Mixed Messages
Michael Goldfarb
July 7, 2009 11:47 AM
Cantor spokesman Joe Pounder is like a one-man RNC (which is nice because the real RNC doesn't even bother sending me emails anymore -- I'm looking at you Gail Gitcho). He sends out a release noting the multiple fronts on which different White House players seem to be pulling in opposite directions. Because competence is back:
ALL: It's been a day of mixed-messages from the White House regarding government-run health care, the "stimulus" and Israel. Please see below:
MIXED-MESSAGE #1: No Government-Run Health Care Option Vs. Government-Run Health Care Option…
TUESDAY: In An Interview With The Wall Street Journal, White House Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel Signals That The Administration Is Not Committed To A Government-Run Health Care Plan. "It is more important that health-care legislation inject stiff competition among insurance plans than it is for Congress to create a pure government-run option, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Monday. ‘The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest,' he said in an interview. ‘The goal is non-negotiable; the path is' negotiable." (Laura Meckler And Janet Adamy, "White House Open To Deal On Public Health Plan," The Wall Street Journal, 7/7/09)
TUESDAY: President Obama Issues A Follow-Up Statement Reiterating His Commitment To A Government-Run Health Care Plan. "I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest. I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals." (The White House, "Statement From The President On Health Care Reform," Press Release, 7/7/09)
Read the rest after the jump...
MIXED-MESSAGE #2: "Misread" The Economy And Stimulus Disappointment Vs. Wouldn't Do Anything Differently…
SUNDAY: Vice President Joe Biden Says "We Misread How Bad The Economy Was." (ABC's "This Week," 7/5/09)
SUNDAY: House Democrat Leader Steny Hoyer Says He Is "Disappointed" By The "Stimulus." FOX NEWS' CHRIS WALLACE: "Congressman Hoyer, can you honestly say you're satisfied with the stimulus?" REP. STENY HOYER: "I don't think anybody can honestly say that we're satisfied with the results so far of the stimulus. But we believe the stimulus was absolutely essential. Mark Zandi, as you know, who was one of McCain's economic advisers, says it's going to create 2 million jobs by the end of next year, and..." WALLACE: "But why hasn't it done more faster?" REP. HOYER: Well, we're disappointed that it hasn't done more faster. John and I were talking earlier about getting money out more quickly. We need to do that. We're disappointed." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 7/5/09)
TUESDAY: President Obama Says "There's Nothing That We Would Have Done Differently" Concerning The Stimulus. "Turning to domestic issues, the president said that when Vice President Joe Biden recently told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that the White House ‘misread' the economy when planning the stimulus package in January, the president said that ‘what Vice President Biden was referring to was simply the fact that when we passed he stimulus, we hadn't gotten the full report of the first quarter contractions in the economy that turned out to be way worse than anybody had anticipated.' But the president denied that his economic prescription was wrong because the diagnosis was incomplete. ‘There's nothing that we would have done differently,' he said. ‘We needed a stimulus and we needed a substantial stimulus.'" (Jake Tapper, "An Interview With President Obama," ABC News, 7/7/09)
MIXED-MESSAGE #3: Green Light To Israel Or No Green Light…