In his health care speech last night, President Obama cast himself as a truth-teller combating “bogus claims” and “misinformation” about his big government health care plan. “If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out,” Obama warned his critics.
But within hours, the Associated Press had “fact-checked” the President’s speech and found the Fact-Checker-in-Chief is guilty of misrepresenting a few facts himself. AP writers Calvin Woodward and Erica Werner said the President uttered “a variety of oversimplifications and omissions,” and used “only-in Washington accounting” to claim his plan would not add “one dime” to the deficit.
Excerpts:
President Barack Obama used only-in-Washington accounting Wednesday when he promised to overhaul the nation's health care system without adding "one dime" to the deficit. By conventional arithmetic, Democratic plans would drive up the deficit by billions of dollars.
The president's speech to Congress contained a variety of oversimplifications and omissions in laying out what he wants to do about health insurance. A look at some of Obama's claims and how they square with the facts or the fuller story:
...
OBAMA: "Nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have."
THE FACTS: That's correct, as far as it goes. But neither can the plan guarantee that people can keep their current coverage. Employers sponsor coverage for most families, and they'd be free to change their health plans in ways that workers may not like, or drop insurance altogether. The Congressional Budget Office analyzed the health care bill written by House Democrats and said that by 2016 some 3 million people who now have employer-based care would lose it because their employers would decide to stop offering it.
In the past Obama repeatedly said, "If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period." Now he's stopping short of that unconditional guarantee by saying nothing in the plan "requires" any change.
...
OBAMA: "Don't pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut. ... That will never happen on my watch. I will protect Medicare."
THE FACTS: Obama and congressional Democrats want to pay for their health care plans in part by reducing Medicare payments to providers by more than $500 billion over 10 years....Although wasteful spending in Medicare is widely acknowledged, many experts believe some seniors almost certainly would see reduced benefits from the cuts. That's particularly true for the 25 percent of Medicare users covered through Medicare Advantage.
...
OBAMA: Requiring insurance companies to cover preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopies "makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives."
THE FACTS: Studies have shown that much preventive care — particularly tests like the ones Obama mentions — actually costs money instead of saving it....
—Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center.
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Did you see The Dark Knight?
September 10, 2009 - 08:49 ET by 10ksnookerEverybody knows the Joker lies.
The picture above says it all.
September 10, 2009 - 08:56 ET by averageschmoeThe picture of these 3 above says it all. Obama, Pelosi and Biden know what's best for me? I wouldn't trust any of them if they were family.
Uhbama loves that "one
September 10, 2009 - 08:53 ET by HockeyKidUhbama loves that "one dime" line. He uses it all the time. He thinks he's fooling everyone, because it's really going to cost hundreds of billions of dimes, not just one. He probably even thinks he's being verrrrrrry clever.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Try this...
September 10, 2009 - 16:02 ET by Forest for the Trees'Beauty is only skin deep, but a liberal stinks to the bone'.
Hope you don't mind but you inspired me!
When the MSM begins to question Osama Bama...
September 10, 2009 - 10:03 ET by goldenthroatYou know he's in trouble! This moron of a president is taking a "throw it against the wall, maybe it will stick" approach now. He's desperate - just like the sorry jackasses in his party.
"Don't pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut. ... That will never happen on my watch. I will protect Medicare."
Yeah, right. Why didn't he just say "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" - it would have been the same effect!
What support is left for this convuluted program is sinking faster than the Titanic. Obamessiah knows too well that if this program goes down, so will what is left of his already pathetic presidency.
November 2010 is just around the corner - I want my country back!
"Inferior people should not be employed." - Nick Danger, Third Eye
Never mind
September 10, 2009 - 09:15 ET by Indiana JoeThese facts sounded familiar, and I thought I read them in a Politico piece. But, in re-reading it, no, they're not there. So, sometime over my past sleepless night, I MUST have read the AP story, although I have no memory of doing so.
And I must agree, having the AP point out these glaring holes in The One's speech is really something! The biggest of the rats are finally realizing this ship is sinking, and are abandoning it forthwith.
"Four legs good... two legs better!" - George Orwell
Wow! The AP got it right,
September 10, 2009 - 10:44 ET by mattmWow! The AP got it right, for once. Kudos to them, getting it right once out of a thousand trys is progress.
Joe Wilson said what
September 10, 2009 - 09:07 ET by d1carterJoe Wilson said what everybody knows.
d1carter, all God's people said...
September 10, 2009 - 09:33 ET by goldenthroatYea and Amen!
"Who am us, anyway?" - Firesign Theatre
So true.
September 10, 2009 - 16:07 ET by Forest for the TreesI have to admit, my family, me included, was screaming at the TV screen while Obama was spewing heaps of disingenuous statements, one after another.
"Their reasoning was that
September 10, 2009 - 09:11 ET by chessplayer"Their reasoning was that they already had decided to exempt this "doc fix" from congressional rules that require new programs to be paid for. In other words, it doesn't have to be paid for because they decided it doesn't have to be paid for."
Oh, thats nice. Wish I could go to a grocery store, get a cart load of stuff, and decide I don`t have to pay for any of it. I think I would end up in jail if I tried it.
"Yeah, right - what support
September 10, 2009 - 09:18 ET by chessplayer"Yeah, right - what support is left for this convuluted program is sinking faster than the Titanic. Obamessiah knows too well that if this program goes down, so will what is left of his already pathetic presidency."
We know his presidency is pathetic, but I have a hunch historians have already made up their minds that he is the greatest president in the history of the US, if not the greatest leader in the entire history of the world.
Well, we've all resigned
September 10, 2009 - 09:30 ET by Indiana JoeWell, we've all resigned ourselves to contemporary historians deciding that GWB was the worst president in history.
But the real historians (50 or so years from now) will mostly have the final say.
"Four legs good... two legs better!" - George Orwell
joe wilson should have said it over and over
September 10, 2009 - 09:26 ET by JIMMY1660and much louder.
Mr President are you a Liar??
BHO- THE PROGRESSIVE PIRATE
I see how it is
September 10, 2009 - 09:28 ET by candanceObama can use the bully pulpit to literally call Republicans liars, but it's uncouth for one guy to heckle him during a speech even when the MSM admits he lied.
let me tell you
September 10, 2009 - 09:53 ET by ronabout my experience with the "medicare not being cut" line. in january of 2005, i received a pacemaker. the pacemaker was checked every other phone by phone with 2 in office visits per year. towards the end of 2008, i was told my pacemaker needed to be checked every month because it was aging. the first of the year i got a letter saying medicare would now be paying for 2 phone checks and 2 office visits. i can have it checked every month if i choose but i will pay the full amount. everyone i have talked to with a pacemaker tells me the same thing. but obama promises medicare will not be cut. the rep from S.C. said it best last night.
Most people would call that
September 10, 2009 - 10:29 ET by flyfisherMost people would call that rationing.
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw...
"The Trees" by Rush
yeah, right
September 10, 2009 - 09:57 ET by rowdygirlNo matter what he says now, when it all comes down to it, they will do WHATEVER they want. All that will happen then will be that they'll say "it was a bigger issue than we realized" or some other such nonsense. Isn't that Biden is there? To come along and say "oops!" when they mess up?
I thought it was interesting how he said that he welcomed other views or ideas, as long as no one disagreed with him. It's kind of fascinating to hear him say one thing while realizing he is meaning something else.
Obama is knowingly lying about costs. Even he's not that stupid.
September 10, 2009 - 09:59 ET by jazbo"Democrats; Breeding voters like farm animals since 1962"
"We will call you out"
September 10, 2009 - 10:05 ET by StarAZ"We will call you out"? What is this, some Chicago playground thing? Bring it...Smackdown? It's on... I expect more dignity... I know I won't get it and I am not surprised, but that was jarring even to me.
at least two lefties on NB
September 10, 2009 - 10:10 ET by candanceHave found the time to make multiple appearances on the Wilson thread, but are curiously missing from this. How convenient.
lefty count up to 3
September 10, 2009 - 10:45 ET by candanceMr enak has appeared on another thread. Commence holding breath for him to blast Obama's dihonesty now....
CD: yeah, the gang's all [not] here
September 10, 2009 - 10:50 ET by SickofLibsBTW, whatever happened to J. Fink Wilson?
who cares?
September 10, 2009 - 10:53 ET by candanceIt's not as if we have a lack of lefty name calling in his absence.
the count is up to four lefties
September 10, 2009 - 11:34 ET by candanceand still crickets over here.
I propose a new law.
September 10, 2009 - 11:48 ET by CooltomI propose a new law. Whenever a Prez gives a major speech he must provide the usual transcript -- but must now contain footnotes (or links on the Internet) of his sources of any statistic or anecdote he uses in the speech.
Put out an APB - Arrogant Pompous Bloviation
September 10, 2009 - 12:02 ET by young_school"...and he [Uncle Ted] was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance..."
Nice to see that these elitist folk have the ability to imagine what it is like to live in the real world.
Figures... Obama's Soppy Acne Story Was Mostly BS
September 10, 2009 - 12:13 ET by sic721"One poster at HotAir counted 45 outright lies
in Obama's speech last night."
Obama's 'lady with acne' story was only one of them:
"Robin Beaton's insurance company retroactively canceled her policy because she had failed to inform them of her history of acne and a rapid heartbeat."
In other words, "this woman committed insurance fraud and got caught at it."
h/t to Jim at GatewayPundit
"Life's tough.....It's even tougher if you're stupid"-John Wayne
one problem with this fact check
September 10, 2009 - 12:15 ET by katainkentit needs to be about 4x longer. Looking forward to a real journalist (aka blogger or set of bloggers) to do the real heavy lifting.
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We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. ~Thomas Jefferson
AP must be racist
September 10, 2009 - 14:32 ET by candanceWhat else would explain their vicious lies and smear campaign against Obama? Come on lefties. If you have all day to blab on every other thread, you have time to own up to this.
Is AP racist or not?
lefty head count up to 7
September 10, 2009 - 14:54 ET by candanceAnd the blackout on this thread continues.
Par for the course...
September 10, 2009 - 15:17 ET by PrairieSkyObama indulged in "oversimplifications and omissions" last night?? Ya think? And let's add misreprentations and lies to the list. And O's pronouncement “If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out,” was just classic...If we (conservs/Repubs) misrepresent what's in the plan? He and the Dems are the ones that are misreprenting what's in the plan, and he did it again and again and again last night. What colossal gaul.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan