Upside-Down World: Pres. Obama Appears on FOX News to Push for His Health Care Monstrosity
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on March 17, 2010
More Obama Overexposure: It's TV Time again for Pres. Barack Obama -- now he's on FOX News
One month ago — even one WEEK ago — most of us would have scoffed had anyone suggested that Pres. Barack Obama would choose to appear on the White House’s oft-attacked critic, FOX News, to push YET AGAIN for his despised government-takeover health care bill. Such a request to be interviewed (if you can call it an “interview” and not another long-winded, Obama-speak campaign podium address) on FOX was about as likely as Hollywood statists Matt Damon, Rosie O’Donnell, Bill Maher, or Sean Penn actually embracing America, the free market, and our Constitution.
Welcome to upside-down world.
From Associated Press: Obama argues for health care effort on Fox News:
By PHILIP ELLIOTT (AP) | March 17, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday took to the Fox News Channel, derided by his White House as a wing of the Republican Party, to sell his embattled health care overhaul in an interview punctuated with interruptions from the host and chiding from the guest.
Obama sat down with “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier in the executive mansion’s Blue Room to talk about a health care plan that is inching toward final passage. Several times Obama chided Baier for breaking into his lengthy answers with follow-up questions.
“Bret, you’ve got to let me finish my answers,” Obama told Baier, the news channel’s White House correspondent during the Bush administration.
“Sir,” Baier responded, “I know you don’t like to filibuster, but …”
“Well,” Obama said in cutting him off again, “I’m trying to answer your question and you keep on interrupting.”
The tone was set early. Baier first asked about the latest efforts in the House to pass the bill, which elicited Obama’s standard talking points about the benefits of the overhaul effort. Baier tried to bring Obama back to the question.
“Bret, let me finish,” Obama said.
An unhappy Obama completed his answer, repeating his familiar reasons why lawmakers should pass legislation that would deliver the White House a victory on its top domestic priority during an election year when Democrats face tough prospects.
“Let me insert this,” Baier said, trying to regain control of the conversation by citing some of the 18,000 questions Fox News viewers had sent to him ahead of the interview. The two he mentioned were critical of what they called bribery and trickery to pass a bill supposedly good for the country.
“Bret, I get 40,000 letters or e-mails a day,” Obama said.
The White House has been strident in its criticism of Fox News. In October its then-communications director, Anita Dunn, called Fox News “either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party” and added, “Let’s not pretend they’re a news organization like CNN is.”
Other White House officials, including press secretary Robert Gibbs, have been fervent in their opposition to the news channel.
[...]
It seemed during the interview with Baier that Obama was familiar with the criticism. The president sought to avoid questions about the legislative process Democrats are weighing to pass the proposal.
Biting commentary from Gateway Pundit, OBAMA ON FOX NEWS… Baier NAILS Obama!… Obama Approves Louisiana Purchase… Obama Flounders:
Oh my… Bret Baier just body-slammed Obama.
Barack Obama says he will support the criminal “deem and pass” vote in the House.
Obama says Washington is concerned about this but Americans are not so much worried about process.
Bret Baier is nailed Obama with all of the tricks, deceit, backroom deals, lies, etc. with Obamacare.
From Doug Ross @ Journal, Where’s TOTUS when you need him? Baier shreds President Obama on Government-run Health Care and the Shady Deals Used to Buy Off Democrats:
I’ll bet Hillary Clinton was just cracking up watching this debacle.
And ten-to-one David Axelrod was cooking up a new excuse to leak to the legacy media (“How’s this — ‘the President had a fever, that’s why his performance wasn’t top-notch’ ?”)
From Ace of Spades HQ, Obama on Fox:
…It’s not a done deal yet.
Update: Yeah, I’d say contentious is a good description.
Howie Kurtz defends Baier’s interruptions, at least until that point.
Obama says everyone knows what’s in the bill. Uh, what bill? No one has seen the bill that will be voted on (the reconciliation bill).
In summary…I think it’s fair to say Bret did not have a thrill up his leg during the interview.
Last thought: I think Baier missed one big point. Obama tried to squirm out of the Doc Fix by saying he ‘inherited it’. Baier should have pointed out the issue with that is that for a decade the Doc Fix has put off promised savings in Medicare. Why should people believe him, Nancy and Harry when they say this time hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare savings are really going to materialize this time? That’s the big issue, will the “savings”, such as they are, ever actually occur or are we going to be drowned in debt? Baier never went after him on those terms.
From National Review Online, Bret Baier:
Bret Baier just concluded the single best interview of President Obama in a year, by any reporter. He was resilient in the face of the president’s obvious attempts to run down the clock by stonewalling; Bret continually hammered a series of questions the president did not want, and yet he was polite in explaining to the president the meaning of the questions just in case they were not what the president was familiar with (see the question about Connecticut for example). It was a model of how not to be cowed by a strong and charismatic leader and a model of a truly independent anchor/reporter. President Obama knew he didn’t have Bret at the very end when his last effort at victimhood was to sarcastically hang his head to the side in response to Bret’s saying he didn’t mean to interrupt, as if Bret were being insincere—which he wasn’t. Anyone who watches the interview can see who was stalling, who was running the clock, who was refusing to answer the questions, and why polite interruption was exactly what was needed. It was a model. If any of the MSM can watch it and conclude anything it is that FNC deserves a) its ratings and b) kudos for being truly independent from the herd of faux independent minds, the likes of which Howell Raines seems to esteem. Bret showed the rest of the press how to do it from now on.
Can’t wait to hear what Rush Limbaugh has to say about this BHO interview tomorrow…
Related reading:
Legal Insurrection: Pick Up The Phone and Slaughtered By Self-Execution and The “All You Can Eat” Reconciliation Buffet
Publius, Big Government: Health Care Reform Meets the Chicago Way
C. Edmund Wright, American Thinker: Bret Baier: 1; President Obama: 0
Gateway Pundit: FOX News Analysts Agree: Bret Baier Crushed Barack Obama- Left Him Stammering (Video) and New Poll Finds Americans Really, Really Don’t Like Obamacare and Key Democrat Says Using Slaughter Rule Is “Wrong” and Obama Off by Over 3,000% on Insurance Premium Savings and Liar Obama: Your Insurance Premiums Will Decrease by 3,000% Under Obamacare (Video) and Rep. Van Hollen Admits Dems Will Use Unconstitutional “Slaughter Rule” to Ram Through Obamacare (Video) and House GOP Whip Eric Cantor: The Slaughter Rule Is Unconstitutional (Video)
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Left-wing “Seattle Times” Hates Obama’s Health Care Bill, Too… Dems Desperate, Want POTUS to Postpone His Australian/Indonesian Vacation Again and House Floor on C-SPAN: Rep. Pence Slams Pelosi & Dems for Trampling on the Constitution with Health Care Plan, The Truth on ObamaCare Costs (video) and “Lack of Political Guts”… Jack Cafferty at CNN Says Pelosi’s Slaughter Solution Is Beyond Sleazy (video) and Pelosi’s Woodstock Flashback: Peace, Love, & ObamaCare Will Let You Quit Your Day Job to Be an Artist or Writer! and Obama’s Math Lie: Health Care Premiums Will Decrease 3,000%, So You Should Get a Raise When/If ObamaCare Is Passed (video) and Another Slimey, Complex Dem Scheme to Force Through ObamaCare… Will Ram “Shell” of Health Care Bill to Pass It Through Budget Committee for Reconciliation and St. Louis Patriot Uprising: Thousands Turn Out to Protest Obama & Dems’ Health Care, Some Dem Leaders Avoid Obama’s Fundraiser (video)
Ztower: How about this, Mr. President: We “deem” you greater than Abraham Lincoln and you just stop all this nonsense?
On My Watch — The writings of SamHenry: Health Care and Financial Reform and What Next? Obama Piling it On and Congressional Guerrilla Tactics and Laws Leading to Job Loss
Scared Monkeys: Bill O’Reilly Finally on Board … “If Democrats Don’t Do an Up or Down Vote President Obama Is Done”
Hot Air: AP fact check: Premiums will rise under ObamaCare
VotingFemale: Pelosi does NOT have the votes to pass ObamaCare, no matter what ANY Progressive says
The Lonely Conservative: No Lie Too Big for Obama: Health Care Reform Will Decrease Premiums By 3000 Percent and Pelosi: When We Pass ObamaCare You Can Quit Your Job
Diary of a Mad Conservative: They are about to find out how stupid we really are and The Soft Bigotry of the Democrats abortion legislation
Half-Baked Sourdough: Practicing To Do Evil
Patterico’s Pontifications: CBO Reconciliation Score Delayed and Losing the House Over Health Care and Pelosi: I Like This Unconstitutional Sleight of Hand for Passing ObamaCare and ObamaCare: Lazy WaPo bloggers relay bogus Dem talking point and The Constitutionality of the Slaughter Solution and Health Care 101 and Democrats may have Health Care Deal; Choose Student Loans Over Babies
The Powers That Be:Obama: Pass Health Care Bill and Employer Premiums Will Decrease 3,000 Percent and You’ll Get a Raise!
Nice Deb: Video:Obama Tells Ohio Audience “Premiums Will Decrease 3000% Under ObamaCare”… and Latest ObamaCare News
The Conservative Pup: Fighting The Abuse Of Power and We’re Deemed! We’re Deemed!
Michelle Malkin: What are Pelosi and the House Democrat women up to now? and Endless “Time for talk is over” tour hits Cleveland, Ohio on Monday
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