Fleischer: WH press secretary needs ‘to be careful’ about taking ‘a slap at a political opponent.’

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe today, former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer condemned current Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for naming Rush Limbaugh the leader of the Republican Party, saying that he needs to realize “how much weight your words have”:

FLEISCHER: You know, you really have to be careful when you stand at that podium cause you don’t realize until you are in that unique job how much weight your words have. And when you previously as a senators secretary or a party’s secretary, press secretary, could dismiss or take a slap at a political opponent. When you do it from the White House, you’re bring the weight of the government on to that private person. So, you really have to be careful about it and do it with some grace. Going after Rush Limbaugh, it’s just to me, the usual nonsense.

Watch it:

Fleischer’s warning of the need for carefulness shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that his words from the White House podium have brought down “the weight of the government” on a private citizen. In 2001, Fleischer was asked about a controversial comment in which Bill Maher said that the 9/11 terrorists weren’t “cowards.” Fleischer responded by saying that Americans like Maher needed “to watch what they say, watch what they do. This is not a time for remarks like that; there never is.”

Transcript:

BRZEZINSKI: Ari, if you were standing at that podium, would you have not taken the opportunity to do what they are doing to Rush Limbaugh?

SCARBOROUGH: Let’s say, would you have gone after Michael Moore?

BRZEZINSKI: You really would have passed that up?

FLEISCHER: You know, you really have to be careful when you stand at that podium cause you don’t realize until you are in that unique job how much weight your words have. And when you previously as a senators secretary or a party’s secretary, press secretary, could dismiss or take a slap at a political opponent. When you do it from the White House, you’re bring the weight of the government on to that private person. So, you really have to be careful about it and do it with some grace. Going after Rush Limbaugh, it’s just to me, the usual nonsense.