The First Real Obama Interview Since . . . Well, Ever

My hats off to Bret Baier of Fox News for conducting the first real interview of Obama since he entered the national stage as a Senator. Baier asked relevant questions and tough follow-ups, making it difficult for Obama to dodge the questions. Obama was on the defensive throughout, he was bobbing and weaving like a champion boxer on issues of process and his double accounting for savings in Medicare. Further, Obama tried to mount a new - and somewhat bizarre - defense of the indefensible Louisiana Purchase. All in all, Baer conducted a very professional interview. Obama did not come off well.

What I found most stunning about this interview - Obama's admission that his trillion (or more likely, multi-trillion) health care plan will do nothing to solve massive multi-trillion dollar Medicare insolvency. You can find the transcript of the interview here.





And then the Fox Panel analyzed the interview:



Responses to the Baier interview are all over the net:

NRO - Two thumbs up for a superb interview

Doug Ross - The President ducked, dodged, stammered and "did some his best fibbing ever."

Another Black Conservative - "Normally Obama is pretty good at giving non-answers, but under Baier's pressure, his non-answers were quite apparent."

Weekly Standard - "What tripped Obama up was the spinach. He found it hard to defend special deals like the Cornhusker Kickback, Gator Aid, and Louisiana Purchase. He gave a rambling and evasive answer when Baier asked why the bill double-counts Medicare "savings." He said health care reform would pass because "it's the right thing to do." Guess that settles it, then."

Hot Air - "This moment, from Bret Baier’s interview on Fox News with Obama, might just be one of the biggest “WTF?!” moments from Obama’s presidency yet. Obama is either completely making things up, living in an alternate reality, or really, really confused."

Sister Toldjah - "I don’t think I’ve ever seen the President so defensive. And, of course, he did not answer a single question. Very revealing – or, rather, 'transparent.'"

Jammie Wearing Fool - "I can't imagine even the most diehard Obama sycophant thought he came off looking good here. Petulant, whiny, unpresidential, not worthy of even being a community organizer."

Neo-Neocon - "Obama seemed clueless and meandering in the interview, repeating the same points over and over and unable to counter Baier in any effective way, resorting to what Holden Caulfield used to call “slinging the old bull” and bringing up strangely irrelevant stuff like the Hawaii earthquake."

Huffington Post, Newsweek, AP - How Dare Baier