White House Press Secretary Offers Thanks for Biden
Infrastructure Bill – to China.
By John V. WalshNovember
23, 202:
Information Clearing House
-White House Press Secretary Offers Thanks for
Biden Infrastructure Bill – to China.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reaffirmed
Joe Biden’s stance that he was not an “old
friend” of Xi Jinping before the summit between
the two leaders last week. This was big news.
And the media play it received was quite
disturbing to Psaki, as it turns out.
Seeking to clarify matters, she wrote a
statement to read to the press corps explaining
her stance on China-US relations. She planned to
read it to the press during Thanksgiving week.
Presidential advisors, however, put the kabosh
on the statement – and reportedly tried to put
the kabosh on Psaki herself after they saw her
draft. From reliable sources, who asked to
remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of
the situation, we have obtained portions of the
statement which has come to be known among
Washington insiders as the PPP, Psaki’s Psecret
Pspeech.
Here is the text of Psaki’s scuttled statement
planned for delivery to the White House Press
Corps:
Hello everyone.
Before we begin today’s press briefing, I wish
to say once again that it is great to be back
here with all of you after my bout with
Covid-19. I learned a lot while thinking about
things during my illness, and I will return to
that.
But first I want to reflect on the events of the
last week including the President’s meeting with
President Xi of China and the signing of the
infrastructure bill. And in part I will address
my remarks directly to China
To begin with – and let us not mince our words –
the American people owe China a great debt of
gratitude for the infrastructure bill. On behalf
of all Americans, I wish to thank China. Without
you we could not have done it. For decades we
have had potholed roads, lead-laced drinking
water, and the narrowest of broadband,
especially out in the countryside. Now that will
change if only a tiny bit. And you China deserve
the credit.
In fact the New York Times, mouthpiece of our
foreign policy Establishment, made that very
point two days after the signing of the bill:
“President Biden on Tuesday began selling his $1
trillion infrastructure law, making the case
that the money would do more than rebuild roads,
bridges and railways. The law, he said would
help the United States regain its competitive
edge against China.
“’We’re about to turn things around in a big
way,’ Mr. Biden said, ‘For example because of
this law, next year will be the first year in 20
years that American infrastructure will grow
faster than China’s.’”
You see, China, getting some federal funds for
things we need is an uphill battle. But when our
politicians see things in terms of an enemy,
they scurry about like industrious little
beavers getting things done.
Now, China, I
recognize that you begged to differ on the size of
the infrastructure bill. Your daily, Global
Times, which occupies the same niche in China
as do the New York Times or WaPo in the US, labelled
the bill “a feeble imitation of China.”
That is true; you, China, spend about 5.1% of
GDP on infrastructure and we spend 1.5%. As a
wordsmith myself, I would choose the word “puny” to
describe the bill – at least compared to our
whopping national security budget. But hey, when
you are starving, crumbs can look like a banquet.
And without you, China, we would not even have the
crumbs.
Next, China, I want to talk about another big
problem we are facing – inflation. Without you, it
would be far worse. Because you handled the
Covid-19 pandemic so well, your economy kept
plugging along and we Americans got a bigger supply
of cheap goods which of course helps to keep prices
in line. Unfortunately, our leaders, namely The
Donald and now The Joe, are laying tariffs on your
goods, making them more expensive for our own
people. You give us a gift and we destroy it. You
probably think us inscrutable or at least ungrateful
– and I don’t blame you for one moment.
I could go on with this praise, but no one is
perfect, China. There is one area where I must
level a criticism, and it comes of my personal
experience with Covid. And here I fault you for
your propaganda performance – and I speak as part of
the most expert propaganda team on the planet.
Quite frankly you are lousy propagandists. You
contained Covid with fewer than 5000 deaths and
fewer than 100,000 cases – total. And the
“draconian” lockdowns after the initial 76 day
lockdown in Wuhan were not so massive nor so
widespread as we made them out to be.
I mean your public health achievement is awesome
and I reflected a lot on it as I was in quarantine
with Covid, thankfully not very sick. But you let
the news coverage be dominated by every trivial
event including the inevitable missteps at the
outbreak of a new pathogen for which the local
officials were sacked. (Good for you, China – we
have many governors who deserve punishment for their
behavior during the pandemic -not the least of which
is Mr. Cuomo who stuffed Covid patients into nursing
homes.) But if you were more effective at getting
the word out, perhaps the American people would have
risen up and demanded the same results that you
got. Perhaps I would not have fallen ill and
perhaps 760,000 Americans would still be alive.
Honestly, China, you have to step up your
information campaigns – a lot is at stake.
China, I also want to thank you for the event in
Beijing at the very time of Xi-Biden confab, a
refreshing change from the unrelenting hawk talk
hereabouts. Again, let me
quote the New York Times:
“Even as the two leaders met virtually,
another meeting was taking place in Beijing,
commemorating the American pilots known as the
Flying Tigers who aided China during its war
against Japan in 1941 and 1942.
“’The story of the Flying Tigers undergirds
the profound friendship forged by the lives and
blood of the Chinese and American people,” Qin Gang,
China’s ambassador to the United States, said during
the event. Acknowledging the tensions in the
relationship, he added that the two countries
‘should inherit the friendly friendship tempered by
war.’”
Finally, I wish to conclude
with the words of Chief Justice Earl Warren,
“Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I
caught hell for.
OK. Questions?
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