A willfully-ignorant phrase by a media spinner to deny knowledge on a subject they could reasonably be expected to discuss. It’s a press secretary’s way of painting them self as a cog in a larger machine, to deflect giving a straightforward answer.
Obama White House Secretary Josh Earnest, in a short time on the job, has become a master of “I am not in a position to” responses. On Aug. 12, 2014, Huffington Post strung together a string of Earnest’s “I am not in a position to” quotes.
“He has perfected just a single method to dodge questions,” Huffington Post wrote in an accompanying story. “Since he took over the job in June, Earnest has settled on a simple alternative to the ‘no comment’ - the ‘I'm not in a position’ to talk about it.”
“Sometimes it's used for obvious reasons, such as when discussing sensitive operations in Iraq. Other times, the public is left wondering how he could possibly not be in such a position. Either way, it has quickly become his new favorite phrase.”
Earnest is, of course, far from the first political type to use this excuse. Sometimes it’s a way of evading politically sensitive policy issues.
That’s been the approach of high-profile Republicans about the causes of climate change – specifically if human industrial activity has anything to do with it. "I'm not a scientist," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in March 2014. Later that month House Speaker John Boehner took a similar rhetorical approach. “Listen, I’m not qualified to debate the science over climate change,” said the Ohio Republican.