The President: Hello, everybody.
Jay Carney: Looks like there’s a surprise guest here.
So began President Obama’s press conference on August 20. Following a rising chorus of criticism from the usual rightwing suspects claiming that the President hadn’t answered questions from reporters in ages, Obama faced the White House Press Corps.
The White House Press Corps in the Briefing Room.
The President sizes up the Press Corps.
The President has given other press conferences this year and he graciously acknowledged the recent gripes anyway.
“Jay tells me that you guys have been missing me.” He was greeted with a round of laughter and some surprised faces. He surveyed the unruly looking mob of reporters before him. Then he got down to business, setting the tone with an announcement of some good news about Medicare.
• Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 5.4 million seniors with Medicare have saved over $4.1 billion on prescription drugs or more $700 per person.
• This year alone, 18 million seniors with Medicare have taken advantage of new preventive care benefits like a mammogram or other cancer screening at no extra cost made possible by the new health care law.
Ed Henry gives Kuhnhenn the evil eye.
Talking about Akin
The first question went to Jim Kuhnhenn of the Associated Press. He asked about the comments Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin made about rape and abortion and whether the remarks were representative of the Republican Party as a whole.
The President’s answer was the one real sound bite that came out of the press conference.
“The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape.” Then, he elaborated.
“We shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women. “ Obama declined to say whether Akin should bow out of the election.
“He was nominated by the Republicans in Missouri. I’ll let them sort that out."
Ed Henry checks Cordes' notes.
Obama corrects Nancy Cortes.
The second question came from Nancy Cordes of CBS. It was more of a statement than a question. She suggested that Mitt Romney had been attacked, unfairly and repeatedly, obligating the President to explain whether he’s running a campaign filled with “anger and hate.”
The President began by correcting the premise of her question.
“First of all, nobody accused Mr. Romney of being a felon.“ He went on to recite a laundry list of issues that he talks about at his campaign stops:
• how we put Americans back to work.
• Wall Street reform,
• the Affordable Care Act
• reducing our deficit in a balanced way,.
• taxes.
The last item, taxes. led the President back to Romney.
“I think people want to know that everybody has been playing by the same rules. This is not an entitlement, being President of the United States. This is a privilege. “ Obama should make more of those little digs. They work.
Tapper looks ready to bolt.
Next, Jake Tapper of ABC asked the President about the recent attacks by Afghans against coalition forces in Afghanistan and what Americans can expect in the next couple months to bring more economic growth to the country.
On Afghanistan, the President did his laundry list thing again, rattling off a number of measures to keep our troops safe:
• counterintelligence,
• a stronger vetting process for Afghan troops ,
• a Guardian Angel program, to keep our troops out of isolated situations,
• sticking to the transition plan of training Afghans to handle their own security.
On the economy, the President got in another little dig.
“ I would love to say that when Congress comes back -- they've got a week or 10 days before they go out and start campaigning again -- that we're going to see a flurry of action.“ He needs more emphasis on his undertone of sarcasm and fewer laundry lists. For the US economy he suggested:
• a continuing resolution so that we don't have any disruptions and government shutdowns over the next couple months,
• a refinancing bill that puts $3,000 into the pockets of families who havn’t yet refinanced their mortgage. (This is an idea I hadn’t heard before and it sounds like a decent way for people to strengthen the equity they have in their home.)
• a sensible approach to reducing our deficit. (Obama calls for “a balanced approach” that includes raising revenue along with prudent budget cuts.)
• a bill giving everybody who's making $250,000 a year or less certainty that their taxes aren’t going to go up.
Chuck Todd points back to Nancy's question.
The President seems a bit exasperated.
. . . Then makiing a point about Syria.
Chuck Todd had the last question. Not to be outdone by Tapper, he also asked two. The first was “What about Syria?” And he also wanted to know if the President was implying in his response to Nancy Cordes earlier that Romney isn’t playing by the same set of rules as everyone else with his taxes.
It’s too bad this was the last question because Obama was just warming up and he was direct.
“There's a difference between playing by the same sets of rules and doing something illegal. And in no way have we suggested the latter. If you want to be President of the United States, your life is an open book.”
He kept up the straightforward manner on Syria.
“President al-Assad has lost legitimacy. He needs to step down. “ He called for humanitarian assistance, a political transition, and he cautioned about chemical weapons.
When the President speaks, he expects his audience to be engaged. He doesn’t hesitate to fully articulate his thoughts. In fact, the word “think” was used more often than any other word in the press conference. It was used a total of 25 times. The words “Romney” and “campaign” were each used a total of 13 times. The phrases “make sure that” and “the American people” were each used 7 times.
Conference over, the President exits.
6:05 AM PT: As the narrator of 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' said:
“That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.”
I wake to find myself in Babel, a city in ruins where none of the inhabitants manages to understand another. This is somewhat inherent in English, a language lacking in precision. Should I just forego understanding? Do I dare to eat a peach? Is it perfume from a dress, that makes me so digress?
We're all very different. I say this with my heart in hand. I've never seen so many people hurting and it makes me worry about the future. I plead with the universe. Blessings for all. I know it will never come to be.
Maybe I should start over. I'll work backwards. 'Who's that blonde?' is a real question. I assumed she must be from Fox. The channel is blocked in our house but its sewage isn't completely unavoidable. I've looked at some of its video clips on the internet, but not enough to know that the woman I noticed doesn't belong there. Her real identity doesn't register with me. After the way Helen Thomas was treated by W, I like the idea of a rightwing reporter having a dose of the same to even the score. If she was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist instead, it would only make her that much more interesting.
Out of fairness, shouldn't a written piece be judged as a whole? From a 22 minute press conference I selected a few quotes very deliberately, including the following:
"We shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women." The President's words are noteworthy, and interest in what he said didn't attract as much attention as a reference to hair color and facial expression. The transcript of his remarks warrants a look.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
The rightwing is producing a volume of propaganda I've never seen in my life. Their taunts a few days ago about the President making himself scarce with the press is just one example. Even with video of recent press conferences available online, easily found with Google, rightwingers had no inhibition against lying. It's a strategy that keeps everyone busy and distracted and it keeps the conversation off them. Breaking from their playbook is vital for a Democratic Party win in November.
8:03 AM PT: Update #2.
Journalism in the US is an abject failure. The popular media is complicit in delivering lies to the public.
Forgive me if you don't think I've given due respect to all members of this class of professional liars. I detest them all equally. The truth is that I just don't feel that they're worthy of my respect. They're all owned and you have no more chance of knowing what your publlic officials are planning for you than the citizens of the Soviet Union did. If you think I was motivated by sexism or malice, I can't explain how or why you came to that conclusion. Like any assertion anyone makes about another, it helps if you have a logical, reasoned argument and substantiation. You have access to my previous diaries and comments.
I don't engage in internet quarrels or criticize other Democrats in public. It would defeat my own purpose to do so. Your enemy is Ann Romney who proclaimed that the women she meets aren't interested in reproductive health, they're interested in jobs. Your enemy is Kelly Ayotte who swore to the lies that Ann told. Your enemy is Marsha Blackburn who appears on popular media morning shows to grift and con for the rightwing. Your enemy is Sarah Palin & Michele Bachmann. Your enemy is Vicki Hartzler the Republican representative from the state of Missouri who manages to attract attention when she wants. Where the hell is Vicki Hartzler? Why isn't the media busting down her door this morning? I'm not picking on them because they're women and they're not above reproach because they're women. It's simple common sense. If anyone could have some sway with Republican men about women's reproductive health issues, rape, the right to control their own person, I think Republican women would be the most likely choice. Where are they?
Lastly, anyone who's interested in real journalism, should check out 'Democracy Now' with Amy Goodman, one of the last true journalists alive. She knows what freedom of the press means. She is the standard I'm looking for. Corporate owned radio and tv talkers can go to hell.
9:29 AM PT: Update # 3
Apologies to those who were offended by a superfluous portion of this piece. I don't need to understand why something that seems innocuous to me is considered objectionable to someone else. The best I can do is correct the piece by removing what readers say is tasteless and sexist. The piece is improved without the element that readers saw as an attack on women. I modified the piece for them. DKos should be a place where women feel safe from attack and everyone is working toward a common goal.