he said he wasn t concerned because others did the same in other countries. one of those who spoke or wrote the story spoke with cnn last night. he s essentially asserting from his perspective this wasn t a matter of grave concern because it was something equal to what he thinks the united states does to try to influence politics around the world, and these comments alarmed senior white house officials for a number of reasons, one which was that they perceived the president was essentially saying you have a green light to do this in other countries or even perhaps again in the u.s. elections in the future. steps were taken to then really lock down this memo and restrict it even more tightly than memos of leadership meetings and calls that had already been restricted in the white house because of press leaks. i think it s safe to say the people who heard this at the time, it struck them also as troubling because it seemed that the president was showing a