In an attempt to spin his wife’s comment that for the first time in her adult life she’s proud of America, Obama claims we’re all just taking her remarks out of context. See, she was only talking about politics, folks…

Barack Obama, interviewed on WOAI radio in San Antonio, Texas, expressed frustration that his wife’s comments became political fodder.

“Statements like this are made and people try to take it out of context and make a great big deal out of it, and that isn’t at all what she meant,” Obama said.

“What she meant was, this is the first time that she’s been proud of the politics of America,” he said. “Because she’s pretty cynical about the political process, and with good reason, and she’s not alone. But she has seen large numbers of people get involved in the process, and she’s encouraged.”

But that isn’t what she said. She didn’t say she was proud of American politics for the first time in 26 years, she specifically said “my country”. Here’s the quote:

“For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” she told a Milwaukee crowd today, “because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”

Nowhere in there does she leave space for, allude to, or specify a reference to American politics. She’s a Princeton and Harvard educated lawyer, and she can’t specify between her country and its politics? Not buying it, but nice spin, Barack.

Bryan writes why even Obama’s spin on the comment doesn’t make sense:

Hm. I remember the political unity we had after 9-11, however fleeting it turned out to be once the left regained its blame-America-first footing, as a moment that made me proud of our politics. The peaceful transitions of power from one party to the next in 1992 and again in 2000 were reasons for pride in our politics. Politics is often a dirty business, but our American politics are among the most stable and clean in the entire world. Our system has lasted longer than many empires and is now one of the oldest yet most resilient and envied in the world. Our politics have created, protected or restored democracy in South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Italy, Germany, Poland, all across Europe and now into the heart of the Middle East.

Update: Forgot to add: Why does she need him to speak her? She’s an intelligent 44-year-old mother, and she can’t respond to criticism over her own remarks?