Republican congressman's aide resigns over criticism of Obama's daughters

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/01/republican-aide-resigns-obama-sisters-facebook-viral

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A communications director for a Republican congressman resigned on Monday, amid public outrage over remarks she made on Facebook about President Barack Obama’s teenaged daughters.

Elizabeth Lauten, communications director for Representative Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, wrote in a post that Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, should have shown more “class” at Wednesday’s annual White House turkey pardoning ceremony.

“Act like being in the White House matters to you,” Lauten wrote. “Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar. And certainly don’t make faces during televised public events.”

Lauten also took a swing at Malia and Sasha’s parents: “Then again your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department.”

Lauten deleted the post, but not before screen grabs had been taken and shared across social media. The post went viral, with critics suggesting the GOP staffer had gone too far. Some called for her resignation. Hours later, she posted an apology.

“After many hours of prayer, talking to my parents, and rereading my words online I can see more clearly just how hurtful my words were,” Lauten wrote in a post that was published just before she made her Facebook page private.

In a phone interview on Monday, Lauten told NBC News her resignation was “in the works”. Congressman Fincher’s chief of staff, Jessica Carter, said Lauten had resigned.

At the annual turkey pardon, Malia and Sasha appeared slightly bored as they watched their father pardon birds named Mac and Cheese. Photos of the sisters casting exasperated looks at one another as their father spoke sparked mostly playful comments on social media and from some media outlets.

In a dizzying turn, some Republicans criticized the news media’s coverage of Lauten’s comments, calling the attention politically biased.

“Children, especially the first daughters, are off limits. While the comments were inappropriate and insensitive, the mainstream media’s coverage of this story is appalling,” said the Republican National Committee communications director, Sean Spicer, in a series of tweets on Monday.

In over 20 years in politics I have never seen 1 of the countless inappropriate comments by Democrats ever covered to a faction of this" 3/3

“In over 20 years in politics I have never seen 1 of the countless inappropriate comments by Democrats ever covered to a faction [sic] of this.”

Roy Herron, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, called Lauten’s words “cruel, outrageous and inexcusable”, an “unprecedented low in Washington mudslinging” and “absolutely toxic for our civic life and political culture”.