August 1, 2013 --

President Obama, speaking at Knox College, in Galesburg, Ill, July 24, said, in part (as quoted in The New York Times, July 25), "'With this endless parade of distractions and political posturing and phony scandals, Washington's taken its eye off the ball'".

But The New York Times, May 15, quoted President Obama as calling the findings of an IRS report on targeting of conservative groups "'intolerable and inexcusable.'" The Times further quoted President Obama, on Target-gate, "The federal government must conduct itself in a way that's worthy of the public's trust, and that's especially true for the I.R.S.'"

The Times went on to report that the President asked Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to hold accountable those reponsible for targeting conservative groups "'and to make sure that each of the [IRS] inspector general's recommendations are implemented quickly.'"

And so, clearly President Obama is not including Target-gate among the "phony scandals."

LPR does wonder if the president's comment about "this endless parade of distractions and political posturing" is meant to describe Democrat attempts to cover-up Target-gate.