A Fox News panel disparaged Obama's press conference following the U.S.– Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC Wednesday night, calling his comments "shocking", and saying they were "stunned" by his passive voice and "extraordinary lethargy."
"I'm stunned all the time by the passive voice he uses," said National Journal's Ron Fournier, "which is very ineffective and sounds weak. For example, to say Hamas is extraordinarily irresponsible--frat boys are extraordinarily irresponsible. Hamas is a terror organization that's killing people."
"Words matter when you're trying to lead a country," Fournier continued, "and trying to lead a world. I'm stunned by how poorly he uses them."
Jonah Goldberg called Obama's statement that U.S. sanctions on Russia are working as intended "shocking." "No, they're clearly not," Goldberg objected, calling this a "perfect example of leading from behind."
"Putin is not deterred," Goldberg insisted. "His popularity is through the roof."
"Did he say anything today that changes the dynamic in Russia or the Middle East?" asked Fournier. "No. Did he say anything that would even give Hamas or Putin pause? No. And domestically, he again established himself, tried to position himself as the aggrieved compromiser. We saw from the polls today the public doesn't buy it."
Charles Krauthammer said his speech demonstrated "extraordinary lethargy, distance, disinterest, uninterest."
"If that isn't a signal to Putin that he doesn't have to factor the United States in his calculation, I don't know what is," Krauthammer remarked.
"I'm not sure he advanced any issue at all other than to showed adversaries, bad guys in this world that you don't have to worry about this guy," Krauthammer said.