federal judge. According to Brewer, Obama “has repeatedly made fun of those of us who want to see the law enforced, saying we want a ‘moat’ with ‘alligators’ in it around our country. The reason he has resorted to these failed attempts at humor, I think, is that he supports a policy that is fundamentally undemocratic, and he knows it.” Officials looked on as Brewer and Obama chatted on the tarmac, with the conversation ending abruptly as Obama walked away while Brewer appeared to be still talking. When asked for her side of the story, Brewer told reporters that Obama was a little disturbed at her account of the 2010 White House incident. A White House official, on the basis of anonymity, told reporters that Obama told Brewer that she “inaccurately described the meeting in her book.” Brewer said that she tried to tell Obama that she was sorry he felt slighted, but she wasn’t able to finish her sentence. Brewer, one of the most outspoken critics of our current federal immigration policy, was all set to have a standard photo-op with the president. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. Brewer later said “I thought we probably would’ve talked about the things that were important to him and important to me, helping one another. Our country is upside down. Arizona was upside down. But we have turned it around. I know again that he loves this country and I love this country.” After walking away from Brewer, Obama continued down the greeting line, after which he toured an Intel facility. A seemingly shaken Brewer said “Anyway, we’re glad he’s here. I’ll regroup.”