Stay Tuned for More of 'The Obama Show'By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
In his first daytime news conference yesterday, President Obama preempted "All My Children," "Days of Our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless." But the soap viewers shouldn't have been disappointed: The president had arranged some prepackaged entertainment for them.
After the obligatory first question from the Associated Press, Obama treated the overflowing White House briefing room to a surprise. "I know Nico Pitney is here from the Huffington Post," he announced.
Obama knew this because White House aides had called Pitney the day before to invite him, and they had escorted him into the room. They told him the president was likely to call on him, with the understanding that he would ask a question about Iran that had been submitted online by an Iranian. "I know that there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet," Obama went on. "Do you have a question?"
Pitney recognized his prompt. "That's right," he said, standing in the aisle and wearing a temporary White House press pass. "I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian."
Pitney asked his arranged question. Reporters looked at one another in amazement at the stagecraft they were witnessing. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel grinned at the surprised TV correspondents in the first row.
The use of planted questioners is a no-no at presidential news conferences, because it sends a message to the world -- Iran included -- that the American press isn't as free as advertised. But yesterday wasn't so much a news conference as it was a taping of a new daytime drama, "The Obama Show." Missed yesterday's show? Don't worry: On Wednesday, ABC News will be broadcasting "Good Morning America" from the South Lawn (guest stars: the president and first lady), "World News Tonight" from the Blue Room, and a prime-time feature with Obama from the East Room.
"The Obama Show" was the hottest ticket in town yesterday. Forty-five minutes before the start, there were no fewer than 107 people crammed into the narrow aisles, in addition to those in the room's 42 seats. Japanese and Italian could be heard coming from the tangle of elbows, cameras and compressed bodies: "You've got to move! . . . Oh, God, don't step on my foot!" Some had come just for a glimpse of celebrity. And they wanted to know all about him. "As a former smoker, I understand the frustration and the fear that comes with quitting," McClatchy News's Margaret Talev empathized with the president before asking him how much he smokes.
There was a moment after 2006 when Rahm Emanuel who was in charge of the House Dems election campaigning nationwide was feted for finding conservative dems who could capitalize on the manufactured and earned dislike for Bush and the well earned dislike and contempt for the republican majorities. It is CLEAR now, what the plan was. Euchre the american populace by any means necessary for the cause, get dems into office, and WHIP them into line, ...in line with the cause...PROGRESSIVE REALIGNMENT OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC.
Forget jihad. This is the near enemy, and it was on FULL DISPLAY in ALL ITS MEANS yesterday,
You could hear it in the smarmy diingenuous answer about federally funded health insurance...
Wash Monthly (a sinkhole of analictus for the left):
I believe it was David Jackson, from USA Today, who suggested to the president this afternoon that a public health care option would "drive private insurance out of business." I thoroughly enjoyed the Obama's response.
"Why would it drive private insurance out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government -- which they say can't run anything -- suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical........
"But just conceptually, the notion that all these insurance companies who say they're giving consumers the best possible deal, if they can't compete against a public plan as one option, with consumers making the decision what's the best deal, that defies logic, which is why I think you've seen in the polling data overwhelming support for a public plan."
Why do people end up buying contaminated ultra cheap flip flops from Walmart? Why are they the largest employers in so many towns? Why is the government backing PUBLICALLY the warranties of Chrysler and GM and not Ford? Why does the post office lose money on every piece of mail?
TO BE THE CHEAPEST, YOU CRETINOUS LIAR, and grab market.
No one but the richest is going to resist the cheap govt alternative. Only those who have no understanding of capital as a force of nature, or human beings and how they behave in self interest, would even IMAGINE the absurd, illogical, stupid and therefore, considering the man, LYING argument of the president.
He is no fool.
But neither are we.