The more I think about it, the more I think President Obama offered a terrible speech.
Time and again, Obama’s response to criticism is to say “this is a lie.” And he pretty much leaves his assertion at that, and hopes that the audience trusts him more than the opposition. The White House’s early snitch-on-your-skeptical-neighbors used the John Adams defense, “Facts are stubborn things,” but they never want to delve into the facts.
Of course, the alternative leaves him in a tough position:
“Some say we will cover illegal immigrants. They insist the legislation must include a provision requiring patients to demonstrate they are here legally. (Joe Wilson interrupts to yell, “YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH!”) But I think that is unnecessary; our laws are currently effective enough at ensuring illegal immigrants do not end up collecting benefits they are not entitled to.”
“Some say that the bill will have taxpayers pay for abortions. But the alternative is to not provide any government assistance to those who are under private plans that do pay for abortions. I think those who oppose abortion have to accept that the best they can hope for is no direct government payments to doctors who perform abortions.”
“This bill will not add one dime to the deficit. I know the Congressional Budget Office is saying it would add hundreds of billions to the deficit, but their numbers are not to be trusted. Instead, we take reassurance from the fact that Congress and the federal government so rarely underestimate costs and overestimate savings.”
The Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office — all of these groups are nefarious liars, doing the bidding of talk radio hosts, in the Obama narrative.