All three networks on Wednesday featured Barack Obama to attack climate "deniers" and lament how global warming has personally "impacted" his family. NBC, ABC and CBS offered almost no skepticism. Typical was Today medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar. She wondered, "What do you say to the people who deny that climate change is real and that it's impacting our health?"
After Obama insisted that the number of "deniers" is going down, Azar simply agreed, "yeah, it's true." On ABC's Good Morning America, Dr. Richard Besser asked in a concerned tone: "Do you worry that the environment, the climate has impacted on your own daughter?" The President implied global warming may have been connected to Malia Obama's asthma.
On CBS This Morning, Dr. Jon LaPook echoed, "You have two daughters, who are teenagers. Are you thinking long-term because of them? ...Is that somehow part of the equation?"
The networks used their medical editors to talk to the President and all three sat in front of the same backdrop of medical equipment. This is all part of an Obama effort to shift the public away from thinking of climate change as a problem for polar bears and towards their own health.
Here's how each show introduced the segment and pushed that theme:
GMA
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know something well, all about the consequences of climate change, melting ice, more frequent hurricanes and heat waves. And now there's more focus on the health effects, as well. President Obama is focusing on that and ABC's chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser sat down with him to talk about it.
Today
NATALIE MORALES: President Obama says climate change isn't just affecting the nation's weather, but hazardous to Americans health. The president sat down with our NBC medical contributor, Dr. Natalie Azar.
CBS This Morning
CHARLIE ROSE: The White House is launching a new effort to help Americans protect their health from the effects of climate change. The initiative focuses heavily on asthma and allergies. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook spoke with President Obama about the environment's impact on public health.
CBS's LaPook even explained how the White House strategy worked, attacking Republican Senator James Inhofe:
LAPOOK: Well he's having this multi-pronged attack and I think it's probably cause he realizes that’s its unlikely that you're going to have any kind of climate change legislation go through Congress. I mean Senator Inhofe threw a snowball down us as evidence of climate change isn’t even happening.
During the Bush years, journalists might have used the opportunity to press the President on other important topics. On GMA, Besser veered off into softball questions. He queried, "Affordable Care Act. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the success of Obamacare?" (Unsurprisingly, Obama rated it highly.) There was no challenging follow-up on problems related to the law.
Besser also showed video of Michelle Obama dancing and mused, "What do you think of her moves on Uptown Funk?"
[Thanks to MRC intern Bryan Ballas for help with the transcripts.]
A transcript of the April 8 segment is below:
8:36:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know something well, all about the consequences of climate change, melting ice, more frequent hurricanes and heat waves. And now there's more focus on the health effects, as well. President Obama is focusing on that and ABC's chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser sat down with him to talk about it.
DR. RICHARD BESSER: There are so many health problems that people face that concern them more than climate change. You know, why should they care about this issue?
BARACK OBAMA: We know that the allergy season lasts longer. That means that asthma can be triggered a lot quicker in our kids. We know that heatstroke in cities could be more significant and that is a severe public health problem.
BESSER: And asthma is something your family has experienced.
OBAMA: Yeah.
BESSER: Do you worry that the environment, the climate has impacted on your own daughter?
OBAMA: Well, you know, Malia had asthma when she was four and because we had good health insurance, we were able to knock it out early. And, you know, you've got kids who are going to the emergency room, three, four, five times a year. What I can relate to is the fear a parent has when your four-year-old daughter comes up to you and says, "daddy, I'm having trouble breathing." The fright you feel is terrible.
BESSER: Quick public health lightning round. Affordable Care Act. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the success of Obamacare?
OBAMA: You know, I would put it at, uh, uh, an eight.
BESSER: An eight?
OBAMA: And the reason I don't put it at a ten is because you can always improve something.
BESSER: The First Lady has taken big action in terms of getting people moving. What do you think of her moves on Uptown Funk?
OBAMA: You know, the First Lady, I think, we all understand is a better dancer than me. I've conceded that. I think I can sing a little bit better than her but that doesn't burn as many calories.
BESSER: Who is your favorite Republican?
OBAMA: Oh, you know, I love them all. I think it's fair to say that if I endorse any one of them then they definitely don't win. But, you know, our democracy works best when you got everybody making their arguments and ultimately the people will decide.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And Dr. Besser joins us now. I think he might have fudged a little on that last answer. But, you know, the President has been working hard on climate change for a long time. This focus on health an attempt to really bring it home to people.
BESSER: Yeah, you know, he is. He is trying to find way for people to connect to the issue and when he talked about his daughter having asthma and the fear he felt he's trying to connect to parents whose children are going to be impacted if the air quality gets worse and asthma is one of those areas where it really could happen.
