Administration official apologizes for tweets suggesting Bergdahl platoon 'psychopaths'

WASHINGTON –  An Obama administration official apologized Thursday after suggesting on Twitter that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon might have been filled with “psychopaths” – in an apparent attempt to defend Bergdahl against criticism from his fellow soldiers. 
Brandon Friedman, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sent out a series of tweets Wednesday night questioning those soldiers trying to “smear” Bergdahl for abandoning his post in 2009.
The first said: “Here's the thing about Bergdahl and the Jump-to-Conclusions mats: What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership?”
He went on to argue that Bergdahl might have grown “disillusioned” with leadership and walked off – and that this might give those who served with him “reason to smear him publicly now.”
The tweets quickly caught attention in the media, as others in the administration also have taken swipes at the soldiers who have questioned Bergdahl’s conduct.
The press office for HUD sent out a statement attributed to Friedman Thursday afternoon, in which he backed off the tweets.  
"I’d like to clarify tweets I wrote last night on my personal Twitter account concerning the return of Bowe Bergdahl,” Friedman, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, said in the statement. “First, I do not speak for the Administration on national security issues in any capacity—public or personal.”
Citing his service, he said he has the “highest regard” for fellow service-members.
“While I just wanted to make the point that the public should wait before passing judgment, I unfortunately used my own poor judgment in choosing inappropriate language that many view as disparaging to U.S. service members,” Friedman said. “That was certainly not my intent and I regret making the comments on my personal account in such a way.  I apologize to those with whom I work in the Administration, at HUD, and, most importantly, to any service members who took offense.”
Several of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers have spoken out since the administration announced over the weekend that his freedom was secured, in exchange for the release of five Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay. 
Some in the administration have criticized those attacks – NBC reported that aides had even likened the criticism to “swift-boat” attacks, a reference to the battle in 2004 over then-presidential nominee John Kerry’s military service. 

Hillary does People: How to unofficially run for president (and soften your image)

Well, any sense of mystery is fading away: Hillary must be running.
“I’m certainly in the camp that says we need to break down that highest, hardest glass ceiling in American politics,” she tells People magazine. 
Aha! Hillary Clinton, having failed to crack that ceiling in 2008, hears the calling. But then comes the inevitable wiggle room:
“To have a woman president is something I would love to see happen, but I’ll just have to make my own decision about what I think is right for me.”
And there’s this: “I know I have a decision to make. With the extra joy of ‘I’m about to become a grandmother,’ I want to live in the moment. At the same time I am concerned about what I see happening in the country and in the world.”
The People interview with Sandra Sobieraj Westfall is an interesting test run for Hillary’s “Hard Choices” book blitz as she gently deflects questions she doesn’t want to answer. It’s a precursor of her television sitdowns in the next two weeks with Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Bret Baier, Greta Van Susteren, Christiane Amanpour, Cynthia McFadden and Jane Pauley. (A nod to the sisterhood? Bret, who will share the session with Greta, is the only dude so far.
Hillary is staying a million miles away from Monica Lewinsky and didn’t read her Vanity Fair essay. Does she regret having once called her a “narcissistic looney toon”? “I’m not going to comment on what did and didn’t happen. I think everybody needs to look to the future.” Move on, nothing to see here.
(Monica is not so reticent, of course; having declared her intention to bury the blue dress, she’ll be giving an interview to National Geographic TV.)
It’s easy to dismiss this as mostly fluff, but that would be a mistake. In fact, People magazine played a key role in her husband’s 1992 election. By presenting a smiling Bill, Hillary and Chelsea on the cover at a time when many voters didn’t even know the candidate had a daughter, the magazine reintroduced him to the country as a family man.
Thus we learn from People that Hillary organizes her closets, does yoga, and that she and Bill binged on “House of Cards.” Hey, talking about Kevin Spacey beats Benghazi, from her point of view.
More substantively, Clinton addresses the health questions stemming from the 2012 incident in which she fell and hit her head: “I did have a concussion and some effects in the aftermath of it, mostly dizziness, double vision. Those all dissipated.” When it comes up in future interviews, she can say: Asked and answered.
Time’s Joe Klein, for one, questions the “myth of inevitability”:
“For the sake of magazine sales, let’s say she’s running. She’s got it locked, right? She’s the Democratic nominee at the very least, right?...
“But wait a minute. Aren’t the Clintons approaching their sell-by date too? Aren’t we about to become tired of their personal and policy baggage and retinue of overcaffeinated too-loyal aides spewing talking points on cable news?” 
Not to mention pundits spewing talking points about Hillary on cable news.
I’m going to adopt the approach of Fox’s Chris Stirewalt: Hillary Clinton is now running for president. She may at some point decide to stop running for president, but for now she’s running. And this book tour will (almost definitely) prove to be her opening salvo for 2016.