Patterico's Pontifications

5/15/2009

To Speak or To Misspeak, That is the Question

Filed under: Obama — DRJ @ 5:54 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

On Monday, Barack Obama was joined by health care leaders as he announced an estimated 2 trillion dollars in health care savings that would result from reducing health care spending by 1-1/2% a year over the next 10 years. Obama reportedly repeated this claim on Wednesday, alarming several health care leaders who claim they had not committed to make specific cuts.

Subsequently, the director of the White House Office of Health Reform acknowledged that Obama had misspoken … until she took it back an hour later:

“Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, said “the president misspoke” on Monday and again on Wednesday when he described the industry’s commitment in similar terms. After providing that account, Ms. DeParle called back about an hour later on Thursday and said: “I don’t think the president misspoke. His remarks correctly and accurately described the industry’s commitment.”

Obama makes governing look so easy.

— DRJ

37 Responses to “To Speak or To Misspeak, That is the Question”

  1. The full quote was actually “I don’t think the president misspoke. His remarks correctly and accurately described the industry’s commitment. I am a reprehensible cretin for doubting the veracity and ultimate accuracy of our dear leader. I condemn myself and my family for attempting through my unparalleled stupidity to obstruct the shiny vision of tomorrow which only the truly enlightened such as our dear leader can fathom. I am not worthy to serve under such a glorious and brilliant gift to our world and will immediately resign and simultaneously make amends by jumping from the Washington Monument into a pit of flaming carbon-neutral biofuel.”

    Apogee (e2dc9b)

  2. Nothing he says can be taken as true an hour after he says it. I wonder how long before this catches up with him in international relations. Netanyahu is not one to take bullshit as coin of the realm. They meet next week.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  3. Obama, his administration and Robert Gibbs have consistently played the What the President Really Meant to Say game so I suppose it’s no surprise that they have to inform newbies having contact with them the rules of the game. Obama regularly did this particular kind of flip-flop during the campaign. Now that he’s in power, he can delegate.

    This is anything but governing… other words come to mind but not governing.

    Dana (4a6e8c)

  4. Here’s a link to the letter the healthcare organizations sent to Obama and it sure sounds like a phased in savings approach from the wording of the letter as opposed to day one savings:

    http://www.asahq.org/Washington/2009-05-11HealthCareLtrToPresident.pdf

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  5. These are the people who have been claiming for years that George W. Bush is incompetent and inarticulate.

    It should not take long for the American people to realize that the truth is that George W. Bush was not the greatest extemporaneous speaker but that he knew what he was talking about. The Obama crowd are really not competent.

    SPQR (72771e)

  6. Maybe his teleprompter lied to him that day?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  7. The difference is that President Bush was inarticulate.

    Ag80 (db38af)

  8. Dana,

    How about Governing for Dummies?

    DRJ (f55947)

  9. Say didn’t the CEO of Caterpillar have the same short term memory problems? Probably just a coincidence.

    armadillo (211a15)

  10. Rush talked about this meeting on his Friday, May 15 show, comparing it to the Caterpillar “meeting”:

    The Washington office of the American Hospital Association sent a bulletin to its state and local affiliates to ‘clarify several points’ about the White House meeting. In the bulletin, Richard J. Pollack, the executive vice president of the hospital association, said: ‘The A.H.A. did not commit to support the “Obama health plan” or budget. No such reform plan exists at this time.'”

    Do you hear this? Not only did they not support it, there isn’t a plan, and yet we were told after two hours of meetings that Obama had fixed it. “Moreover, Mr. Pollack wrote, ‘The groups did not support reducing the rate of health spending by 1.5 percentage points annually.’

    Recall that Obama put words in the mouth of Caterpillar’s CEO about hiring back laid-off workers, when they didn’t have any plans to do so, forcing him to eventually deny those words. In fact, Caterpillar is laying off more workers after the agreement was signed.

    I fully expect the health care “meeting” to end up similarly.

    Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1284e4)

  11. I don’t think they’re dumb but rather dishonest, manipulative and arrogant, which might be typical of pols but with this crew, it’s the brazenness and degree that are most troubling. But as I said, considering the campaign trail, this is consistent…

    I enjoyed Yural Levin’s thoughts as he broke it down and summed up this current administration’s health care plan,

    The logic of the Democrats’ approach to health care this year requires that the immense cost of their plan and the dark side of government health insurance (especially the rationing of care) be kept from the public by means of fictional alternative cost-cutting measures. They hope to get the industry players to offer this cover by scaring those players into believing that ObamaCare is inevitable and they might as well play ball. But if instead they scare the industry away, both the cost and the character of government-financed health insurance become much more difficult to hide.

    Dana (4a6e8c)

  12. I think Obama believes once he has publicly said somebody has committed to something that they will magically stick to it no matter how egregiously the Messiah misspoke due to the force of his personality.

    I think he is finding out that he is not always as important or powerful as he thinks he is. Must be a bummer.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  13. “But if instead they scare the industry away, both the cost and the character of government-financed health insurance become much more difficult to hide.”

    Dana – Especially because as Obama is so fond of reminding us that endless government deficit spending is completely irresponsible (snort!) so one solution to our healthcare problem is to extend coverage to those who can’t afford it now without any realistic plan for how to pay for it.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  14. “one solution to our healthcare problem is to extend coverage to those who can’t afford it now without any realistic plan for how to pay for it.”

    Hey everybody, here’s a solution, cut other government spending before expanding spending here.

    What a concept!!!!111!!!

    Priorities baby!!!!! Catch the FEVAH!!!!

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  15. Hey everybody, here’s a solution, cut other government spending before expanding spending here.

    Can we draft you to run for governor of Cauli-foah-nea?

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407)

  16. His remarks correctly and accurately described the industry’s commitment.

    Just so. It’s simply that the “industry” doesn’t know it yet, but like the TARP recipients, Chrysler bond holders, etc, they’ll come to understand.

    MJBrutus (dc3d12)

  17. Especially because as Obama is so fond of reminding us that endless government deficit spending is completely irresponsible (snort!)

    In other words, Obama threw himself under the bus.

    Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1284e4)

  18. It’s simply that the “industry” doesn’t know it yet, but like the TARP recipients, Chrysler bond holders, etc, they’ll come to understand.

    It’s like watching what happens to those who fail to repay a loan secured from Louie at the corner of Fifth and Main.

    Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1284e4)

  19. As I noted at the time, the numbers from the Whitehouse.gov fact sheet on the meeting only added up to $215 billion, not $2.2 trillion.

    Put these two stories together and you have a pretty clear case of the administration deciding to lie to prop up their case for cost-cutting.

    I know some of the commenters here don’t think the cost issue matters. But even assuming that’s true (which I don’t), it reflects on the administration’s credibility. As the debate proceeds, not only will the opposition stiffen out of distrust, but the mushy middle could be targeted on the administration’s lack of honesty.

    Karl (3bf5f8)

  20. “Credibility” and “Obama” …

    SPQR (26be8b)

  21. “Credibility” and “Obama”

    I’ll take oxmymoron for $500, Alex.

    Dana (4a6e8c)

  22. Exactly, Dana.

    Damn, I was really not looking forward to four years of Obama for the obvious ideological reasons. However, four years of an administration more corrupt and more incompetent than the worst of Clinton and Carter is really going to strain my blood pressure.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  23. SPQR – Reality is for those people who can’t handle drugs. A few of us here could provide some recommendations.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  24. daleyrocks, I might need some. My usual favorite Belgian ales are obviously not going to be strong enough.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  25. What if the AHA told Obama to take a flying leap? Government take over of the hospitals? All they have to do is say no. Those few people in Washington only have power if we do what they say.

    Zelsdorf Ragshaft III (d2c5ac)

  26. It’s all double plus good.

    Ag80 (db38af)

  27. I believe that this is calculated by Teh One. He knows that his original statements, by virtue of the fellating MSM, will get widespread coverage, and any disputes will come from unknown players days after the story has left the headlines.

    JD (298166)

  28. Karl:

    Also, the numbers don’t mean anything to most people. When I tried to explain to my 17-year-old son what a mere $1 trillion dollars really means, his eyes glazed over.

    And that’s nothing against my son. No one seems to understand the enormity of these numbers, especially our current Commander in Chief.

    Everyone seems to think the Treasury will be able to simply print more money and everything will be fine. But does anyone know how long those presses will have to run?

    No Republican or Democratic politician will be able to fix this. It will take the labor of millions over decades to manage this debacle.

    Ag80 (db38af)

  29. No Republican or Democratic politician will be able to fix this. It will take the labor of millions over decades to manage this debacle.

    Comment by Ag80

    That is correct. This may well be analogous to the Panic of 1907. That was almost certainly the result of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The losses for the earthquake and fire made the financial system very fragile and the next trauma, a foolhardy attempt to corner the copper market (as I recall), resulted in a collapse.

    Fortunately, JP Morgan was still around and he was able to gather the NYC bankers in his library and determine which banks were solvent and which were not. As he walked up Wall Street, he was cheered by passersby who knew that he was the man who could fix things, and he did.

    Now, I believe, we are dealing with the consequences of the 9/11 losses which have been pushed off into the future by seven years by Fed manipulation of interest rates. The result was the real estate bubble. A firm hand would have things back on track in two to three years. Bankruptcies would ruin some people but the economy would recover. The difference is, as in 1932, we have people manipulating the economy and preventing recovery. In 1929, it was Hoover first, then in 1932, it was Roosevelt.

    I cannot imagine where Obama thinks the money will come from for his delusions. If I were 20 to 40 years younger, I would be very frightened. However, I have children age 44 to 28 who seem not to be worried at all and three of them voted for Obama. I can’t explain it to them as they believe nothing that I say, or seem to. Maybe it’s better this way. I started medical practice in 1972 and the bear market hit two years later. It barely affected me. Maybe that’s the way to see it.

    But I fear this will be much worse. Maybe it’s age.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  30. However, I have children age 44 to 28 who seem not to be worried at all and three of them voted for Obama. I can’t explain it to them as they believe nothing that I say, or seem to.

    That may be because (and this is pure speculation) that they’ve never had to endure real hardship and feel that happiness, rather than the pursuit of it, is an entitlement that should be regularly provided.

    I remain convinced that the only way for the GenX-GenY individuals to really understand that the government can’t always be there to wipe their bottoms is if the sh*t really hit the fan and they actually had to fend for themselves for once. And if the direction that California is going is any indication, we’ll probably see that happen in our lifetimes, too.

    Another Chris (a3bb8f)

  31. Never in history has so many people flooded the airways/print media with so many lies to protect one person so dumb he never knows why he says what he says. He says what others tell him to say but has no backup when someone questions the lies he spews. That’s your president, not mine.

    Scrapiron (996c34)

  32. The suggestion that free universal health care will reduce costs is another of Obama’s miscalculations. The only way health care costs will be controlled when health care is universally free is through rationing.

    In the end result there will be poorer health care at higher cost for the vast majority.

    Terry Gain (4f27d2)

  33. That may be because (and this is pure speculation) that they’ve never had to endure real hardship and feel that happiness, rather than the pursuit of it, is an entitlement that should be regularly provided.

    I agree. As I put it. They have never experienced the benefits of deprivation and do not therefore have the advantage of it.

    Terry Gain (4f27d2)

  34. #

    The full quote was actually “I don’t think the president misspoke. His remarks correctly and accurately described the industry’s commitment. I am a reprehensible cretin for doubting the veracity and ultimate accuracy of our dear leader. I condemn myself and my family for attempting through my unparalleled stupidity to obstruct the shiny vision of tomorrow which only the truly enlightened such as our dear leader can fathom. I am not worthy to serve under such a glorious and brilliant gift to our world and will immediately resign and simultaneously make amends by jumping from the Washington Monument into a pit of flaming carbon-neutral biofuel.”

    Comment by Apogee — 5/15/2009 @ 6:28 pm

    What a waste of talent you are, Apogee. ROTFLMHO!

    The Emperor (09c9e3)

  35. I can’t wait to hear this administration’s (and the Dems in Congress) attempt to explain how we’re going to “fix” the coming Medicare and SS crisis – do they claim that the CBO is lying as usual, or are some mythical savings going to be found under the carpet again?

    Dmac (1ddf7e)

  36. Did the President misspeak?

    The Emperor (09c9e3)

  37. Did the President misspeak?

    The Emperor has no clothes.

    Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (1284e4)


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