“Those comments absolutely do not reflect US Government policy, nor were they made on any official US Government social media account,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf, told reporters at her daily news conference. “
Marie Harf wisely put a bit of distance between the State Dept. and the Facebook remarks of the chatty May couple.
She was wise to do it. No educated and sophisticated observer would consider Mrs. Mays blabbings on social media reflective of the beliefs of the State Dept. which has many fine scholars. Indians of an older generation still recall the good-will generated by fine American representatives like Chester Bowles.
But the issue is not whether May represents each State Dept official. Of course, he doesn’t. He does however represent all of them, as a collective. And so does his wife.
It’s also not the specifics of what he said. It’s the general tone of the blogging, which shows entitlement and self-absorption, which while excellent attributes for socialites and celebrities are terrible ones for security chiefs, diplomats and international representatives.
One can understand how a person from a very affluent country might find even a posh enclave in Delhi unbearable.
One can’t understand how a senior diplomat in a country counts not one “native” to whom she is close enough to share even public postings on social media.