How Obama Measures Up Against Other TV Pitchmen
Turns out selling Obamacare isn't all that different from selling other things - say life insurance or reverse mortgages.
O.K., maybe it's a little different.
But lately, President Obama has been acting and sounding like some famous TV pitchmen you're bound to recognize.
"The product of the Affordable Care Act for people without health insurance is quality health insurance that's affordable," Obama said at the White House last month. "That product is working. "
Seriously, the president added, "It's really good."
Earlier this week, The Los Angeles Times observed, "As the pitchman for his landmark healthcare law, President Obama promised to make buying insurance as easy as buying a plane ticket online or a 'TV on Amazon.'"
Meanwhile, the Washington Times, noted that the president "has morphed into the world's most powerful pitch man, hawking his signature domestic achievement."
And the Washington Post's Dana Milbank recently satirized all the president's pitches, comparing one of Obama's speeches on the new health care exchanges to an "infomercial":
"If you act now, you'll also get the matching carving fork, the versatile six-in-one kitchen tool, a set of six steak knives and the spiral slicer - all for $9.95."
Given the obvious comparisons, ABC News put together a clip reel of the president and some of the most recognizable TV hawkers. The question is: Who sold it better?