Tonight! For one night only! Obama vs. Fox News!

[Gonad the Barbarian]

You're damn right it's the "truth." Some of that Fox News "truth."

Is the process of the bill's passage fair game to ask about? Sure it is. But leave it to Fox to accuse the POTUS of bullying, trickery, and bribery while broaching the subject. I'm a little surprised they didn't ask him if he still beats his wife.

 

[sandorski]

But it is also the "truth" , remember the bribe to get the original bill passed?

Is their any Bill where such things don't happen?

 

[OrByte]

:::sigh:::

There is a reason why we left monarchy behind and created a country where ALL men (including the elected leaders) are created equal.

Obama, president or not, is just a man. He was clearly dodging questions and trying to make a speech rather than give a real interview. He got called on it... and rightly so.

He is not a king, nor a god... Just a man elected to lead a country in which all men are equal. He deserves the same treatment as any other interviewee.

So knock it off guys. The minute we allow our leaders to be our "betters" we are doomed.

no I disagree completely.

How can people, on one hand say he is "just another man" and then throw a conniption fit when he bows to other Country leaders? No one believes that the POTUS is just another man. Just what are other leaders of other countries supposed to think of the POTUS when we let little rat "journalists" behave so disrespectfully? Same argument right? Dont we want our POTUS to be respected in other countries? just how is that supposed to be if we can't even show him respect here in the US?

he is not just another man...jeez..... Apologist much?

I don't recall GWB being treated that way....except for maybe David Gregory towards the end of GWBs term.

edit: I don't understand why you bring Monarchy into the argument...no one is asking Obama to be treated like a King. But just compare the two interviews linked in this thread...the one with GWB, and the one with BHO....only a partisan hack would say that BHO was treated with the same respect as GWB.

seriously.

 

[fantolay]

let's see, economy is improving, McCain says we're winning in Afghanistan, there's a chance we'll stop pouring money down the drain in Iraq, this administration doesn't believe "deficits don't matter", which last administration stated.

And current justice department believes President is subject to law and does not have unlimited power.

How is this "failure" ?

Ignorant.

The war in Afghanistan? Yeah, that DEFINITELY isn't a waste of money. Who actually thinks we are going to find Osama? Nobody. What is the stated endgame for Afghanistan? The timeline for troop withdrawal in Afghanistan is absurd too.

Oh and looky here, you took a quote out of the historical context it was stated in! That shows you are as capable as a two year old, is that all you got?

 

[kage69]

I think that interview, and hell this thread, serves as a great example of just how much republicans are full of themselves. The lowest of expectations with Bush has morphed into demanding the utmost with Obama, the former sensitivity to decorum and respect has now been replaced with a petulant, hypocritical desire to dismiss and insult.

That wasn't a real interview, as someone mentioned already that was a soundbite fishing trip for Faux. The only thing it proved was that giving the talking heads there any attention is a waste of time.

 

[Deeko]

Bret Baier's show is not an opinion show, it's one of the few on Fox news that is supposed to be straight news excepting the last 15 minutes with a roundtable of conservatives/liberals commenting on issues etc.

Bret Baier had nothing to do with my post. Read the post I was replying to.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I got to thinking more about those e-mail questions today, and they really read just like a freaking message board troll post.

Title: If the health care bill is so wonderful, why does Obama have to bribe Congress to pass it?

Body: If the bill is so good for all of us, why all the intimidation, arm twisting, seedy deals, and parliamentary trickery necessary to pass a bill, when Obama has an overwhelming majority in both houses and the presidency?

Fox News tried to troll the POTUS.

 

[Fern]

Bret Baier had nothing to do with my post. Read the post I was replying to.

Ooops! My bad. :$

Fern

 

[Fear No Evil]

I got to thinking more about those e-mail questions today, and they really read just like a freaking message board troll post.

Title: If the health care bill is so wonderful, why does Obama have to bribe Congress to pass it?

Body: If the bill is so good for all of us, why all the intimidation, arm twisting, seedy deals, and parliamentary trickery necessary to pass a bill, when Obama has an overwhelming majority in both houses and the presidency?

Fox News tried to troll the POTUS.

Brett had the emails with him. Bo just had the response 'But! But! I have 40,000!' But yes, every time someone disagrees with the President they are a troll, stupid, etc. Pretty much the standard line from the left since 1980.

 

[HumblePie]

Brett had the emails with him. Bo just had the response 'But! But! I have 40,000!' But yes, every time someone disagrees with the President they are a troll, stupid, etc. Pretty much the standard line from the left since 1980.

And yet, neither you, nor Amused, nor anyone else that has made the claim that Obama was dodging questions has YET to back that claim up.

Come on, I've got $100 in paypal waiting for the first person to make a post that has an exact question done by Bret that Obama did not answer. Easy $100 if you can back up your claims. Again, put up or shut up.

 

[Fear No Evil]

And yet, neither you, nor Amused, nor anyone else that has made the claim that Obama was dodging questions has YET to back that claim up.

Come on, I've got $100 in paypal waiting for the first person to make a post that has an exact question done by Bret that Obama did not answer. Easy $100 if you can back up your claims. Again, put up or shut up.

The dodging started right from the start. Bret asks him about the Slaughter rule and Deem and Pass.. etc.. Obama goes into a fucking campaign speech:

OBAMA: Here's what I think is going to happen and what should happen. You now have a proposal from me that will be in legislation, that has the toughest insurance reforms in history, makes sure that people are able to get insurance even if they've got preexisting conditions, makes sure that we are reducing costs for families and small businesses, by allowing them to buy into a pool, the same kind of pool that members of Congress have.

We know that this is going to reduce the deficit by over a trillion dollars. So you've got a good package, in terms of substance. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the House or the Senate.

That has NOTHING to do with the question that Bret Baier asked.. If he wouldn't have stopped him Obama would have went on for 90 minutes on hope and change.

Then he starts going on about the premiums going up.. never addressing the specifics things Bret asked him about.

Bret had to keep interupting him because he never would answer a straight question. Of course you can't see this because you got that tingle going up your leg every time Obama speaks.

Donate the $100 to your favorite non-political charity.. not that I expect you to admit anything here.

 

[NFS4]

MSNBC did an entire story on the tone of the interview without addressing the content at all. And they think Fox isn't a news agency! (Note: I'm not a fan of either network, but the irony...)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35919750/ns/politics-white_house/

That is an Associated Press article.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Brett had the emails with him. Bo just had the response 'But! But! I have 40,000!' But yes, every time someone disagrees with the President they are a troll, stupid, etc. Pretty much the standard line from the left since 1980.

Better then the "anyone who disagreed with Bush" was held to be a traitor, terrorist-loving treasonous person. Didn't hear you complaining then.

What happened to the idea that speaking against the president in "time of war" was wrong, since it undermined the "war effort". For 7 years Fox and others spewed that concept. Didn't hear you complain about that either.

So did we magically end the war when Obama was elected?

Funny how you only complain about Dem's but give a free pass to Reps when they did the same thing, or worse, for 7 years.

 

[HumblePie]

The dodging started right from the start. Bret asks him about the Slaughter rule and Deem and Pass.. etc.. Obama goes into a fucking campaign speech:

BAIER: You have said at least four times in the past two weeks: "the United States Congress owes the American people a final up or down vote on health care." So do you support the use of this Slaughter rule? The deem and pass rule, so that Democrats avoid a straight up or down vote on the Senate bill?

Obama:
If they don't, if they vote against, then they're going to be voting against health care reform and they're going to be voting in favor of the status quo. So Washington gets very concerned about these procedural issues in Congress. This is always an issue that's — whether Republicans are in charge or Democrats in charge — when Republicans are in charge, Democrats constantly complain that the majority was not giving them an opportunity, et cetera.
...
The key is to make sure that we vote — we have a vote on whether or not we're going to maintain the status quo, or whether we're going to reform the system.
...
And yes, I have said that is an ugly process. It was ugly when Republicans were in charge, it was ugly were in Democrats were in charge.



So he comes out and says they have to do something. So yes he's for it even though he still believes what they do is an "ugly process"

So question asked and answer given. Even with clarification later.


Now, was it a typical round about answer. Yep. Long and could have been a yes or no... but he didn't think a yes without quantifying it would be enough. Sometimes it is not enough.

For example. If you asked me my stance on abortions. I am pro-choice.... but here is my quantifier. I am against late term. So once third trimester hits, I am against it. See.. not so simple to give a yes or no answer to.


So basically Obama will suport anything Congress does in their own procedural eays to get this bill passed. He may not like what they do, but he supports it.

 

[Fear No Evil]

Better then the "anyone who disagreed with Bush" was held to be a traitor, terrorist-loving treasonous person. Didn't hear you complaining then.

What happened to the idea that speaking against the president in "time of war" was wrong, since it undermined the "war effort". For 7 years Fox and others spewed that concept. Didn't hear you complain about that either.

So did we magically end the war when Obama was elected?

Funny how you only complain about Dem's but give a free pass to Reps when they did the same thing, or worse, for 7 years.

Uhh.. The interview didn't have anything to do with the wars. Bu Bu Boooooosh!

 

[Fear No Evil]

BAIER: You have said at least four times in the past two weeks: "the United States Congress owes the American people a final up or down vote on health care." So do you support the use of this Slaughter rule? The deem and pass rule, so that Democrats avoid a straight up or down vote on the Senate bill?

Obama:
If they don't, if they vote against, then they're going to be voting against health care reform and they're going to be voting in favor of the status quo. So Washington gets very concerned about these procedural issues in Congress. This is always an issue that's — whether Republicans are in charge or Democrats in charge — when Republicans are in charge, Democrats constantly complain that the majority was not giving them an opportunity, et cetera.
...
The key is to make sure that we vote — we have a vote on whether or not we're going to maintain the status quo, or whether we're going to reform the system.
...
And yes, I have said that is an ugly process. It was ugly when Republicans were in charge, it was ugly were in Democrats were in charge.



So he comes out and says they have to do something. So yes he's for it even though he still believes what they do is an "ugly process"

So question asked and answer given. Even with clarification later.


Now, was it a typical round about answer. Yep. Long and could have been a yes or no... but he didn't think a yes without quantifying it would be enough. Sometimes it is not enough.

For example. If you asked me my stance on abortions. I am pro-choice.... but here is my quantifier. I am against late term. So once third trimester hits, I am against it. See.. not so simple to give a yes or no answer to.


So basically Obama will suport anything Congress does in their own procedural eays to get this bill passed. He may not like what they do, but he supports it.

He eventually answered.. only after Baier forced him too. His initial response had NOTHING to do with the question.. thats called deflection and an attempt at dodging.. Eventually Baier forced him to answer it, if he wouldn't have been so direct with the 'answer the question' stuff Obama would have went on for the entire interview on non-substance political campaign speech material.

Even his eventual response was vague and didn't specifically address the things Baier asked other than the up and down vote part with Obama basically saying the deem and pass and slaughter rule WERE an up and down vote but still not addressing if he supported the items Baier specifically mentioned.

This is classic Obama and Baier threw it back in his face and made him look like an idiot. Obama isn't used to having tough questions with people that just don't have an orgasm every time he speaks.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Uhh.. The interview didn't have anything to do with the wars. Bu Bu Boooooosh!

Nice try to ignore my point. Since it clearly went over your head, I will repeat.

Where where you when Fox and others said that ANY criticism of the president during a time of war was traitorous and treasonous?

Where were you when anyone that criticized ANYTHING Bush did became smeared with an "un-American" label, or were accused of being terrorist-lovers?

Oh, that's right, you were one of those eagerly going along with that and agreeing with it.

Funny how you flip-flopped. It's OK to criticize a President during a war now. I guess that rule only applies to someone with an R after his name.Good to see you still keep all your double standards intact.

 

[Fear No Evil]

Nice try to ignore my point. Since it clearly went over your head, I will repeat.

Where where you when Fox and others said that ANY criticism of the president during a time of war was traitorous and treasonous?

Where were you when anyone that criticized ANYTHING Bush did became smeared with an "un-American" label, or were accused of being terrorist-lovers?

Oh, that's right, you were one of those eagerly going along with that and agreeing with it.

Funny how you flip-flopped. It's OK to criticize a President during a war now. I guess that rule only applies to someone with an R after his name.Good to see you still keep all your double standards intact.

Not relevant to the topic. Asking the President how he feels on Deem and Pass and Slaughter rule is not even criticism. WTF are you talking about exactly? Even IF your premise is true, it doesn't even apply here.. these are QUESTIONS asking the President his position on certain issues.

I don't remember anyone saying people couldn't ask Bush questions.

 

[Fern]

Nice try to ignore my point. Since it clearly went over your head, I will repeat.

Where where you when Fox and others said that ANY criticism of the president during a time of war was traitorous and treasonous?

Where were you when anyone that criticized ANYTHING Bush did became smeared with an "un-American" label, or were accused of being terrorist-lovers?

Oh, that's right, you were one of those eagerly going along with that and agreeing with it.

Funny how you flip-flopped. It's OK to criticize a President during a war now. I guess that rule only applies to someone with an R after his name.Good to see you still keep all your double standards intact.

You got any links to the source to back that up?

No, I don't mean a blog that made that claim. Or some poster here.

"Any" critism? You can certainly have critisms that aren't helpful to our anti-terrorism efforts, but critizisng anything Bush did?

"Un-American" label? I'm not sure I ever heard that exact label unless on this forum or in blogs etc.

I think these claims are exaggerated and urban myths perpetuated by the left.

Fern

 

[sandorski]

You got any links to the source to back that up?

No, I don't mean a blog that made that claim. Or some poster here.

"Any" critism? You can certainly have critisms that aren't helpful to our anti-terrorism efforts, but critizisng anything Bush did?

"Un-American" label? I'm not sure I ever heard that exact label unless on this forum or in blogs etc.

I think these claims are exaggerated and urban myths perpetuated by the left.

Fern

Congratulations on your recent Coming Up from Underneath That Rock to you sir!

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

You got any links to the source to back that up?

No, I don't mean a blog that made that claim. Or some poster here.

"Any" critism? You can certainly have critisms that aren't helpful to our anti-terrorism efforts, but critizisng anything Bush did?

"Un-American" label? I'm not sure I ever heard that exact label unless on this forum or in blogs etc.

I think these claims are exaggerated and urban myths perpetuated by the left.

Fern

I'm talking about the media, like Fox news. I remember hearing Hannity and his ilk specifically saying that dissent with the President during wartime was treasonous.

I remember driving home one day, having to listen to Hannity (yes, it was painful) interview some congressman that wanted to close Gitmo. Hannity cut him off and said that to even question such a thing means that this congressman should be locked up in Gitmo since we are at war.

I can't search his transcripts, but there was a constant theme of anyone that criticized Bush was portrayed as a traitor or un-American.

And I am noting that most of the neocons here didn't complain about the special treatment then, and now are getting their panties in a wad saying how Obama isn't entitled to any special treatment as a President. Kind of a 180deg flipflop.

 

[Fear No Evil]

I'm talking about the media, like Fox news. I remember hearing Hannity and his ilk specifically saying that dissent with the President during wartime was treasonous.

I remember driving home one day, having to listen to Hannity (yes, it was painful) interview some congressman that wanted to close Gitmo. Hannity cut him off and said that to even question such a thing means that this congressman should be locked up in Gitmo since we are at war.

I can't search his transcripts, but there was a constant theme of anyone that criticized Bush was portrayed as a traitor or un-American.

And I am noting that most of the neocons here didn't complain about the special treatment then, and now are getting their panties in a wad saying how Obama isn't entitled to any special treatment as a President. Kind of a 180deg flipflop.

Yeah I heard Obama say he is a socialist too on some radio program. I can't search the transripts either..

 

[Amused]

Again I ask... WHAT QUESTION DID HE DODGE?!?!?! I have asked this numerous times. If you are going to make such an absurd accusation then you need to back it up. Give me one specific question Bret made that Obama did not answer or dodged. Just one!


As for the rest, you sir are an idiot with that statement. No, he's not a damn king. We are not meant to genuflect in his presence. However, there are certain things you give respect to because of who and what they represent. You respect your elderly, you respect your parents, you respect the guy giving you a job, and you respect the President.

That doesn't mean you have to like all the above I listed, but liking and being respectful are different things. That post was the most idiotic post I have seen your write in a long time Amused. Granting respect to someone is not the same as kissing their feet. It's about civility, decorum, and well.... respect! Bret had none of that which pissed me off.

Maybe it's because I grew up as a military kid and served myself. You always respect the president, commander and chief, no matter what your personal opinion of him was. I really disliked Bush, and still do, but would I salute him when I was serving? Would I respect him? Would I die for him if someone took a shot at him? Yes I would. Why? It's not him I am respecting, it's the office. It's what the president represents. If you can not fathom this then I am ashamed to call you an American.

He showed him common respect. He was respectful enough without allowing the president to dodge questions and make speeches instead of answer questions.

The president is NOT above question and deserves the same respect, and accountability we all do.

I saw no disrespect in that interview. Only holding the president accountable and asking that questions be answered instead of talking points spouted.

 

[Amused]

no I disagree completely.

How can people, on one hand say he is "just another man" and then throw a conniption fit when he bows to other Country leaders? No one believes that the POTUS is just another man. Just what are other leaders of other countries supposed to think of the POTUS when we let little rat "journalists" behave so disrespectfully? Same argument right? Dont we want our POTUS to be respected in other countries? just how is that supposed to be if we can't even show him respect here in the US?

he is not just another man...jeez..... Apologist much?

I don't recall GWB being treated that way....except for maybe David Gregory towards the end of GWBs term.

edit: I don't understand why you bring Monarchy into the argument...no one is asking Obama to be treated like a King. But just compare the two interviews linked in this thread...the one with GWB, and the one with BHO....only a partisan hack would say that BHO was treated with the same respect as GWB.

seriously.

Um, no.

NO American should bow before another person. Not just our leaders.

Our leaders are no better than the rest of us. And no foreign king/leader is better than any of us. It's back again to the "All men are created equal" part of our ideology and the whole reason we broke from the monarchy.

We have NO caste system.

Yes, there is common respect and that interview had plenty of that, but it also had accountability.

NO MAN, president or not, should be above question.

And if anyone gave GWB a pass and refused to hold him accountable when he dodged questions, shame on them.