He talked national security, the economy, abortion. But he also told us to wash our hands and received arguably the weirdest question in the history of presidential press conferences.
Obama: Waterboarding Is Torture
If there were any doubts about the president's position on this, Obama cleared them up last night. He tells Jake Tapper "Waterboarding violates our ideals and our values. I do believe that it's torture."
Executive Order: Wash Your Hands
Swine flu paranoiacs, rejoice. President Obama has the answer to stopping this epidemic in its tracks—wash your dirty, dirty hands.
Obama Neither Surprised, Humbled, Enchanted, Nor Troubled by Question
You could hear his colleagues laughing at him, but give Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times credit: he posed the most original (and perhaps only four-part) question at a press conference in years. And note President Obama, ever the perfect student, answering each part in full.
Obama Wants Out of the Auto Business
When Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal points out that Obama is about to become a major shareholder in the automobile industry, Obama says: “I don’t want to run auto companies. I don’t want to run banks. I’ve got two wars I’ve got to run already, I’ve got more than enough to do.”
ABC News Needlessly Promotes Twitter as Leader of Free World Speaks
First, Twitter mania took over the Miss USA pageant. Now it’s encroaching on presidential news conferences. Memo to ABC: if you wouldn’t do it during Wife Swap, don’t do it while the president is speaking.
Death of Republican Party Great Exaggerated?
Obama takes the high road when asked about the 'desperate straits' Sen. Arlen Specter has said the Republican Party finds itself in. The president even invokes his own campaign, whose straits seemed pretty desperate in Iowa, where he was down 30 points in the polls.
Bonus: What Fox Deems More Important Than the President
The Fox network refused to preempt regular programming for the press conference Which we could understand if, say, American Idol or even COPS were on. But Lie to Me? We present a clip below. You decide.
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