President’s Political Arm Follows His Lead in Drumming Up Support for Health Care Reform Push — by Criticizing Media

If Obama didn’t lie about other things, people might believe him when he says there are no death panels.

Axey, please provide one lie Obama has made, and present your argument as to why it was a lie.
I am not saying the man has never lied in his life, but people like you make these outrageous statements like that is all Obama does is lie. Present proof and maybe some one will recognize you as having at least a modicum of intelligence. Quit watching Fox and read a book, hell, even a newspaper once in a while.

1. Our opponents will create and spread outrageous lies to try to stop President Obama from creating real change. 2. We just can’t count on the media to debunk them.”
3. We are going to spend the entire recess calling people liars and not addressing any of the legitimate concerns because frankly we don’t recognize any legitimate concerns.

How namecalling and alienating half the country–as this White House and its surragates have done consistently since day one–serves the president’s goals, promises and rhetoric is beyond me. What happened to the beautiful thought, “There’s no Red America or Blue America, but the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”?

If only President Obama had access to the media, he could counter these dastardly lies!

Here is a better question:
1. How many Legal American REALLY and TRULY do NOT have access to Health Care? we all know people are not DENIED health care because anyone, including illegal aliens can go to an eregency room and get health care, but I want to know how many truly do not have access—-somewhere around 15 million out of a population of 307+ million?
2. They are advocating this health care reform because we have a high infant mortality rate?
Interesting: To be an infant they must be from birth-to-one year of age. Infant mortality comes in the for of not only health issues, but accidents, care accidents, abuse and neglect.
They also refuse to report the fact the in America, a baby is considered alive it it is born and moving or breathing, even if it lives for only lives briefly.
In some countries i a baby is born before 28 weeks, it does not count as being alive.
If a baby does not weigh a certain amount or is not long enough, it does not count as being alive.
If a baby dies within the first 24 hours of birth, they do not count as being alive.
So to say that we have the highest infant mortality rate is a FARCE and a joke.
And, for those of you who want to compare our life expectancy: the difference is that of .1-3 yrs among leading nations. Seriously, .1 to 3 yrs? Russias life expectancy is 66 yrs….now thats impressive with their Universal health care plan!

They are absolutely correct! The media overloaded the American public with health care hysteria–weeks and weeks on end with some of the most outrageous claims about health care. Now that the polls show that a whopping 75% of people who view Fox actually believe that the health bill includes government sponsored death panels, the media claims that they played absolutely no role in advancing these kind of untuths.

If only President Obama had access to the media, he could counter these dastardly lies!
Posted by: MayBee
Great post!!!! and to the point

Your employer can make you change but that has been the case forever.
Posted by: Rob |
Thus the lie.

Typical blame game. This administration is the biggest bunch of finger pointers I have ever seen. It’s the media, it’s what I “inherited”, it’s the Republicans…
When are they going to realize people are catching on to their little games.
It reminds me of a bunch of kids on the playground. “He’s touching me” “She kicked me” ” I didn’t do it”. Grow up and take some responsibility for a CHANGE.

The President, in April, discussed panels of people who would determine the moral and ethical choices to be made regarding the high cost of end-of-life care.
In two highly publicized major media events, he refused to answer in more detail about end of life care, instead choosing to allude to taking the pain pill and talking about the expense of his Grandmother’s hip when she was dying anyway.
It was his choice. Entirely his choice, to begin to address the expense of end of life care and the implications for health care cost savings, and then not explain what in the world he meant to do about it.
Blaming “death panel” talk is a way for him to avoid talking about what he realized is a cold, hard discussion that could be had but for which the public is not on his side.
He chose his own path in this debate. He’s had almost unprecedented opportunity to talk directly to the American public.
And he balked. It’s his own fault, and nobody else’s. There is no false equivalence. He said what he said, and it is for him to explain.

KMDay,
Your example has nothing to do with your statement. You are trying to pull a fast one on people who do noy or cannot read, Your reference pertains to income not insurance.
Posted by: Rob | Sep 1, 2009 4:55:08 PM
======================================
Are you friggin kidding me?
That came straight from the bill, sir…why don’t you try reading it.
it clear states if you do not have ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE…..it cannot be anymore blatantly obvious…..please tell me you have read the bill.
Good grief……this is exactly what is says…..
pages 167-168, section 401, TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE:
‘‘(a) TAX IMPOSED.—In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of—
(1) the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over
(2) the amount of gross income specified in section 6012(a)(1) with respect to the taxpayer. . . .”
By the way…acceptable health care coverage MUST include the following, also straight form the bill:
pages 26-30, SEC. 122, ESSENTIAL BENEFITS PACKAGE DEFINED:
(a) IN GENERAL.—In this division, the term ‘‘essential benefits package’’ means health benefits coverage, consistent with standards adopted under section 124 to ensure the provision of quality health care and financial security . . .
(b) MINIMUM SERVICES TO BE COVERED.—The items and services described in this subsection are the following:
(1) Hospitalization.
(2) Outpatient hospital and outpatient clinic services . . .
(3) Professional services of physicians and other health professionals.
(4) Such services, equipment, and supplies incident to the services of a physician’s or a health professional’s delivery of care . . .
(5) Prescription drugs.
(6) Rehabilitative and habilitative services.
(7) Mental health and substance use disorder services.
(8) Preventive services . . .
(9) Maternity care.
(10) Well baby and well child care . . .
So maybe in all of your awesome intelligence with your lack of either reading or understanding the bill as it reads today, you can explain why a 50 year old woman who cannot have children and has no living at home must pay to cover well baby/well child or prenatal care or why one who does not have mental issues or substance abuse issue along with no family history must pay to cover this too?

“One can question whether there will by necessity be any rationing decisions that will need to come as a part of health care reform (and, in fact, we have) but pictures of government bureaucrats forcing euthanasia upon seniors — and, now, children with Down syndrome — because they’re not productive members of society are not part of any reasonable debate on the facts of the matter.”
From Jake’s original report. So the question has to be, why are all these lies continuing to be reported at all?

And as part of that “socialist” nonsense coming for the GOP, is Medicare Socialism? How about Social Security or Unemployment Insurance? And frankly insurance of any kind is really a form of Socialism, many paying into a common fund for the benefit of a few, sounds Socialist to me. I guess we should just turn back to a couple hundred years ago and make everything “survival of the fittest”. The strong takes it all. Every man for himself. Wouldn’t that be a great “civilization”?

“why not put it in the bill seeing as over 77% of Americans do not want their money to pay for abortions?”
What poll is that from?

David Brooks:
The result is the Obama slide, the most important feature of the current moment. The number of Americans who trust President Obama to make the right decisions has fallen by roughly 17 percentage points. Obama’s job approval is down to about 50 percent. All presidents fall from their honeymoon highs, but in the history of polling, no newly elected American president has fallen this far this fast.
Anxiety is now pervasive. Trust in government rose when Obama took office. It has fallen back to historic lows. Fifty-nine percent of Americans now think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

What I hear the current administration saying is, “If I cannot control you, I will criticize you.” The media should not exist for the sole purpose of being the President’s marketing arm…even though most except Obama feel they’ve acted that way recently. The question now is whether the media will respond by rolling over and more aggresively pushing the Obama healthcare message.

Mr. Obama should know something about putting out misinformation, that’s for sure.

I cannot imagine for the life of me why anyone would still support this administration! Obama has lied, bullied, cheated and extorted his way through the stimulus disaster and now he is using the same tactics for Cap and tax and the health care disaster….
This month has been the bloodiest month in Afganistan, the dealers are yet to be paid in the cash for clunkers mess…He’s attacking our civil rights of free speech and has insulted our allies, policemen, physicians, nurses, profitable businesses, wall street, the CIA, and middle Americans. He’s surrounded himself with shady “czars” to do his bidding, has asked the American people to “flag” opposition to his plans then saved the emails to send spam from David Axelrod….
How can ANYONE stand with this man?

“1. Our opponents will create and spread outrageous lies to try to stop President Obama from creating real change. 2. We just can’t count on the media to debunk them.”—- Don’t like your idea of real change, and I find it intruding, ‘un-American’, heavy-handed, and costly. So, I’m going to make myself heard. I am educated enough to see through media slant, whichever direction it may come from. OFA, ha! Rookies.

Because BO has become so used to the media covering stories in favor of him, he has clearly forgotten that the job of the journalist (unless its an op-ed) is to just report, and leave it for the readers to decide. From the look of it, it seems that the media has also awoken to its actual role. Enjoy BO….

“…he has clearly forgotten that the job of the journalist (unless its an op-ed) is to just report, and leave it for the readers to decide.”
baiter | Sep 1, 2009 6:20:14 PM
A media that reports a lie when the research they are paid to do clearly shows it is a lie is worthless.
Opinions differ, but the facts and reality do not.

Mary:” We’re forced to pay into Medicare, SS and Unemployment, so it’s our money when we need it!! I’d prefer to have that money to invest as I choose, but I don’t have that choice.”
SS is designed to keep financial idiots from starving in the streets when they retire. How would letting them waste their own money deal with the issue of elderly living on the street and eating dogfood exactly?
With the way the market has performed lately, I though the “privatize the safety net” fools were quieted down for a while.

This administration whines more than any other in my lifetime. So they can’t count on the media for free campaign advertising and propaganda anymore? Waaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Now they hire the unions to do their dirty work of bullying the public and spreading misinformation.

With the way the market has performed lately, I though the “privatize the safety net” fools were quieted down for a while.
Posted by: jhw539 |
Now if we could quiet the fools that think an empty lock box is a safety net.

“I certainly never thought the mainstream media was covering what she said out of any respect for her.”
it just goes to show you, no matter how stupid something might be – if people read it the media (or more importantly – SEE IT ON TV), a certain (and sadly large) per centage will believe it.
That is why the fear and smear campaigns of the right wing sometimes work. That is why many people thought Saddam was responsible for 9/11.
That is America.

“Now if we could quiet the fools that think an empty lock box is a safety net.”
Foghorn Leghorn | Sep 1, 2009 6:41:20 PM
? Gore clearly proved how much the public really cared about putting Social Security in a lock box (although technically I guess a majority did agree with him, just not in the electoral college).

“With the way the market has performed lately, I though the ‘privatize the safety net’ fools were quieted down for a while.”
No reason for those who advocated partial privatization of social security to quiet down, except that it can never be passed.
As Al Gore noted, over any 40-year term in American history, equity securities have grown in value at an annualized rate of something like 11%. That is true no matter when you start the clock, including October 28, 1928. Those like myself who are now receiving SS benefits are realizing an annualized return of about 1.5%.
The barrier to tranisitioning from the current system to a private one is simply that the present system is a Ponzi scheme, with earlier investors being paid out of current receipts.
I wouldn’t describe SS as “socialist,” in that what you get back from it is proportional to what you put in, and if you don’t contribute you get nothing. In other words it has not–yet–been transformed into a welfare program. I’d certainly call it statist, since the government compels participation. I accept it because it has long since become an integral part of our culture, and it has a rather limited purpose. However because it is administered by the federal government it is, of course, a fiscal disaster, brought about by the singular lack of courage on the part of politicians of both parties for four or five decades now.
I opposed Medicare at the time it was enacted because I thought it would very soon become fiscally unsound, and I was absolutely correct on that one. It now has an unfunded liability whose present value is $33 Trillion, and those chickens are certainly going to come home to roost in one fashion or another. Having been coercively taxed to pay for the system, I now happily accept its benefits, supplemented by private insurance. That doesn’t mean it was sound public policy at the time it was enacted. It wasn’t, and for the reasons I cited at the time.

it just goes to show you, no matter how stupid something might be – if people read it the media (or more importantly – SEE IT ON TV), a certain (and sadly large) per centage will believe it.
========
Do you think this applies only to things *you* don’t believe?
Our President has taken to the airwaves to push some pretty questionable claims about health care and his (nonexistent) health care plan.
The OFA email linked above says:
“Real reform will bring down costs, create more choices- including the choice of a public option- and guarantee access to health care for all of us.”
Is that the “truth”? Will there be the choice of a public option? Will costs be brought down?
I don’t think either one of those is anything more than speculation. I don’t think it’s responsible to pretend those are truths in an email about supposed lies.

Smear campaigns? You mean like Obama smear the Plumber,”
How was Sam the Plumber unlicensed helper smeared?
Was it the report that he was on welfare?
Or that he had failed to pay taxes?
How about the part where his question to Obama was a completely made up scenario?

“As Al Gore noted, over any 40-year term in American history, equity securities have grown in value at an annualized rate of something like 11%. That is true no matter when you start the clock, including October 28, 1928. Those like myself who are now receiving SS benefits are realizing an annualized return of about 1.5%.”
Wow the stock market is apparently a sure bet and you cannot lose money.
Have you sold many bridges lately?

Axey, here’s his lie. How about No lobbyist will work in my adminstration. He broke that lie within 48 hours of saying it.

“How about No lobbyist will work in my adminstration.”
That is not what Obama’s lobbying reforms said.

Ryan, what I meant to say was that he could leave it to his kids when he dies (not when he retires).

Obama is an empty suit. He whines every time something doesn’t go his way. He thinks we are supposed to follow him like a bunch of blind sheep. The sheep that elected him, are taking off their rose colored glasses and waking up. He hollars and whines like a crybaby. Grow up Obama, not everyone who disagrees with your leftist policies is racist. Some of us just have more sense.

Julieterra, I urge you–passionately–to look into what I have just told you. I am not talking about what may happen in any one-, or two-, or five year period. I am talking about forty-year periods.
I challenge you to find me any date in US history on which a person could have begun a 40-year program of regular, constant investments in Dow Jones equity securities that would have yielded less than a 10% annual rate of return over that forty years. You can’t do it.

“So provided one is a 40 year investor, its impossible to lose money and a guaranteed spectacular return.”
He might be right to some extent [guaranteed spectacular?], but it’s only one investment strategy. There is no guarantee that if the majority of investors adopted this particular long term strategy that cagey investors wouldn’t adopt counter-strategies to undermine it.

“The Government should shut down any media outlet that is relaying these lies against America and our President.
It’s treason.”
*****
Are you serious?
If so, you are a wrong as you can be.
All the media SHOULD be doing is reporting the facts, rather than trying to be opinion sources.

“No different than Baghdad Bob is Obama and his thugs.”
No difference…. none whatsoever.
Saddam Hussein tortured and murdered his own people…. Barack Hussein Obama is trying to pass health care reform.
No difference there.

Julieterra, I urge you–passionately–to look into what I have just told you.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena |
Of course, investing your own SS savings in stocks was only one OPTION. You could put it in a bank. Or a cd. Or US Treasuries. Or …
The arguments against giving folks control over their own SS savings are, well to put it in terms they will understand, palinesque.

I’m glad Obama is calling out the press on this… they HAVE given the conservative think tanks a ton of free press on their lies.
It’s high time they reported the other side…. the facts.
It’s absolutely insane that after 8 years of a Republican president (most of those with a Republican Congress), they did NOTHING to help our health care system. And, in fact, for decades, they have actually been pushing to cut and eventually eliminate Medicare.
And, now, suddenly, they charge in, as a minority party with no plan whatsoever and derail the Democrats’ plan to actually do something about it? And the press treats them as though their complaints are equal, if not more important…
I would hope that people have the sense to hold the press, especially cable news outlets, accountable for reporting politics rather than facts.

The problem with debunking made up talking points is actually tricky. The essential problem is pedagogical – studies show that if incorrect information is repeated, even in the context of debunking it, it results in people remembering the false information. Those who do not follow an issue closely can easily be misled by people who are willing to knowingly continue to propogate falsehoods (like Fascist Hyena, for example). This is because they will remember the information despite it being known to be false in the context it was presented. People remember a limited amount of information, and even less of the context of the information. They will forever be succeptable to the “oh yeah, I heard of that” syndrome
***********
This is so true.
Point: Restaurants that have appeared on the “food police finds fault” type of shows have had INCREASED business.
So there are rat droppings?
Oh really, I just remembered hearing that name somewhere.
*******
Regardless
The Obama team needs to step up CLEAR, CONCISE information. Like:
This reform will be a unique AMERICAN approach … not socialist, not corporate greed — just effective and fair for all Americans.
Not welfare entitlement, no way… just living by the Constitution’s preamble to promote the GENERAL WELFARE…
Yep

John D…
How is someone supposed to disprove your outlandish claim that Obama is going to create his own domestic security force and murder people like Saddam Hussein?
I mean, it’d be like trying to prove that Obama hasn’t summoned a secret army of leprechaun-centaurs to impregnate all the white women in Alabama with their mongrel seed.

Foghorn, I was actually being generous. If I wanted to fight talking points with talking points, I could easily have said
“the wackos that made of mess of Terry Sciavo’s personal tragedy are at it again, trying to put all of you in the same position”
Thats REALLY what the objection to page 425 is all about, after all.

“So provided one is a 40 year investor, its impossible to lose money and a guaranteed spectacular return. Is that what you are saying?”
No. Please read carefully. What I am saying is I guarantee that for the past two centuries it has been impossible to lose money under the simple, well-understood investment strategy that I have described, and that over those two centuries the returns have indeed been quite spectacular for those who followed that strategy for the long term.
If I or anyone else were to “guarantee” such a return, the price of investing in the guaranteed strategy would immediately increase, and the returns would decrease accordingly. All I can do is tell you what has been true through the ages in this country, through wars, depressions, recessions, booms, scandals, floods and famines.
You’ll have to make your own decisions about how you see the future returns on your investments, and you’ll have to adjust the price you are willing to pay according to the risk you perceive.
Do you see the FICA taxes that are being taken from you as a risk-free investment? Do you really believe that the US government today offers you any guarantee of any kind that you will ever see any of it?
I’d be interested to know…

“Please read carefully. What I am saying is I guarantee that for the past two centuries it has been impossible to lose money under the simple, well-understood investment strategy that I have described, and that over those two centuries the returns have indeed been quite spectacular for those who followed that strategy for the long term.”
Fascist Hyena | Sep 1, 2009 9:37:25 PM
Buy and hold has not been possible for the small investor until quite recently, with the advent of low cost index funds.
And up until three years ago, you may as well have been saying the exact some thing about investing in real estate. It has never gone down in the long term, right?
Besides 1929 making your 40 year return look a bit weak, a 40 year outlook is absurd. The majority of investment occurs in the final decade of work, when salaries are the highest, not the first decade. A 30 year outlook is more responsible, and yes you can find 30 year periods that did not keep up with inflation.
Personally, I have moved to a buy and forget index strategy (mostly – I have some play money in retirement, but only what I can afford to lose). It’s easy with modern low load index funds and I’m lazy. But I’m not so foolish as to think there is no place for true no risk investments (my 10% bond allocation actually got a bit of a bump in the crash last year) or that our stock market can’t go the way of Japan’s (potentially mixed with some strong inflation that would devastate true returns).

I have to give credit where due, jake and ABC news have been much better than the rest of the media on this point.
However, this post itself suffers from the problem Obama and OFA are pointing out.
Jake writes:
Stating that end of life care [sic]was “previously considered a bipartisan concept,” the president said, “this used to be just a sensible thing that everybody could agree to.”
This doesn’t really accurately portray what Obama said, and certainly does not help to clarify the issue.
Here’s the actual transcript:
“There was a provision in the House bill that very sensibly said, you know, a lot of people towards the end of their life, they haven’t prepared with things like a living will, they don’t understand what their options are in terms of hospice, and we should reimburse people if they want that counseling. Voluntarily. If they want it, that’s something that Medicare should reimburse for. It shouldn’t just be wealthy people who get good counseling and information about how to handle their affairs during a very difficult time.
So that voluntary provision that permits reimbursement, which, by the way, Republicans had supported previously — this was previously considered a bipartisan concept — a Republican senator, former Republican House member, introduced a even — a much more aggressive bill on this issue in the prescription drug bill passed by the Republican members of Congress; they had a similar provision for terminally ill patients. So this used to be just a sensible thing that everybody could agree to — suddenly became death panels, and scared — scared Grandma. (Laughter.) And it’s just irresponsible.”

Ryan C, I recommend you go to Amazon.com and invest in a book entitled “Get Rich Slowly” by William T. Spitz. Nothing political in it at all. It simply tells you in plain terms the facts about long-term investing. If you don’t like it, fine; you’ve wasted fifteen bucks. But maybe it will change your life, if you’re young enough.
But there’s nothing I can recommend to you that will convert your FICA taxes into a sensible investment. Not even God could do that.

Fascist Hyena | Sep 1, 2009 9:51:41 PM
I think the folks that designed SS were afraid that people would take the money and blow it on unsound investments–who’s going to make sure they invest it correctly? Then we’d have a whole bunch of people with no retirement funds at all.

Posted by: jhw539 | Sep 1, 2009 9:59:42 PM
The strawman per square inch in that post was impressive.

“Posted by: jhw539 | Sep 1, 2009 9:59:42 PM
The strawman per square inch in that post was impressive.”
Foghorn Leghorn | Sep 1, 2009 10:04:26 PM
You’re like a random sentence generator. A strawman is exaggerating and falsely attributing arguments to the opposing side. I did not attribute any argument to the opposing side, I laid out my own reasoning supporting my thesis.
Since you’re clearly to the trolling portion of the evening and I’ve finally wrapped up work with an incredibly slow database, have fun trolling by yourself.

From the “Chronicles of Lying Hypocrite Sarah Palin” files:
Healthcare Decisions Day Printer Friendly
WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions. WHEREAS, in Alaska, Alaska Statute 13.52 provides the specifics of the advance directives law and offers a model form for patient use.
…
WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of Healthcare Decisions Day is to encourage hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives, as well as to encourage medical professionals and lawyers to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public knowledge and increase the number of Alaska’s citizens with advance directives.
…
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, do hereby proclaim April 16, 2008, as:
Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

How long will it be, before the media of other Nations are running stories of U.S. political dissidents and their mug shots? Of course the caption underneath some will read “blogger”. Remember that oh media ones? Pathetic.

…to use a baseball analogy that maybe you can relate to. (Jack) “you are just covering your bases…”

A strawman is exaggerating and falsely attributing arguments to the opposing side. I did not attribute any argument to the opposing side, I laid out my own reasoning supporting my thesis.
Posted by: jhw539 |
When you responded to FH’s statement concerning stock market returns over a 40 year period you wrote:
“a 40 year outlook is absurd. The majority of investment occurs in the final decade of work, when salaries are the highest, not the first decade. A 30 year outlook is more responsible, and yes you can find 30 year periods that did not keep up with inflation.”
Your 30 year period is a strawman.

“How long will it be, before the media of other Nations are running stories of U.S. political dissidents and their mug shots?”
It was already done throughout the 60s and the Vietnam war.

CNN: 63% disapprove of Obama’s handling of the deficit.

The AARP is buying into the healthcare fight siding with the administration as if seniors can’t really read what the plan says!
A lot of seniors are bailing out of the AARP because of this move!

Despite continued attacks from Republicans in August over his health care plans, President Obama’s overall approval rating has only dipped a couple percentage points. In the latest CBS News poll released Tuesday night, the president’s overall approval rating is 56 percent, which is down two points from the last poll taken at the end of July.

This guy wouldn’t have been elected President without them.
Posted by: Kevin
much more simple than that, he was elected because the citizens chose him over
McCain & Palin , rejected all the dumb they represented and said….. pretty simple actually

“…the citizens chose him over
McCain & Palin , rejected all the dumb they represented…”
+ or -, I don’t disagree with you but the outcome may have been different if they had investigated Obama as hard as they did the repub VP. The number with voter remorse is astounding.
Obama has proven that McCain/Palin didn’t corner the market in the “dumb” category. He’s trying to pass a healthcare bill that the Chairman of the House Judiciary says he can’t understand, passed a stimulus package no one read, said no lobbyists a day before hiring his first, held a fiscal responsibility conference after passing a record $3.5T budget, claims the media is playing unfairly even though they have backed him 100% and he has the bully pulpit, said no earmarks before signing an omnibus bill containing over 9000, said no CIA investigation a few months before one is announced, holds scripted press and town hall meetings, said we wouldn’t see higher than 8% unemployment due to his stimulus package he likely didn’t read, said no new taxes and then taxes everything that moves (alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, soda, candy, investments,…), showed no class to Bush during his inaugural, slammed Bush on the economy and defense but kept Gates and Bernanke, slammed Bush on every issue possible during the campaign and then comes to office with the thinnest skin ever,….I could keep going but maybe you get the point.
I think Bush made a lot of mistakes. I think Obama has as well. Hope America can prosper in spite of both gentlemen.

Let him whine against the media — maybe that will cause them to wake up and finally treat him like the lying scumbag most people now know he is.

Kevin:
re: if they had investigated Obama as hard as they did the repub VP.
I seem to remember extended periods of, ‘secret muslim, Rev. Wright, Ayres revolutionary anti american cosorting with terrorists,, black socialist theology, hates america.. etc… all during the campaign as well much coverage saying that he had only been in the congress for a short time, ‘what has he done’ stories.
and of course, there was the recent ‘birther’ madness that was in the news for so long….
re: ‘The number with voter remorse is astounding.’
that remains to be seen after 4 years, Obama will be judged for real at that point.
re: ‘showed no class to Bush during his inaugural,
you’ll have to explain this one to me….
re: ‘ holds scripted press and town hall meetings,
you know this…… as absolute fact?
re: ‘I could keep going but maybe you get the point.’
I believe I have some insight on your feelings about Obama.. ;-)
Bush & Cheney have a record, for 8 years, a record I think is demonstrably a failure, illustrated by Sept 11th, Iraq, Afghanistan, response to Hurricane Katrina, the economic crash in the Fall of 2008 to name a few… it remains to be seen if they committed any violations of US law that if exposed, would be prosecuted…
I don’t know if Obama’s policies will work or not, I voted for him, it’s only been 8 months. and I have no remorse..
I will wait and see.. that’s what I felt with Bush & Cheney after the 2000 election, … I wanted Gore to win, he didn’t, ….and I see where we ended up.

Has anyone noticed that there are numerous ads in favor of the health care/insurance bill? Have you also noticed that ABC and NBC won’t run ads not in favor of the bill because they are partisan??? Sounds like free speech to me(not).

Blazerdad, wrote: “Furthermore, why would the government seize any and all of your financial information? And doesn’t it just make sense that if you’re going to be approved to get a discounted health insurance plan, you should be able to prove that you qualify? Do we really want millionaires scamming the system for free healthcare?”
One of the other networks–the one with the big eye–has a report by Declan McCullagh. Here is just one excerpt talking about HR 3200:
“Section 431(a) of the bill says that the IRS must divulge taxpayer identity information, including the filing status, the modified adjusted gross income, the number of dependents, and ‘other information as is prescribed by’ regulation. That information will be provided to the new Health Choices Commissioner and state health programs and used to determine who qualifies for ‘affordability credits.’
“Section 245(b)(2)(A) says the IRS must divulge tax return details — there’s no specified limit on what’s available or unavailable — to the Health Choices Commissioner. The purpose, again, is to verify ‘affordability credits.’
“Section 1801(a) says that the Social Security Administration can obtain tax return data on anyone who may be eligible for a ‘low-income prescription drug subsid’ but has not applied for it.”
Tax returns are supposed to be confidential. Yes, the IRS is part of the federal government. But the IRS is not supposed to share information without a subpoena or warrant. Now then, yes you are right when an individual applies for a program he or she is asked some financial questions. BUT the application usually has a clause where the individual must sign that the information is true under penalty of law. ONLY if a person is actually suspected of falsifying information or having committed fraud, THEN the federal government has the right to request the tax return information from the IRS–but only with a warrant.
The last item in the above excerpt, Sec. 1801 (a), would allow the Social Security Administration to obtain individual tax returns on anyone or EVERYONE just to determine whether the individuals are eligible for a program. THAT IS CLEARLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

This whining is coming from the guy who promised transparency, no signing statements, no closed door negotiations, no lobbyists in his White House and no wasteful earmarks?
Really, Barry.
No one believes you.
You can keep your doctor?
A lie.
You can keep you plan?
A lie.
No coverag fo abortions?
A lie
No covering illegals?
A lie.
No cutting Medicare?
A lie.
No death panels?
If not, then why was the language changed?
Har.

If Obama and the rest of the Democrats in DC believe that their plan is so great for the taxpayers why don’t they come out and say that they will be the first ones to use it and lead by example. If I was a wagring person my bet would be that they would NOT use their plan.

“No death panels? If not, then why was the language changed?”
Since the time Sarah “Death Panel” Palin came out with her first lies about HR 3200, no language in that bill has changed, nor have there been announcements of changes to that bill. Stop spreading lies and put your money where your mouth is… point out the location of the invisible panels in section 1233!

+or-, thanks for the reply. I’ve had trouble getting this posted. On many of these we’ll likely have to agree to disagree as I doubt either of us will change our opinion.
When Palin was nominated, the media sent literally hundreds of reporters to Alaska and they picked apart everything she did and some things she didn’t do. With Obama, Fox News forced the media to look at Wright, Ayers and other topics but do you, today, have any understanding of what he did as a social worker? What role he played with ACORN? How he was able to go to the best schools and build such wealth? How radical his ideas really are (he’s surrounded himself with some interesting characters). Shouldn’t we know more about our President? He wrote two books and the media rarely quoted from those books. I just felt they could have done more.
The voter remorse is evident in the poll numbers. Could it change, yep, in either direction.
The inaugural. Obama couldn’t help but stay in campaign mode and take shots at Bush – very unnecessary and showed no class.
Scripted press and town hall meetings. When you have an 11 yr old girl, that just happens to be the daughter of someone considered a potential delegate for that state, ask (paraphrasing) “Gee, Mr President why don’t the mean protestors understand the enormous need for healthcare reform?’; it sounds scripted to me. Don’t you find it odd that someone in Montana uses the words “constitution” and “guns” during a town hall meeting and only gets a smattering of applause? Isn’t it odd that in every press conference, Obama has had 4 or 5 point answers to questions. Looked like the answers were already on his teleprompter. Even if they are not fixed, I don’t appreciate 12 minute answers to “what enchants you, Mr President”. I also don’t appreciate the other “softball” questions.
I’m not a fan of Bush so I won’t defend him. On the war front, though, where were your Democrats keeping him honest? Many of them didn’t even bother to read the intelligence reports? Where were the tough speeches telling the American people why it was a bad idea? I’m also not sure how 9/11 was Bush’s fault. The terrorists did the majority of their planning during the Clinton administration. The economic crash belongs to Bush because it happened under his watch. But Dems had a role in their lack of oversight of Fannie, Freddie, AIG and Countrywide. Dodd and Conrad were getting sweetheart deals and the rest of the Dems fought off oversight legislation. Also, the Dems had control of congress since Jan ’07 and if the crisis was so obvious, had plenty of time to try to fix it (what’s their incentive if they are receiving perks?). What was their highest priority in ’08 while banking, housing and the energy sector was causing problems – investigating Roger Clemons. And if Bush handled the economic crisis so poorly, why did Obama stay with Bernanke?
The economy is likely to show some improvement. You can’t throw trillions at the economy and not have some of it stick. But long term, I think Obama’s policies are bad for the economy, employment, inflation and this country. Hope I’m wrong.

>>For the record, HERE’s the first report we did on the erroneous claims about death panels.
Yeah…but no one read it. People have abandoned the MSM for the web. Don’t know if it’s just because they can or an inherent distrust of the MSM…though all that sucking up to BO during the campaign didn’t help….

This guy and his lackeys are pathetic. When he doesn’t get what he wants he Boo Hoo’s and blames it on Bush,the republicans and now the media. I saw today that he cleans up after BO when they go for a walk, comrade Obi-Wan should clean up some of the crap Rahmy and axleboob have created for him.
I don’t like ABC Jake and haven’t watched their news programming for a long time but I commend you for putting up information that at least doesn’t smack of the Obi- Wan favoritism that is so rampant among your cohorts there at ABC. Sometimes it’s so blatently transparent it Might as well be OBC.

My guess is that President Obama’s father came over in a plane! I further guess that each of the previous 43 presidents CAN trace THEIR ancestral roots to having been “brought over here on ships.” Of course if you count President Obama’s mother’s side of the family, then they too can probably trace their ancestral roots to having been “brought over here on ships.”