Obama Transparently Breaks His Promise

It is clear that our President is promiscuous. No, not in the sense that Bill Clinton was promiscuous. Rather, the President promiscuously promises things that he cannot or has no intention of delivering.

He has gotten away with this largely because the Press has not been interested in the issue. But on one recent issue that has changed. From CBS:

President Obama wants the final negotiations on health care reform - a reconciliation of the House and Senate versions of the bill - put on a fast track, even if that means breaking an explicit campaign promise.

"The House and Senate plan to put together the final health care reform bill behind closed doors according to an agreement by top Democrats," House Speaker Nanci Pelosi said today at the White House.

The White House is on board with that, too, reports CBS News political correspondent Chip Reid. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stressed today that "the president wants to get a bill to his desk as quickly as possible."

During the campaign, though, candidate Obama regularly promised something different - to broadcast all such negotiations on C-SPAN, putting the entire process of pounding out health care reform out in the open.

Like other promises, that you would be able to keep your health care plan, that the health care bills will not add one dime to the deficit, this isn't worth a dime. But this time the President is more or less breaking a promise to the Press. That may not have been wise.

In all fairness to the President, I think he made this promise without thinking it through. It is not practical for all deal making to be made in the open. But he did make the promise, and by breaking it he proves that his word means nothing. But we knew that already.

Comments

[William]

Now that the MSM is getting "thrown under the bus", even they are beginning to turn on Obama. It's not wise to pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel. Is Obama crossing a "bridge too far"?

[George Mason]

There is more at play here. Obama was supposed to bring everyone together.
The Dems constantly accused Bush of being overly partisan. The reality is that it was Bush's attempts at bi-partisanship, prescription drug benefit, leaving Clintonites in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, retaining Alan Greenspan, e.g. that led to many of the problems we are facing today. Obama has chosen to freeze out the opposition completely. Republicans will not be allowed into the negotiations lest they apprise the populace of the intent of Reid-Pelosi. This is not something the MSM is outraged about. The media is not even outraged over their lack of access. AS Bob Dole would ask: "Where's the outrage?" This is Obama not as "Savior" but as Borgia Pope.

[KB]

I agree with William that irritating the Press poses risks, even for Obama. George may be right that Bush contributed to many of the problems we now face, but this looks simpler to me. It just means that promiscuously making promises is not risk free.