Secret Service Hotel Investigation, Gas Prices, China and Missiles, Medicare (2012)

thefilmarchive.org April 23, 2012 Obama reacted to the initial news saying that he would like to see a “rigorous” investigation and that “if it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course I’ll be angry. We are representing the people of the United States, and when we travel to another country, I expect us to observe the highest standards.”[24] Obama later praised Secret Service agents as “incredible” and remarked at a taping of Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC on the campus of the University of North Carolina that: “They protect me, they protect our girls. A couple of knuckleheads shouldn’t detract from what they do. What they were thinking, I don’t know. That’s why they’re not there anymore.”[39] Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said: “We let the boss down because nobody’s talking about what went on in Colombia other than this incident. I can speak for myself and my fellow chiefs, we’re embarrassed by what occurred in Colombia.” He added that the head of the Southern Command General Douglas Fraser had started an investigation of the issue; he expressed his “disappoint[ment] by the entire incident and that this behaviour is not in keeping with the professional standards expected of members of the United States military.” The chairman of the joint-chiefs-of-staff, General Martin Dempsey, also added that Obama had been let down as a result of this distraction. Senator Susan Collins, the highest …