On health issue, viral comes around on Obama
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama became president after capitalizing on the power of viral Internet videos, from the "Obama girl" to policy-oriented posts. Now, the president's health care reform push may be in trouble from those same tools.
A video showing Obama and Democratic Reps. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois had been viewed more than 748,000 times on YouTube as of Monday. The video shows the three talking separately at different times about a proposed government-run health insurance option and a separate proposal to make the government the "single payer" source of all health insurance.
In raucous town hall meetings around the country, opponents of the Democrats' health care push have cited comments by Obama and Frank, especially, as evidence that the Democrats' real goal is government control of health care.
The video was created by Pam Key, a 42-year-old children's book illustrator from Southern California, and posted on YouTube and her NakedEmperorNews.com site, which features selective video clips with captions calling Obama, among other things, a "socialist zealot."
Her video and others showing the comments by the three Democrats prompted the White House to set up an e-mail tips box for people to report "fishy" and incorrect information about health care reform. By Monday, the tips box apparently had been replaced by a page on the White House website (whitehouse.gov/realitycheck) that includes an invitation to "Tell us what myths we should address next."
Critics said the response smacks of Big Brotherism. Key described the White House's pushback as "stupid."
There is fresh evidence of the video's impact. Over the weekend, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the government-run health insurance option isn't an essential part of Obama's reform plans.
This isn't Key's first viral hit. Other video clips — one on the housing bailout and a compilation of Obama's speeches and statements about his philosophy of government — were viewed more than 1 million times each.
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