Reporter Tells White House Spokesman He Got Insurance Through Obamacare's Exchanges

[Playinghardball]

A sort of odd moment unfolded during today’s White House press briefing, when reporter Tommy Christopher of Mediaite told spokesman Jay Carney a story about how he suffered a heart attack a few years ago. He was uninsured then and has been since.

“Is there a chance,” he asked, “the president would be willing to delay Obamacare for a year if Republicans were to agree to delay heart attacks for a year?”

Watch it:

Christopher followed up Carney’s answer by saying “for what it’s worth, I was able to enroll in the exchanges about a week and a half ago.”

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/10/15/2779001/debt-ceiling-shutdown-liveblog/

[trublu992]

1. Priceless why isn't this being echoed thru out the media?

Oh I forgot we don't have one!

I often wondered wouldn't business be excited about healthcare and even want to expand it since that

would be a huge growing expense they wouldn't have to deal with?

There response seemed backward until I thought how much power corporations/banks wield over the job market that keeps people tied

to them through healthcare coverage, the billions they make from research and development etc... they pay very little for. By having

"employees" they literally steal ideas and services that they then make billions from.

So now I get their response, they want to keep people hostage to their whims just like the house GOP.

[Cha]

13. Right, TruBlue.. we have a US Propaganda Machine.

[JustAnotherGen]

36. +1 on this Cha

It is indeed a propaganda machine. The fact that I'm reading posts today from DU'ers that think Lonegan has a snowball's chance in hell of beating Booker tells me everything I need to know.

[lamp_shade]

2. He was close to tears talking about his Mother.

[hedgehog]

3. Kick!

[Historic NY]

4. Did Ed Henry storm out again today..? I figured he'd be upset over this...

blatant plug for Obamacare.

[SunSeeker]

14. Reality is a blatant plug for Obamacare. nt

[dchill]

25. +1

[cui bono]

24. Does Obamacare cover blatant plugs?

[PotatoChip]

5. I saw this on CSpan. It indeed was an interesting moment.

But after the presser, they went back to taking calls...

Now, I realize that not correcting false info from the callers is how they do things on those call-in segments. But wow, it is frustrating! For example, one woman on 'the republican line' unleashed a furious venting of how she knows that when Obama Care goes into effect, she "will be loosing her Medicare". Therefore, she said that she went online to find out what she will now have to pay. "$600 a month when she lives on only $1000/month"... If I remember correctly, she said that she was in her 70's.

Anyway, the point is, that he let her go on and on, even though the whole rant was based on completely wrong information.

Sorry to have gone OT, it's just so... Ugh!

[left on green only]

9. Are You Kidding Me? The Media Is Loving Every Minute Of This.

Can't you hear them talking from the sides of their mouths?, "Stir 'em up. Create hysteria. Make em afraid of the future. Cultivate their anxiety. Then they will be glued to us for every bit of unconfirmed and convoluted information that we can confuse them with. Because then, in their anxiety and resulting compulsion to cling to us for some word of their future, they will be subjected to the viewing of all of our advertising; and as the result we will make so much more money from our advertising fees".

Sorry to sound so cynical, but have you noticed lately how few of the by lines on Huffington Post (for example) have anything to do with the contents of the story beneath them?

I realize that C-Span is supposed to be non profit, but just look at who they are lying in bed with. I would say that from my point of view, they are all corrupt.

Free press in the wonderful USA? Yeah, right. Free to lie through their teeth for their greed and their corporate lust.

[treestar]

15. Amen to your first paragraph

There's no other explanation.

[JackInGreen]

30. Huffpo

turned shill when Arianna sold them out to AOL, but lately...you're entirely right...the headlines and by lines lately have been either alarmist or sidewise misleading in regards to the content of the article below them.

[displacedtexan]

42. And they keep sending me to The National Review when I click on a headline link.

I need a shower when they do that.

I finally deleted my huffPo bookmark yesterday.

[Wait Wut]

6. I'm sooooooo close!

Having trouble getting my ID verified, but once that's done...

Bring on 2014! I'm ready!

[Pretzel_Warrior]

7. that wasn't just a softball. it was a softball with a pretty bow and thank you card attached

[Jenoch]

8. My comment is not going to be about ObamaCare or Republicans,

it is going to be about this 'reporter'.

An actual reporter trained in journalism NEVER inserts themselves or their opinions into a story they are covering. This was an opinion piece, not an actual news story.

Ok, that being said, I agree with the sentiment, but this was NOT a news story.

[TBF]

12. Wow.

[Jenoch]

17. Huh?

Do you have any more than that?

What are your credentials in journalism?

[TBF]

26. One needn't have credentials in journalism

to make a comment. My comment is "wow" - as in "I can't believe he/she really said that".

[Jenoch]

32. You are correct of course.

But that single word added nothing to the discussion without a minimum of explanation.

[TBF]

39. Your attempt to discredit the reporter sharing his story

is noted. One wonders why you would see the need to make that sort of a comment.

Most on this democratic party website are in support of Obamacare. Your obvious attempt to discredit someone it helped is noted.

I hope that is clear enough for you.

[Jenoch]

43. Go back and read my first post.

[joshcryer]

18. Tommy has his own framing style.

While I agree it may be a bit pushy, his commentary was thoughtful.

When you're trying to frame a question you have no choice but to insert your own opinion.

[Jenoch]

21. Tommy's framing style made him an

editorialist or an editorial writer. He is certainly not a reporter. A personal opinion is NEVER inserted into a story a reporter's writing or produced news piece.

[joshcryer]

22. That's fair enough.

I'm glad Cerney doesn't limit the press room to dry newswire stuff.

[BluegrassStateBlues]

23. And GOP stenographers. It was a breath of fresh air in that dingy old press room. nt

[intersectionality]

27. And thus the myth is perpetuated...

that 'reporters' are objective. He's just explaining where he's coming from to position the arguments he makes. No one else does that. Bravo for this guy not being delusional about his 'objectivity.'

[stevenleser]

28. I self-identify as an editorialist/analyst to avoid having to worry about stuff like this, but I see

very little pure news reporting in politics anymore.

I realize that the "everyone else does it" and "the other side does it" is not the best explanation or excuse, but the folks on the other side consistently push their agenda via questions asked of the press secretary and at this point I think everyone should drop all pretense of doing otherwise.

I am going to enjoy the gnashing of teeth this exchange will cause on the other side of the aisle.

[A Simple Game]

31. So a story about how the ACA is working and how it helps people is not news?

But if Fox has a story about how the ACA is not working and how it will hurt people is news?

The fact that a reporter asked a softball question in a President Obama press briefing should be considered news.

Ever hear of a human interest story?

[Jenoch]

33. Even a human interest story should never

be about the reporter himself. Someone else shoukd do the story.

[A Simple Game]

35. And who did this story? Mediaite? The link goes to thinkprogress.

There is also no mention of a story in the OP, it says "A sort of odd moment unfolded", no mention of a story.

I suppose you get the story part from the OP title, "Reporter Tells White House Spokesman He Got Insurance Through Obamacare's Exchanges" but this says the reporter is telling a story to the Spokesman, not asking for one, nor even reporting one as far as I know.

Could also be for an OP/ED piece.

I know where you are coming from and normally would agree with you, but either way this is not a big enough deal to merit more than two posts.

[Jenoch]

37. I wrote one post and made my point,

but people with little knowledge of how reporters and journalism is supposedto work replied to my post.

[TBF]

41. Your point has been noted. nt

[TBF]

40. Again? You need to do this twice?

Wow again. You seem VERY intent on getting your message of discrediting the reporter across. Because the reporter had success with Obamacare? Is that why his story upsets you?

[Jenoch]

44. You too, need to read my first post again.

[Katashi_itto]

34. Yeah, better to be a stenographer for the GOP than actually have an observation.

After all we do have to push the false equivalency meme

[TBF]

45. Thank you. nt

[JDPriestly]

47. Virtually all of the "news" we hear and see now is actually comment.

Since the end of the government-enforced "fairness" in the media we allow to go over public airways (meaning the airways for which the networks and other stations lease rights to the frequencies -- all but cable and maybe internet), virtually all "news" other than very short clips are commentary.

That was different long ago. Fox News and MSNBC are pretty much opinion programming, but all media is biased if only because time is limited and they have to exercise their discretion, in other words, their bias, when they select which stories they will cover.

Important stories go unreported if they don't fit the opinions, the biases of the owners of our media and their employees.

That is why we have DU. We acknowledge the bias of the media is in favor of ignorance, bigotry and wealth, and we pick and choose according to our own biases that favor information, tolerance and equality.

How in the world can you accuse a reporter of inserting himself into a news story. He asked a question that was not about himself. Was there a chance that Obama would delay Obamacare, and if he did would Republicans delay heart attacks?

That was the news story. He talked about himself at the news conference but if that is the story, it is only because other people found it compelling and interesting. He was not making himself into the story. The story is about Obamacare and the fact that people need it, some desperately.

[Skittles]

10. Thanking Mr. Christopher

that was spot on

[CTyankee]

11. lordy, I've never heard the likes of this at a WH presser before!

It was wonderful! Obama must be thrilled!

[Jim Lane]

16. If you want to delay all heart attacks for a year, you have to talk with Pat Robertson.

He's the one who's in touch with God.

[arthritisR_US]

19. Wow! That was cool and exactly what we mustn't

lose cite of in spite of any computer glitches

[eqfan592]

20. Simply fantastic!!! nt

[B Calm]

29. K&R

[tavernier]

38. And I've heard ppl in restaurants talking about

how they signed up and giving strangers helpful advice.

Yet on morning joke, scarBoo and his nutty buddies were carrying on about trying to sign on while on the air and how hard and impossible it was, even if you tried the paper and pencil version. Well, joe, in the first place, ya gotta be smarter than the pencil.

What a maroon. Good thing ppl only see him as a cartoon character.

[bvar22]

46. Now THAT is the kind of endorsement that should be running from Coast to Coast.

THAT is how to sell the ACA!