BY B. JAY COOPER
Reprinted from BJayCooper.com

Jay Carney, White House press secretary is having, the worst of times.

With Benghazi talking points, IRS targeting right-wing groups and the Justice Department targeting AP reporters, ol’ Jay is getting LOTS of questions these days.
Politico put together what seems to be his standard answer to a question he doesn’t want to answer: “I appreciate the question.”

Having sat in the White House press office when the pressure hits, I have a good sense of what’s going on (even though the addition of 24/7 cable, the dimunition of the old get-it-right-first journalism and the pressure of the Internet didn’t exist back then and certainly has dramatically changed the dynamics). Still, there are principles for handling crisis that always come into play. For  example, don’t speak before you know the truth. Not always easy, I know.

Putting it out there, I’m not a huge fan of Carney at the podium, never have been. He doesn’t have the gravitas of a Marlin Fitzwater or a Mike McCurry. To me, he doesn’t portray strength at the podium.

So today’s story in Politico will tell you what he’s been going through in the last several days.

Then, watch this video. Jay may  have gotten it right back in 2006. He probably never spoke truer words.

Editor’s Note: B. Jay Cooper is a former White House deputy press secretary and former head of communications at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He also was a reporter at the Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American. He is deputy managing director of the Washington, D.C., office of APCO Worldwide.