I had suspected so prior to today but now I'm sure.
One day, Dana the press secretary had a hard time answering a question during one of her daily briefings.
"I was panicked a bit because I really don't know about . . . the Cuban Missile Crisis," said Perino, who at 35 was born about a decade after the 1962 U.S.-Soviet nuclear showdown. "It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I'm pretty sure."
Then Dana the press secretary was a guest on a radio show this past weekend. Dana the press secretary told a cute little story about what happened to her one day at the big White House. Oopsies, Dana the press secretary didn't know what those reporters were talking about! What a funny little story to tell! No one should have expected her to know about something, like, in the past!
What would the qualifications be for the job of White House press secretary? Given that this person is supposed to represent the leader of the free world on a daily basis and answer questions about his/her position on issues of the day, it might be safe to assume that there are some specific job skills needed.
For instance, man or woman, you need to look good. As good as, say, a Fox Noise anchor.
Punctuality is probably also desired. A press secretary needs to appear every day at the time stated.
Ability to speak English is de rigeur, especially if your boss isn't too good at it. You might have to spend some of your time translating from bumble-ese.
Posture and deportment will be key qualities for this position. Representing administration policy will look a lot better if you're not slouching and your face maintains the same expression no matter what question you're asked.
Fortunately, all of the above can be achieved just as effectively, if not more so, whether or not you have any familiarity with the daily topics under discussion.
Therefore, college education - even high school level - is really optional. It's just as easy to calmly report that 'The president has no comment at this time due to the ongoing nature of this issue' whether you understand that issue or not. The same is true for 'I really don't know, that's not my area to comment on.'
From what she revealed, it appears the Chimpy administration has now reached below even the third stringers to find bodies to fill job openings. Maybe BushCo was thinking that since she's such a cute little gal, no one would expect her to have any qualifications for the job. So long as she can smile pretty for the camera every day, she's all set then.
And why should she feel embarrased that she doesn't know and never bothered to find out how the major nuclear showdown of the 20th century was handled by that White House administration? How can that be relevant in any way to what she's expected to do now as press secretary? Besides, she knows the best place to go information for anything she may wonder about.
So she consulted her best source. "I came home and I asked my husband," she recalled. "I said, 'Wasn't that like the Bay of Pigs thing?' And he said, 'Oh, Dana.' "
Oh, Dana. Why do those reporters bother asking you any questions at all?