Obama blew that one by getting involved in something he shouldn't have and by making a national story out of a local arrest.
Democrats don't learn. After last night's outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson, House Dem leaders are now demanding an apology on the floor of the House or Wilson will be censured:
Wilson has already issued a statement of apology and called the White House and offered a personal apology to the president (it was taken by Rahm Emanuel). The president has accepted his apology according to his own statement on the matter.On the House floor where President Obama spoke just a half-day earlier, two words shouted by a Republican congressman reverberated louder than the finer points of the health care debate.
House Democrats seized on House rules Thursday to demand South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson offer a high-profile apology to President Obama for shouting, "You lie," during the president's health care address.
Wilson called the White House shortly after Obama's speech to say he was out of line. The White House said early Thursday that the president accepted the apology.
But that did not put the issue to rest, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, also of South Carolina, asked Wilson to apologize on the House floor in front of his colleagues. The final vote of the day was held open by Democrats to give him an opportunity to do so, but he refused.
Democrats threatened to censure Wilson absent such an apology. So far they have not done it -- but even though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier that a censure was not being considered, her top deputies kept it in the mix.
House leaders debated future disciplinary steps against Wilson at a weekly closed-door strategy session in Pelosi's office Thursday.
"I want Mr. Wilson to come to the floor of the House and apologize," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. He indicated that House leaders did not reach a conclusion on sanctioning Wilson.
"We need to figure out what to do," said one senior member of the leadership team. Another high-level House source suggested that lawmakers didn't want to let Wilson's transgression go unpunished "because of the magnitude" of the accusation directed at Obama.
Wilson should not accede to Hoyer's wishes and go the apology tour routine on the House floor. Unless Democrats who booed Bush in 2005 want to get in line behind him, an apology on the floor is meaningless.
Personally, I hope they go the censure route because it will keep this story alive for days. What are people talking about today - the health care speech? Nope, the "You Lie!" statement and what Obamacare actually says about insuring illegal aliens (there's nothing in the bill to prevent it). It's taking all the air out of the speech.
I have no doubts that Rep. Wilson is sorry he said what he said in the manner he said it, but I doubt he's unhappy about what it did to the Obamacare message.
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2 comments:
Rep. Wilson told the truth, however he should not have done what he did when he did it. Many of us believe that Obama has told many, many lies, and most likely he will continue telling them. If his lips are moving he most likely isn't telling the truth. With the past history of this president, I compare him with the old saying "can a leopard change his spots"?
He only said what most of us are thinking, and he did it in a way that brought the lies to the surface. I think he was very brave to stand up to the president, and in front of his people.
Most of us don't even like to say things privately, much less in front of a large crowd. I say, "Yea for Mr. Wilson!"
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