After waging war against Fox News for months, President Obama's decision to appear on the network just days before a critical vote on his health care proposal was above all a sign of desperation and an admission that Democrats do not yet currently have the votes to pass the crown jewel of his domestic agenda. What, exactly, did the President hope to accomplish last night? Did he think a strong performance would possibly influence some undecided moderate Democrats, many of whom have plenty of constituents who watch Fox regularly? That seems an out-sized ambition, even for a President who maintains unlimited confidence in his ability to speak and persuade.
Whatever the case, I think it was a mistake by the President to go on Fox last night and I do not think he helped himself or his cause with the interview. Obama came across as both dismissive and non-responsive to Brett Baier's insistent questioning about the process. He implicitly approved using parliamentary gymnastics to pass the Senate bill, and he didn't provide very specific or convincing answers about which "special deals" will be included in the final legislation. In the end, he repeated familiar bromides about the benefits and centrist nature of his plan, all of which the public has heard ad nauseam for months and few of which they appear to believe. President Obama offered nothing new, either in substance or tone, that would grab someone whose mind is still open on the issue of health care (and there aren't many left after a full year of debating the issue) and convince them to support his legislation.
Again, given Obama's past war against Fox, the current stakes involved, and without having something fresh to say, I would never have advised the President to do this interview. It put him in a position to gain very little, and given the timing of the health care vote, it made it appear as if the President was forced to do an interview he would have rather not done. It framed the interview as coming from a position of weakness and desperation, rather than strength and confidence.
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