CBS Early Show: Michelle Obama ‘Stealth Weapon’ In Health Care Debate

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On Friday’s CBS Early Show, White House correspondent Bill Plante highlighted President Obama’s latest media blitz on health care reform and touted a new piece of the PR arsenal: "The President does have a new partner in his nonstop effort to sell health care, it’s the First Lady....Michelle Obama will be more like a stealth weapon in the battle for health care, giving it a softer touch."

Plante further explained the logic behind using the First Lady to promote ObamaCare: "With a favorable rating of around 70%, well above her husband’s, and the background of a hospital executive, Michelle Obama will counter balance her husband’s hard sell." A clip was played of Politico’s Nia-Malika Henderson exclaiming: "They feel like she can give a different voice, because as you can see, a lot of the folks out there are very partisan." Unlike Michelle Obama’s completely non-partisan approach.

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Following Plante’s report, co-host Maggie Rodriguez spoke with Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer and asked about the First Lady’s potential impact: "I’d like to start by asking you about the President’s new weapon in health care reform, his wife....What do you think Mrs. Obama’s role should be here? How could she be an asset?" Schieffer argued: "Well, people like her, every poll shows that. And I think president’s wives can kind of soften the debate, take the hard edge off of it."

Schieffer did go on to explain: "Is she going to make a big difference, is going to be the one that tips the balance toward health care? I think the answer to that is no." But added: "I think the other part of it is she’s very likeable, people like to see her, and like chicken soup, I think it can’t hurt." Rodriguez agreed with that keen analysis: "Exactly right."

Here is a full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASE:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: First Lady Michelle Obama joins the battle over health care reform as the President gets set for an all-out media blitz.

BARACK OBAMA: It’s about what kind of country you want to be.

7:01AM SEGMENT:

JULIE CHEN: But first, President Obama is embarking on a full-out media blitz for health care reform this weekend and he’s getting some help from a very familiar face. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante explains. Good morning, Bill.

BILL PLANTE: Good morning, Julie. The President does have a new partner in his nonstop effort to sell health care, it’s the First Lady. Ah, you might ask ‘like Hillary Clinton?’ Well, no, that’s not exactly what the White House has in mind. Michelle Obama will be more like a stealth weapon in the battle for health care, giving it a softer touch as she did at this farmer’s market near the White House Thursday.

MICHELLE OBAMA: It has truly inspired me and the White House staff to look for opportunities to put the topic of healthy eating right on the table and at the forefront of health care discussions.

PLANTE: With a favorable rating of around 70%, well above her husband’s, and the background of a hospital executive, Michelle Obama will counter balance her husband’s hard sell.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON [POLITICO]: They feel like she can give a different voice, because as you can see, a lot of the folks out there are very partisan.

PLANTE: The First Lady’s debut coincides with the President’s media blitz this weekend. He’s pushing health care reform on five talk shows this Sunday. That’ll be a presidential first, adding to the 66 TV appearances and 157 speeches in which he’s already campaigned for reform plan. Political scientist Larry Sabato says the President’s media blitz makes sense.

LARRY SABATO: It is a fractured media environment and presidents, like everyone else, have a difficult time piercing the public consciousness.

PLANTE: But is the President running the risk of over exposure?

SABATO: Common sense would tell you that if a president is on all the time, if it’s all Obama all the time, then probably people are going to tune out some of the message.

PLANTE: And some of them will never even see it. The President is skipping Fox News this coming Sunday. But even if some people do tune out, the White House figures the President is the best salesman, they’re going to keep him out there, keep him at it, and we’ll see what happens. Julie – Maggie, I’m sorry. Maggie.

RODRIGUEZ: We shall. Bill Plante, thank you, Bill. One of the programs the President will appear on this Sunday is Face the Nation, which of course is moderated by CBS News chief White House correspondent – chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. Good morning, Bob.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Good morning.

RODRIGUEZ: I’d like to start by asking you about the President’s new weapon in health care reform, his wife. Like Bill said, I immediately thought back to Hillary Clinton, but it is different, in that back then Mrs. Clinton was really spearheading the effort. What do you think Mrs. Obama’s role should be here? How could she be an asset?

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, people like her, every poll shows that. And I think president’s wives can kind of soften the debate, take the hard edge off of it. Is she going to make a big difference, is going to be the one that tips the balance toward health care? I think the answer to that is no. But I think the other part of it is she’s very likeable, people like to see her, and like chicken soup, I think it can’t hurt.

RODRIGUEZ: Exactly right. What about the President’s media blitz? He gets criticized for going on TV and going on the radio too much, but the latest poll numbers show that when he gave the speech to the joint session, it did stop the slide, a little bit, of disapproval on his efforts on this. Now it’s at 48% in favor of the way he’s handling this. Do you think this is a good thing?

SCHIEFFER: Well, it goes back to what Bill Plante just said. The administration is convinced he really is the best salesman that they have and they want to put him out there. They think he can sell it if anyone can sell it. The other part is, Maggie, he hasn’t made the sale yet. Even though the polls showed a little more favorablity toward the plan after he made that speech, a majority of people are still worried about that it’s going to cost more, especially to the middle class. They’re not convinced that it’s going to do what he keeps arguing that it’s going to do. So maybe he’s been out there too much, maybe he hasn’t, but there’s still some selling to be done if he’s going to get something here.

RODRIGUEZ: And maybe he has to change the pitch a little bit. We’ll see.

SCHIEFFER: Yep.

RODRIGUEZ: Alright, Bob Schieffer, thank you for your time.

SCHIEFFER: You bet, Maggie.

—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.


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Re M'chell

Let's give thanks folks, we've been given a gift from the gods of free enterprise and open markets.

Likeable? Michelle Obama?

Excuse me.  I must be on the wrong planet.

I say go ahead and let her do it.  After all, it worked really well for Hillary, didn't it?

 

"Reason and persuasion are the only practical instruments against error.  To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged" - Thomas Jefferson

Michelle on health care

I just heard clips of her on Rush and I almost drove off the road!!

She was talking to the crowd (who knows where) in that overly earnest tone one uses when talking to first graders.  Not only that, she was overacting with the emotion....talking about how (paraphrasing):

You will be able to keep your doctor if you like him, and you will have health care, and you will be blessed!  The word "blessed!" was said breathlessly, with a definite note of AWE in it!!

I almost threw up while I was driving.

mb--

I saw the clip where she said that and it was quite a sight! She was even trying to work up tears to go along with the pathos.  It was almost worthy of a daytime soap opera performance...and I don't mean that as a compliment. 

mb & Kat... I heard the

mb & Kat...

I heard the same thing...immediately my thoughts went to Drama Queen Pea-brain Pelosi and her performance the other day...these two must be trying to out-do the other...

...and we thought Shrillary was bad.

'Go Green...Recycle Congress'

stealth weapon?

Ok, this might get me in trouble, but today, I don't care.

Stealth weapon = silent but deadly?

Translate that however you wish!

Good day!

-Jon

jon~~

I thought it was her angular design; maybe I'm missing the point.

the look on her face

Just almost every time I see her on TV, she looks like she's holding back gas.

-Jon

jon~~

like this one? or this one?

Oh- and I was using the "angular" line as a reference to "stealth." As in stealth technology. I know, a bit of a stretch (lol)

Not really

More like the expression on her face at the beginning of the "You Lie!" address.

I was using the literal sense of the word, not the fighter or bomber.

-Jon

"background of a hospital executive"

which was likely just an Affirmative Action hiring.

So now Michelle will lose some (or a lot) of the luster of being the "black Jackie O." by getting back into politics. She's not going to like that at all... and we can all see a new wave of "racism" charges ahead.

"Overpaid" hospital executive that is

Besides wasn't it her program that led to EMTALA pt. dumping charges at U of C hospital?

Not news...

Every level-headed, smart-thinking American knows that stealth is but one weapon in the vast arsenal of any Wookie.

 

Roger

I'm in the office and have just wet myself?

Thanks!  lol lol lol lol

wookiee is better than Aunt Esther

The Government is the Enemy 

How about a

wookiee named Aunt Esther?

They don't get it!

We are NOT IDIOTS!  A "softer touch" has ZERO EFFECT !

 

It is not about the wrapping and the and the form! It is about the CONTENT! The content, the intent, the mandates, the requirements, the encroachment on and removal of liberty.........that is what the uproar over government run, government controlled, health care is all about.  

 

Patient dumping schemes. 

Patient dumping schemes.  She has on her resume schemes to get poor trash to avoid U of C ER.  "Go away.  we don't make money on ya"

oh golly

 

another obama?

It still works.

"OBAMA'S LYING AND PEOPLE ARE DYING!"

or...

"Obama's LYING and FREEDOM IS DYING!"

"OBAMA'S LYING AND CAPITALISM IS DYING!"

"OBAMA'S LYING AND TRUST IS DEAD!"

So much for the "Full Faith and Credit" thing.....

I have no faith in them, and they have no credit left.

http://gjresult.com

 

I can hear it now

"If you vote for my husband's socialist healthcare plan, I'll be proud of my country for the second time in my life!"

yea right

obama can't win over adults, so he goes after our children and now he sics michelle on us. Give me a break. we already know how she feels about the United States, so does obama really think we are going to pay attention to her?  both of them make me think of slime when I see them (which is way too often).

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Finally, the Democrats have come to their senses.  It's not that their plan is a pile of manure; it's not that it's going to bankrupt the nation; it's not that it's going to turn our healthcare system into the equivalent of your worst nightmare at motor vehicles; it's not that the people selling the plan, haven't read the plan, and can't explain what the hell the plan is going to do; and it's not that there has never been a government estimate of any major program that hasn't missed it's estimate by three, four or five times over what the CBO projections are, owhich in this case is 1 Trillion dollars (do the math).  No, it's none of that.  Whats been wrong up until now is we haven't heard from Michelle Obama.  Of course, that's it!  Now everything will really make sense when we hear the first lady explain it.  Provided of course, she gets to use a different tele prompter, since the one the President uses doesn't have the right facts.  God, has anyone mentioned the words, over exposure to the White House, anyone?

Bourbeau that was a great!

Bourbeau that was a great!   They don't get why people are upset...  all they have on their brain is "those mean conservatives," and " I must work harder as an Obamabot Media member."

M-B

Michelle isn't going to make any difference..

There are only so many famous people that can come out and support this health care plan.  Michelle Obama isn't going to sway anyone that isn't already for it.  A softer touch isn't going to do anything.  This is almost as bad as Jimmy Carter coming out and making an "excuse" as to why Obama isn't being supported.  A video on Newsy.com talks about Carter's outcry and gives some interesting views: http://www.newsy.com...

 

Softer touch? Likable?

Michelle Obama?  Are we talking about the same person?  Did I wake up in an alternate reality?

____________________________________________ 
The Emperor, he has no clothes

kata--

Reading some of the stuff on this site, I often feel like Alice after going through the looking glass...

I had to laugh yesterday

I had to laugh yesterday when she was at the farmers market. I guess she ain't "hoein the toxic garden any more" (thanks maher you putz)

and on top of that she said that you could use food stamps there!!!!  What a laugh as if they can afford 20 bucks a lb beef or 5 bucks for a dozen eggs or a couple of potatoes for 10 bucks sheeeeeesh another putz

Check out

the dress that M wore to the Medal of Honor ceremony for SFC Jared Monti at the White House.  Click on the link below.  Talk about gaudy, inappropriate, just plain wrong.  And she's supposed to lead us to health care?  She has no idea on what's appropriate and when.

http://3.bp.blogspot...

Michelle, My Belle

Bring it on.  This will kill the thing even faster.  She's even more cold, shrill and aggrieved than Hillary.

Let's see the woman who can afford to shop for

  • $19 bison steak from Gunpowder Bison
  • organic dandelion greens for $12
    per pound from Blueberry Hill Vegetable
  • the Piedmont Reserve cheese
    from Everson Dairy at $29 a pound
  • $4 for a piece of "walnut dacquoise" from the Praline Baker
  • $9 for a jumbo crab cake at Chris's Marketplace
  • $8 for a loaf of cranberry-walnut bread
  • $32 for a bolt of yarn (http://www.washingto...)

tell ordinary Americans how much extra Obamacare will cost them, and how they'll be eating beans and rice in perpetuity.

Camouflage conservative in Baghdad-by-the-Bay

and don't forget: Looks like a WOOKIEE

The Government is the Enemy 

What is "stealth" about this

awkward, gangly, Aunt Estherish, woman??

 

Now, now....

Be nice to the Diva of Death.

(czarry to anyone offended)

Liberals Are Always Undone

. . . by unintended consequences.  The first lady, any first lady, should in my opinion be spared heat from political opponents. . . until they get involved directly in politics.

By using her in this way the left can no longer claim she is not a legitimate target of opposition and even more importantly, scrutiny.

Yes, the fact that they play up the fact that she was a "hospital executive" means we should take a long hard look at the high dollar position specifically created for her when hubby got into the Senate and yet was not important enough to keep filled when hubby went to the white house.  There has got to be some pay for play here folks, and now, more than ever, it is fair game to look for and expose it.

Media:  Please

Media:  Please investigate... hint sounds like a story!  Pretend she is a Bush and DO YOUR JOB! 

"position specifically created for her when hubby got into the Senate
and yet was not important enough to keep filled when hubby went to the
white house"

M-B

As a State Senator, he had something WE all need

 

The investigative resources of the State Attorney General.

Either the hospital created a gravy job, or the investigators will arrive in force.

Once the position was created, the money flowed in the proper direction and once again, he was rewarded with a happy homelife.

I mean seriously, would any person want to live in the same house with her if she was mad?

http://gjresult.com

 

Likable? Softer?

Isn't this the same woman who just in 2008 claimed it was the first time in her life  where she was proud of her country? Isn't this the same woman who, as a hospital administrator, directed lower income patients AWAY  from her employers hospital, all in an effort to avoid losing money on patients without insurance? This is going to be the new angle of attack to pass ObamaCare? Makes sense to me; be up front about it. 

 

 

President Obama is nothing more than a lying empty suit; a Hollywood style special effects smoke and mirrors show that has shown itself to be a total fraud.  

WAKE UP AMERICA! SAVE OUR CONSTITUTION! 

"Hospital executive"?

Michelle Obama was a "hospital executive"? Well, that's a bit misleading...That description gives the impression that she had something to do directly with the delivery of healthcare to patients...Wrong. Her job had nothing to do with that end of healthcare. 

Beginning in 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. Like her husband, seems like Mrs. Obama was a community organizer. How do either of her jobs give her the background to speak intelligently and in an informed manner about the healthcare reform debacle? As far as I'm concerned, they don't. 

And as far as Michelle Obama being "likeable" and "softer"? That's debatable, too. I think she's hard as nails. 

"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan

It's relative thing.

 

Compared to a rabid wolf, she is more 'softer and likeable'.

Ok.. I'm sorry, I'll take the rabid wolf, because it is TRUSTABLE.

http://gjresult.com

 

Willis...Ditto!

I can't improve on that! :) 

"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan

It took some doing

 

I had to look close to see which one was less foamy at the mouth.

 

http://gjresult.com

 

nice summary from PrarieSky

and I could have a wallful of tv sets tuned to state run media and never hear such things.

everything I hear reinforces my instinctive belief that it's likely true that neither Barry nor Michelle ever had any position that they didn't get just because they're black.

Still, it would be nice if someone would question Michelle on the  geniousness of the Dem's proposition: if the poor don't have health insurance because they can't afford it, we'll just force them to buy it under penalty of law

Ray...Thanks, and...

she'll likely never be put in a position to actually have to answer specific questions concerning the reform mess...Michelle's just a talking head spouting the party line propaganda, and is out there right now because her approval numbers are higher than her husband's and the hope is that she'll put a more "likeable" and "softer" face on this mess...

Fat chance. 

"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan

Baucus bill is a fraud

meant to produce NO agreement thereby "forcing" the Senate to go reconciliation!

Watch and see.

executive indeed

Her salary miraculously tripled after her husband became a Senator. Then the hospital miraculously got large government stipends, thanks to her husband's influence. Then the phony title she held was eliminated after she stepped down. No word on whether she was proud of her country at the time.

I hope Geraldo Rivera

I hope Geraldo Rivera sicks-em on this! Or some other reporter that cares about exposing a self righteous fraud!  They love that kind of stuff I thought!  

M-B

yeah, well don't count on jerry rivers.

 

He only 'investigates' those things that he can use to show what a crappy country you live in.

 

http://gjresult.com

 

Don't forget the little scam

Don't forget the little scam she had going at the hospital she worked at where they gave the uninsured bus tickets to other hospitals.  Maybe Obama can send us all tickets and we'll just ride buses till we get better or die. There's a health plan.

Save her for cap & sap

With the sweater on, she could talk about why our elec bills have to rise.

Blackie-O is a stealth weapon, all right - FOR US!

Please, please, please, send her out on the road. Put her on TV 24/7 - I want to see her everywhere!

And when she fails to change

And when she fails to change anything, will they trot out the kids next?  Or the dog?

The dog might be amusing anyhow

ObamaVetCare.

Star--

LOL! Hey now, they can mess with my healthcare all they want, but if they go after my animals, they're really going to have a fight on their hands! 

Appropriately named Kat....

You made me laugh. My four-leggers get way better care than I do--their vets even call to see if they got better from the medicine.

Star--

Well, the Kat is short for Kathy, which in turn is short for Kathleen, but I do love my animals too. ^..^

they will prolly dig up TED

The Government is the Enemy 

Time Bomb

M'chell is a ticking time bomb for the Bamster. She's high maintenance and she's bored, a deadly combination. She's after the Bamster to give her something substantial to do; Ax and Rahm are climbing the walls because they're terrified of what she could do. The Bamster tries to keep her happy with exotic fly-dates but it's just not enough. Tick-tick-tick.

He better keep her very happy.

 

She can destroy him and his whole organization with less than a paragraph, or 2 minutes of talking.

 

http://gjresult.com

 

They don't get it!

We are NOT IDIOTS!  A "softer touch" has ZERO EFFECT !

 

It is not about the wrapping and the and the form! It is about the CONTENT! The content, the intent, the mandates, the requirements, the encroachment on and removal of liberty.........that is what the uproar over government run, government controlled, health care is all about.  

 

Stealth Weapon?

Oh, come on now.  They're just "pulling our legs."  How could Giganta possibly be a stealth weapon?

http://upload.wikime...

                                                                 

A conservative believes in putting his money where his mouth is.  A liberal believes in putting your money where his mouth is. -- mbs6

Check out the utility/bondage belt photo on Drudge

She MAY be packing some weapons we don't know about.

In a more serious vein.

 

She speaks grandly of 'healthcare' being a 'womans issue', yet does her husbands bill (as yet unwritten and presented to anybody for verification as to whether or not -it- is in his bill) cover breast reconstruction in the event of a radical mastectomy?

If a lump is found during a routine exam, how long is the wait between discovery and the biopsy? 6 months? 20 years? is it age dependant on the procedures allowed and approved by a team of bureaucrats with no medical training?

Now about cervical cancer? is the treatment available in a reasonable time frame? Like... or say... next week?

What if the victim is in her late forties? will she live long enough to work enough to pay enough taxes to justify treating her, or will it be better to just give her a pain pill and send her home?

Are minorities to be treated equally under the plan?  Will a poor Black woman qualify for the same treatments as a middle class working woman?  What of the 'stay at home mom', same, better, or equal treatment?

WHO will be the determining factor on what is fair and equal treatment?

Will the healthcare professionals be involved in the decision making process?

Will the PATIENT be allowed to voice her opinions on whether or not the prescribed treatment is 'fair and reasonable'?

If she is in her 70's and otherwise healthy, can she refuse the prescribed treatment and DEMAND the same healthcare provided to one of obamas daughter for similar or same medical problems?

Has chris dodd been given his pain pill and sent home for his prostate cancer yet?

If not, WHY THE H*LL NOT?!?!?

 

http://gjresult.com

 

Was the Wookie aka Aunt Esther,

wearing a bomb belt?

http://www.drudgereport.com/

Delsa

I think FLOTUS is trying to distract people from her collosal derierre.

Just sayin' 

 

"President Obama is learning on the job and it shows."  --Boris Epshteyn

Free

Wouldn't the best way to do that be to wear a really cool hat?  I'd think she'd want peoples' eyes as far north as possible.

"Reason and persuasion are the only practical instruments against error.  To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged" - Thomas Jefferson

Delsa--

Either that or she was showing how to recycle tires.

If people against ObamaCare

If people against ObamaCare are stupid enough to fall for Michy's intrusion into all this, then I guess we truly deserve whatever we get as a nation.

One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.

            The

            The govt. has tried this shtick since the 60s. The people are too dumb to eat the right foods? The people know that if the govt. says to do it, it must be a scam. Let's see what kind of food is in their fridg. Caviar? Steak? I don't think they eat balogna. They throw it around too much.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Don't forget

Wagyu beef--$100 lb. I am lucky if I can get Steak-Umms.

Re Wagyu

It's just one little thing, but can you imagine President George W. Bush getting away with eating Wagyu Beef in the middle of a serious recession? We'd see PETA protesting in front of the White House, ABC specials on what huge 'Carbon signatures' the raising of the beef produces, the cost of flying it into D.C., comparisons of the cost of beef with the total average food budget of Americans, an analysis of the fat content compared to a Big Mac, etc, etc.

Digusting display...

The entire nation is in an uproar, angry that Democrats are using racism as a guilt tool to try and brow-beat the entire nation into surrendering to socialism thru communist medicine. 

And what does Michelle do?  She appears on national TV wearing a 'bondage belt' - invoking images of slavery and intimating that the people who dont' play along with their plans to seize control of the economy are 'slave masters'.

And they say she's their 'stealth weapon'.  I think average Americans, including the women she was sucking up to, will be furious at yet another revolting attempt to liken their medical takeover to fighting slavery, women's sufferage and other such things.

Such blatent and vile manipulation is no longer a 'stealth weapon'.  It's emotional trickery of the basest sort.  And it's a sign of exactly what kind of people the Obamas are that they feel they can get away with such lies.

Unleash The Beast

They are hoping for a "cool like the other side of the pillow" effect by changing the messenger, but they still fail to realize its not the messenger but the message.  The effects are more like showing us the other side of the terd.  Still stinks like poop.  Americans are rejecting socialism en mass.  The only people in favor are those who seek to milk us taxpayers for more of our money.

Margaret Thatcher ~ "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

Michelle Obama, popular?

Are you kidding me!? 

I PUKE every time I see her UGLY MUG!

BO & MO

De Anna

BO and MO went to the HILL,

carrying a pail of "BS"

BO fell down and broke his "CROWN"

and MO will be "CRUSHED" soon after

 

I hope they use her as a stealth weapon

I hope that Michelle gets used as a stealth weapon.  It is about time that she did something other than stay home and make arugula sandwiches for Barack.

"What experience and history teach is
this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history,
or acted on principles deduced from it."


G. W. F. Hegel

why yes it is

just like Hitlery BUT her husband hasn't stuck a cigar up some chicks "gina" as of yet......