Morning Bell: The White House Infomercial
Rory Cooper /
Last night, ABC News aired ‘Questions for the President: Prescription for America‘ designed to be a town hall for doctors, patients and health care experts to ask President Obama challenging questions on his health care proposals. Many Americans protested before the program aired, in self-described “waiting rooms,” to challenge a perceived notion that ABC was simply giving the President one hour of prime time television to sell his program without an opposing view. Conservative Members of Congress gathered on Capitol Hill during the hour to showcase their health reform plans at an event organized by Americans for Tax Reform, including Congressman Tom Price (R-GA), a former physician who said “[i]f the fourth estate continues to be in the tank [for the Obama administration], it would endanger the future of the nation.”
The Heritage Foundation decided to be a part of the discussion and was granted two invites to the event by ABC News. Vice President for Domestic and Economic Studies, Stuart Butler, and Nina Owcharenko, Deputy Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies, were at the White House hoping to engage the President on issues such as his plan for a massive government health care system, or exactly how he was planning on paying for his proposals. According to Stuart Butler, “ABC News promised a tough town hall meeting but delivered a White House infomercial.” (more…)