Friday, March 27, 2009

In case you missed Ed Henry (CNN) at the press conference:

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke again at the top about your anger about AIG. You've been saying that for days now. But why is it that it seems Andrew Cuomo seems to be in New York getting more actual action on it? And when you and Secretary Geithner first learned about this 10 days, two weeks ago, you didn't go public immediately with that that outrage -- you waited a few days, and then you went public after you realized Secretary Geithner really had no legal avenue to stop it.

And more broadly -- I just want to follow up on Chip and Jake -- you've been very critical of President Bush doubling the national debt. And to be fair, it's not just Republicans hitting you -- Democrat Kent Conrad, as you know, said, "When I look at this budget, I see the debt doubling again." You keep saying that you've inherited a big fiscal mess. Do you worry, though, that your daughters -- not to mention the next President -- will be inheriting an even bigger fiscal mess if the spending goes out of control?

OBAMA: Of course I do, Ed, which is why we're doing everything we can to reduce that deficit. Look, if this were easy, then we would have already had it done, and the budget would have been voted on and everybody could go home. This is hard. And the reason it's hard is because we've accumulated a structural deficit that's going to take a long time, and we're not going to be able to do it next year or the year after or three years from now. What we have to do is bend the curve on these deficit projections. And the best way for us to do that is to reduce health care costs. That's not just my opinion; that's the opinion of almost every single person who has looked at our long-term fiscal situation.

Now, how do we -- how are we going to reduce health care costs -- because the problem is not just in government-run programs; the problem is in the private sector, as well. It's experienced by families, it's experienced by businesses. And so what we've said is, look, let's invest in health information technologies; let's invest in preventive care; let's invest in mechanisms that look at who's doing a better job controlling costs while producing good quality outcomes in various states, and let's reimburse on the basis of improved quality, as opposed to simply how many procedures you're doing. Let's do a whole host of things, some of which cost money on the front end but offer the prospect of reducing costs on the back end.

Now, the alternative is to stand pat and to simply say we are just going to not invest in health care, we're not going to take on energy; we'll wait until the next time that gas gets to $4 a gallon; we will not improve our schools, and we'll allow China or India or other countries to lap our young people in terms of their performance; we will settle on lower growth rates; and we will continue to contract, both as an economy and our ability to provide a better life for our kids.

That I don't think is the better option. Now, have -- am I completely satisfied with all the work that needs to be done on deficits? No. That's why I convened a fiscal responsibility summit, started in this room, to start looking at entitlements and to start looking at the big drivers of costs over the long term. Not all of those are reflected in our budget, partly because the savings we anticipate would be coming in years outside of the 10-year budget cycle that we're talking about. Okay?

Q: On AIG, why did you wait -- why did you wait days to come out and express that outrage? It seems like the action is coming out of New York and the Attorney General's Office. It took you days to come public with Secretary Geithner and say, look, we're outraged. Why did it take so long?

OBAMA: It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak, you know? (Laughter.)

Ed, apparently, missed it himself:
(and Gene Robinson gets the "Euphemism of the Month" award)

6 comments:

Sherwood Harrington said...

Well, we refer to Emma and Ziwa as our companions sometimes, don't we?

Damn, it's nice to have a President who sounds presidential, isn't it?

Dann said...

What a truly sad display. And yet these poor victims should feel comforted that their shared condition has been noticed at the highest levels of the government.

The TOTUS has suggested a webathon to provide funding for treatment.

ronnie said...

Sad display? I didn't see any sa- Oh, wait! You must be confusing President Obama's answer to the question with the "Fiscal Blueprint" released by the GOP yesterday.

Silly Dan.

Thank God they aren't building contractors...

Mike said...

Dann, I usually count on you to be fair, even when the ideologies don't match your own. Are you suggesting that Ed won that exchange? Really? And does quoting some anonymous cheapshot artist really make for a rational debating point? Come on -- I'm willing to admit that Reagan was a commanding presence on the stump. This isn't a referendum on Keith Olbermann. It's a question of the Washington Press Corps running up against someone who doesn't show up for the Gridiron Dinner and who doesn't call on the "right" people at press conferences.

You have just found yourself in the position of defending the Washington Press Corps. Really? That's where you want to be? Come on, man.

Sherwood Harrington said...

Gah. "Totus" makes Mallard Fillmore look thoughtful and droll. At least to me, but I suppose I'm looking at things through my usual Socialist lenses.

I guess that stuff passes for funny in some circles, though. Not for me to judge. I guess. Allegedly. It sez here.

Dann said...

[heavy sigh]

Sorry Mike. At some point, I really will learn to stop trying to be funny.

Since Olberman is a farcical commentator, I thought a farcical riposte was appropriate.

More seriously, while Ed obviously has some ego issues, he does have a point about Mr. Obama not answering his question. However avoiding the question is a traditional sport enjoyed by Presidents for quite some time. So I can't fault Mr. Obama...much...for getting into the game.

Regards,
Dann