Obama's Main Re-Election Argument Earns Four Pinocchios

When he ran for re-election in 2012, Barack Obama mostly ran away from his record. The economy remained stagnant, jobs remained scarce, spending was still out of control and his first election had not solved the war on terrorism, but he had signed a landmark law and killed Osama bin Laden with his bare hands, a pocket knife, duct tape and two balls of twine.

That landmark law, Obamacare, became one of his chief credentials in 2012, as he promised that the “big f****** deal” would bring healthcare costs down, make it more accessible, while also preserving the plans that the majority of Americans already had and liked.

“If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan. Nobody is going to take that away from you” was a variation on the theme.

Nearly a year after Obama’s re-election, the Washington Post fact checks the claim. Surprise — we skeptics of Obama’s grandiose claims were right all along.

The administration is defending this pledge with a rather slim reed — that there is nothing in the law that makes insurance companies force people out of plans they were enrolled in before the law passed. That explanation conveniently ignores the regulations written by the administration to implement the law. Moreover, it also ignores the fact that the purpose of the law was to bolster coverage and mandate a robust set of benefits, whether someone wanted to pay for it or not.

The president’s statements were sweeping and unequivocal — and made both before and after the bill became law. The White House now cites technicalities to avoid admitting that he went too far in his repeated pledge, which, after all, is one of the most famous statements of his presidency.

The president’s promise apparently came with a very large caveat: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan — if we deem it to be adequate.”

Four Pinocchios

That’s the maximum lie rating.

Let’s file this in the same bin with CBS and Chris Matthews finally getting around to agreeing that Benghazi is a problem for the president. Fine, but a year too late to prevent His Mendacity from reigning for another four years. Thanks for nothing.

Now even CNN reports what skeptics predicted, that Obamacare would limit Americans’ choices. Um, thanks. But we’re stuck with this mess because the media didn’t fact check Barack Obama at any time between 2007 and well after his re-election.