“Good Morning America” was even biased in the time given to their guests. During the segment, Host Diane Sawyer spent more than five minutes interviewing Secretary of Human and Health Care Services Kathleen Sebelius, top Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes, and the White House Health Czar Nancy-Ann Deparle. Co-host Robin Roberts gave about three minutes to Rep. Eric Cantor, the sole Republican and skeptic of universal health care.
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Sawyer began the interview with a serious question: “Can Americans afford it?” and explained that, “we went back and checked Medicare. And in 1965 everyone was told the projected cost of Medicare over 25 years would be 12 billion dollars. And, of course, it turned out to be 107 billion dollars. And people think, ‘There’s no way – this is going to cost a lot more and that’s going to mean more taxes.’”
Sawyer then began discussing unnecessary testing done by doctors. “What percentage of American medicine, do you think, is doctors doing unnecessary test because they’re caught in some cycle of unnecessary testing?” and “Is one headline of this then is to say to Americans you will be healthier with fewer tests. Trust us. Is that what you’re saying?” But since it isn’t part of the administration’s script, she never mentioned fear of frivolous and expensive medical malpractice lawsuits are an important reason doctors order so much testing.
Sawyer soon settled down to some more comfortable chat. Under the guise of “prevention,” she quoted Dr. Mehmetz Oz’s recommendation that Americans need to walk more because that will reduce health care costs. After Sebelius gave recommendations about how to maintain a healthier lifestyle Sawyer quipped, “So my potato chips are un-American?” Sebelius assured her that eating them one day a week was okay. What a relief.
Cantor didn’t receive quite the same treatment. Roberts asked what the Republican alternative plan was and then bluntly asked, “Can you tell us how you plan to pay for it?”
Roberts also quoted a New York Times and CBS poll that found fifty-seven percent of those polled felt Democrats could improve health care, compared to seventeen percent who felt that Republicans could. She asked, “But the Democratic plan would make it illegal for insurance companies to cancel these policies … are you ready to say that the Republican plan will do that as well?”
Hopefully on Wednesday night ABC will ask President Obama some questions more in line with those the Business & Media Institute compiled about socialized medicine for the president. They didn’t cover potato chips and walking.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Medicare
June 22, 2009 - 13:20 ET by allanfThe Medicare reference by Sawyer is particularly feckless. It is now and accepted part of life -- but people pay for it with taxes. That doesn't mean we want to do it again to fix a system that is not broken.
Obama will protect me from
June 22, 2009 - 13:35 ET by snaggletoothieObama will protect me from the insurance companies. Which just leaves the incredibly large question: Who will protect me from Obama?
That whole video was bizarro world. Diane Sawyer wants to make me walk 30 minutes a day and give up potato chips? Has this woman ever been outside of NY and DC. I have to honestly ask if she has ever studied any American history or read the founding documents or talked to a nonDemocrat. Out of this same mouth comes a promise that ABC will be fair to all sides. What sides does she recognize? Maybe she thinks the two sides are Worship Obama and their enemies, Slavishly Worship Obama.
I heard sometalking head say this morning that, "There is a debate but the MSM is not part of it since they already made a decision."
Outside of New York
June 22, 2009 - 14:00 ET by allanfLila Diane Sawyer grew up in Kentucky and was America's Junioir Miss in the early 1960s. Her father was a prominent Kentucky Republican who died in 1969. In 1970, at the age of 24, Ron Ziegler hired her to work in the White House Press office. When Nixon resigned, she followed him into exile to help him write his memoirs.
Over the vehement objections of Demcorat Dan Rather she was hired by CBS News as one of their first female correspondents. She has been a New York Liberal Democrat ever since.
I already cannot take
June 22, 2009 - 13:47 ET by bigtimerI already cannot take anymore of Sawyers and her phony soft voice regarding all of this already....she's been everywhere.
I guess lemmings will watch this infomercial for O...but I won't.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Prom Queen
June 22, 2009 - 13:57 ET by allanfDiane still maintinas the affections of a teenage girl. It is rather annoying to watch. She was America's Junior Miss in 1963.
That was so dishonest.
June 22, 2009 - 14:21 ET by supercon"Where Americans can ask...." Everyone asking questions have already been screened and selected. For Diane to act as if somehow the President will recieve an unscripted non-rehearsed question is an absolute joke and govt. propaganda. Let them invite Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage or Ann Coulter to their little info-party and let those Americans ask some questions?
Hey Janet Napolitano...I'm proud to be a Right-winger.
The trick is to get this
June 22, 2009 - 14:22 ET by RR GOPThe trick is to get this stuff passed now and actually finance it later. Right now people will just think that the rich and big corporations will pay for it, so screw 'em.
We saw this with SCHIP. Who cares if scummy, loser smokers are footing the bill most people thought.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).
Mark Steyn, filling in for
June 22, 2009 - 15:00 ET by motherbeltMark Steyn, filling in for Rush today, told of a situation in Canada where a woman showed up at the hospital in labor, was told they had no beds, but she could call the "bedline" (yes, they have an national bedline number!) and find out which hospitals in the province did have beds. They ended up sending her over the Rockies in a twin-engine plane (she's in labor, don't forget) to that hospital.
Steyn also recounted how patients who are overweight get refused hip replacements, and other lovely "cost-management" exercises. With Obama already talking about the relationship of obesity to Type 2 Diabetes, what sort of "guidelines" can we expect???
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
Hillary Care/Stepping down?
June 22, 2009 - 15:16 ET by bigtimerSpeaking of health care here...have any of the rest of you heard about Shrillary and her shattered elbow may be using this as an exuse to step down from the Sec of State Dept title?
Hillary wanting out to get ready to run...or has she been pushed out behind the scenes...whatever...it is interesting chatter going around.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
allanf Thanks for the
June 22, 2009 - 15:24 ET by snaggletoothieallanf
Thanks for the info about Sawyer. The way she talks leads me to wonder if she is not mainly drawn to Nixon and Obama because of their wide dishonest and tyrannical streaks.
bogus bifurcation
June 22, 2009 - 15:47 ET by konoAsking people whose plan (Democrat or GOP) they believe is more likely to improve health care is a bifurcation fallacy. Besides that, I'm more interested in seeing (a) how many people think gubm'nt management is likely to improve the quality, availability, and/or affordability of health care, and (b) how many people think the gubm'nt has a right to forcibly nationalize that part of our economy.
ABC is just a state-run media outlet
June 22, 2009 - 15:57 ET by kevinm13ABC is producing an infomercial for 0bama. This is shameful and wrong. The other side is not being allowed to be heard and this side should not be heard as well. The other nets should do some counterprogramming.
I don't think ABC is doing anything out of the ordinary.
June 22, 2009 - 16:11 ET by acaiguanaAfter all, it is a free market and ABC can do whatever it wants if it can get away with it.
The best way to deal with ABC is to not ever turn it on.
That speaks louder than any 'other side' because this is all about money.
If people watch this silly thing then they will simply be endorsing the whole cloth of the idea. That would be wrong and that would be shameful.
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana notes from the Underground' (Soon to be at theaters near you)
'Can Americans afford it?'
June 22, 2009 - 17:02 ET by JDWI see this differently.
The Constitutional guarantees us the right to personal privacy, free from government regulation. Roe v. Wade guarantees women the right to abortion, how will Planned Parenthood be affected? It is a personal choice, not a government decision.
Medical procedures to prolong life are elected in order to maintain life yet abortion is chosen to eliminate it. No difference with scripts...
Why is government literally attempting to regulate life on both sides?
JDW
DAILY WAVE
When people fear their government there is tyranny.
When government fears the people there is liberty.
JDW, I'm convinced that the US government is trying to nationali
June 22, 2009 - 17:31 ET by acaiguanaJDW, I'm convinced that the US government is trying to nationalize the Health Care Industry and that this is terribly wrong.
We all have choices about our health care. We can budget and spend upwards of little money or a lot of money or we can turn to the so-called safety net put in place by Democrats for the poor.
This has two problems.
One, by even declaring the Health Care system is poor in the US, the Leftists are admitting that 34 years of the Great Society has failed.
The second is that their solution is more Great Society.
I'm tired of these people lying about their 'solutions'.
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana notes from the Underground' (Soon to be at theaters near you)
Govt Defined Coverage And Treatment
June 22, 2009 - 18:05 ET by JDWGovernment authority is immune to judicial intervention. It does not have to cover anything other than what it so chooses.
JDW
DAILY WAVE
When people fear their government there is tyranny.
When government fears the people there is liberty.