he just wasn't the one that specifically fired her.
What Pres. Obama said in the Presser was that he had given Salazar the green light
for Salazar to fire whomever didn't appear to be doing the job as it should
be done during these critical times. By the time of the presser, the President simply hadn't had a chance to get the specifics on this firing directly from Salazar.
It appears that Salazar fired Ms. Birnbaum without further counsel from the President, since that department directly falls under his leadership as Secretary, and the President had already given
the directive that Salazar should get rid of those making excuses instead of working
at fixing things.
Here's the transcript where Pres. Obama answers the question in reference to Ms. Birnbaum's resignation:
"Now, with respect to Ms. Birnbaum, I found out about her resignation today. Ken Salazar has been in testimony throughout the day, so I don't know the circumstances in which this occurred. I can tell you what I've said to Ken Salazar, which is that we have to make sure, if we are going forward with domestic oil production, that the federal agency charged with overseeing its safety and security is operating at the highest level. And I want people in there who are operating at the highest level and aren't making excuses when things break down, but are intent on fixing them. And I have confidence that Ken Salazar can do that."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28obama-text.html?pagewanted=8 There are those who are spreading the falsehood that Pres. Obama didn't even know that Ms. Birnbaum
was fired. Let me repeat; that is a falsehood and needs to stop being spread.