Even the liberal hosts of The View seemed to understand just what a PR nightmare the President is facing after a Congressional Budget Office report declared that ObamaCare will likely cost the U.S. 2.3 million jobs. A graphic for the "hot topics" segment on Wednesday screamed, "The end of ObamaCare?' Whoopi Goldberg hyped, "There's a new bombshell, a new congressional report is landing right on top of ObamaCare." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
Unsurprisingly, veteran journalist Barbara Walters attempted to defend Obama, citing presidents such as Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter who previously attempted universal health care. Walters sputtered, "This is -- I don't know what -- the mountain that they can't climb and reach the top. Every president has tried." But it was a non-political guest host who dismissed Walters's liberal defense.
Sage Steele, an NBA Countdown host on ESPN, appeared on the program as a guest host. After Walters finished touting Obama for pushing a law that so many had failed at passing, Steele retorted, "And maybe there is good reason. Maybe this is part of the proof why...This not the way to do it."
This has been quite the week for conservatism on The View. On Monday, right-leaning radio host Dana Loesch appeared. On Tuesday, Mary Katharine Ham and explained her political philosophy: "Look, when things get bigger, they get ineffective. When they get bigger, you can bully people easier."
This trend was noticed by co-host Goldberg. She took to Twitter on Sunday and lamented, "It's sweeps, apparently."
A partial transcript of the February 5 segment is below:
11:19
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: But how about this? There's a new bombshell, a new congressional report is landing right on top of ObamaCare. It found that 2.3 million people are set to lose their jobs because of the Affordable Care Act and that in a decade the same amount of Americans will still be uninsured. Now --
JENNY MCCARTHY: I mean, this is all about a disincentive to work.
BARBARA WALTERS: You know, I can't remember a President who has not tried to have universal health care. Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, all pushed unsuccessfully for a national health care act. And we know Bill and Hillary Clinton tried and failed. This is -- I don't know what -- the mountain that they can't climb and reach the top. Every president has tried.
SAGE STEELE: And maybe there is good reason. Maybe this is part of the proof why. This is not – this is not the way to do it.
MCCARTHY: I also think in this report --
GOLDBERG: Hold on, go ahead.
SHERRI SHEPHERD: First of all the report --
GOLDBERG: Jenny, finish what you were saying.
MCCARTHY: I was just going to say, both sides create, you know, facts to support their opinions is what's going on with this report.
SHEPHERD: But they actually said – What the CBO actually said is America would choose to work less for various reasons and that if translated, the fewer hours worked into full time jobs would equal 2.5 million by 2024. They didn't say that ObamaCare would cost the country 2.5 million jobs. They did not say that!
GOLDBERG: Here's what will be – Here's what will be interesting because CBO director Douglas Elmendorf will testify before the House Budget Committee tomorrow and they can ask him if that's true, if that's what the report says.
STEELE: When the CBO comes out and says something, It's non-partisan. It's not Republican. It's not Democrat.
SHEPHERD: Right.
STEELE: When they come out and say those things and these numbers in ten years --
GOLDBERG: Yes, but when it's spun–
STEELE: – in ten years. – Fewer doctors practicing.
MCCARTHY: This is a great quote. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, not their own facts." And that was from former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
STEELE: Can I come out tomorrow when the facts come back? Because I'm telling you–
[Whoopi throws to commercial.]
