In Pre-Game Rumble, Obama Pushes Back On O’Reilly Questions About Health Care
The president told the Fox anchor that he regrets his earlier comments that people who like their insurance would be able to keep it.
Politico: Pre-Super Bowl, Obama Sparks With Bill O’Reilly
President Barack Obama faced questions Sunday on Obamacare, Benghazi and the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups during a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and dismissed much of the criticism of him as ginned up by the cable news channel. ... Asked if the "biggest mistake" of his presidency was his claim that Americans who liked their health insurance plans would be able to keep that coverage, Obama nudged his interviewer. "Oh, Bill, you've got a long list of problems of my presidency," he said (Epstein, 2/2).
The New York Times: Obama Is Tackled By O’Reilly Before Game
Some of the hardest hits of Super Bowl Sunday came a couple of hours before kickoff. ... His answers shed little if any new light on some of the most controversial moments of Mr. Obama’s presidency, but it was a feisty 10-minute encounter that exposed the different world views of Mr. Obama and some of his sharpest critics. For Mr. Obama it may have been an unpleasant duty that was more or less unavoidable but for some conservative fans of Fox, it was an opportunity to watch the president challenged in a way they believe he has not been by the rest of the news media (Baker, 2/2).
The Wall Street Journal: Obama Defends Handling Of Controversies On O’Reilly Show
Mr. O’Reilly began the Fox News interview by saying he wanted to "get some things on the record" and questioned the president about the Affordable Care Act. While Mr. Obama rarely gets unsettled during interviews, at several points he criticized Mr. O’Reilly and Fox News for spreading what he said was misinformation (Favole, 2/2).
USA Today: Obama, O'Reilly Battle Over Health Care, Benghazi, IRS
In a pre-Super Bowl rumble, President Obama and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly jousted Sunday over the health care law, the attack in Benghazi, and claims that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative organizations. Obama expressed regret for saying people who liked their health insurance plans could keep them — millions saw their policies canceled after the new law took effect in October (Montgomery, 2/2).
CBS News: Obama Defends Decisions On Sebelius, Benghazi, IRS In Fox Interview
President Obama defended his choice to keep Kathleen Sebelius on as head of the Health and Human Services Department, explained his administration’s response to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and said there was no corruption by the Internal Revenue Service in aggressively scrutinizing conservative groups in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News. The interview -- which lasted less than 10 minutes -- was highly contentious, with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly relaying several Republican concerns and Mr. Obama saying the issues have been overblown because of a narrative created by O’Reilly’s network. Asked why he did not fire Sebelius for the botched roll out of HealthCare.gov, Mr. Obama said, "We hold everybody up and down the line accountable but when we’re midstream, Bill, we want to make sure that our main focus is how do we make this thing work so people are able to sign up" (Kaplan, 2/2).
