In yet another sparkling display of mendacity and utter bullshit, the Bush Administration has told US Foreign Service Workers that they cannot attend Obama’s Speech in Germany.
The US State Department has deemed Obama’s speech in Berlin a ""partisan political activity" prohibited under its regulations for those serving overseas."
According to the The Huffington Post:
Government employees serving in the United States are permitted to attend such events under the Hatch Act, which bars other partisan activity, such as contributing money or working in behalf of a candidate.
However the American Foregin Service Association had this to say:
The American Foreign Service Association, the union of the diplomatic corps, objected to the ruling, calling it an "unnecessarily narrow interpretation" of the Foreign Affairs Manual. "The fact that you are working for the U.S. government overseas should not preclude political activity that you could engage in in the United States," one retired senior Foreign Service officer said.
Let's see what do we have so far State Department... Don't help Obama plan anything, but if Obama wants to rent a bus, show him where he can rent a bus. Oh, and you are forbidden to going to his speech.
Too bad Condi didn't pay this much attention to the Presidential Daily Brief Memo back in the day...