Mitchell: Even Samantha Power Acted More Outraged than Obama over MH17

Mitchell: Even Samantha Power Acted More Outraged than Obama over MH17 (Mediaite)

MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell noted on Meet the Press Sunday morning that President Barack Obama had not even shown the level of outrage over the downed flight MH17 as U.N. AmbassadorSamantha Power had, wondering if Obama was forced to curtail his rhetoric to keep lines of communication open with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.

“I understand why critics think that the president’s rhetoric on Friday was not even up to the moral outrage expressed by Samantha Power,” Mitchell said. “They had the same intelligence, the same evidence, Samantha Power was a more forceful presentation at the United Nations than the president.”

“I think they are trying to leave some running room with Vladimir Putin, they know they have to deal with him,” she continued.

Mitchell agreed with the previous panelist that the “red line” dustup with Syria last fall was a pivotal moment for the strength of Obama’s rhetoric.

“I agree that Syria was the turning point last Labor Day weekend, because it was interpreted in Persian Gulf and everywhere else around the world as ineffective leadership,” she said.