Congressman Joe Walsh (8th) hasn't been shy about why he's skipping President Barack Obama's upcoming jobs speech.
“How idiotic is this president?” the freshman Tea Party Republican said last week. “I don’t want to be disrespectful, but he’s going to bring forth a jobs plan next week. Think about that for a minute. He’s been in office for three years. He’s destroyed job creation systematically for three years.”
White House press secretary Jay Carney chose his words more carefully on Sunday, the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet points out, when asked during a press briefing about Walsh's decision.
“The idea that the president of the United States giving a speech about the need to grow the economy and create jobs is political — I’ll let you judge that for yourself,” Carney said.
Walsh has repeatedly called the president's speech a political move and said he will hold his own Town Hall meeting in his district "with the people who really create jobs."
