For the second time since he was elected president, NBC12 was granted a one on one interview with Barack Obama.
The interview took place Tuesday after his event in Norfolk. We were provided 5 minutes of the president's time and there were no restrictions placed on the questions we could ask.
We asked the president to respond to the GOP's use of his "You didn't build that" line in Roanoke, his take on the state of the country and we asked about his attacks on Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Mr. Obama was not afraid to defend his record.
First- here is our interview un-cut:
And here is our recap of the interview, including a response from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.
For the second time since he was sworn into office, NBC12 was granted a one on one interview with President Barack Obama.
The interview took place after his event yesterday in Norfolk.
We were given five minutes to talk to the president. It was enough time to hit on a number of important topics, and give him an opportunity to respond to the way republicans have used one line from a speech he gave in Virginia against him.
It is a line that has become a slogan for the Republican Party.
"If you got a business,” Obama said in Roanoke, “You didn't build that."
The line became a theme for their convention.
"Do you have any regrets for the way you made that point?,” I asked the president. "Obviously, I have regrets for my Syntax,” Obama replied. “But not for the point, because everyone who was there watching knows exactly what I was saying."
The president stands buy that point- claiming that his administration has done plenty for small business, and that a strong government supports their growth.
Growth he thinks has made life better for most Americans.
"Are we better off than we were four years ago?" I asked.
The president responded quickly.
"We are absolutely better off than we were when I was sworn in and we were losing 800 thousand jobs in a month," he said.
The question of "Are we better off?" is a point that has stumbled several prominent Obama supporters, and given republicans like RNC Chairman Reince Priebus the opportunity to point out areas where the American economy is still struggling.
"The facts are, unemployment is too high, the president didn't fix that problem,” Priebus said. “Spending is too high, he didn't fix that problem."
And despite his belief that things are better, the president admits it is far from perfect.
"Obviously we have much more to do,” he said. “That is true here in Virginia and that is true all across the country."
read and see the full story on NBC12.com
To those who are enamored with the free mreakt approach to health care access I say why not go all the way then? Let me posit the following scenario: The year is 2010, in response to not very widespread complaints that some people in America might actually be getting something for nothing, Congress springs into action. At the end of a grueling session, and in a remarkable display of bipartisanship, they emerge with the Healthcare Ultimate Responsibility Law (HURL). The legislation rescinds the long existing federal mandate that hospitals provide free care to those in need, and dismantles Medicare. It also abolishes all private health insurance, as some policy holders have been consuming a disproportionate amount of medical care in excess of what their premiums would have covered. Prior to leaving for his weekly salon session / hunting trip, President Britt Momley signs the bill into law, pronouncing it “…the final solution to the free rider problem…” Vice President Johann Moneygrubber and Secretary of Wealth and Inhumane Disservices Don Clydesdale look on in awe. Finally, free mreakt forces will determine the delivery of health services. Anyone wishing to see a doctor will be required to have cash on the barrelhead. Everyone’s net worth can be immediately ascertained by reading the RFID chip embedded at the base of their necks. Fools desperate enough to show up on the steps of medical institutions seeking care with no means to pay are strapped to gurneys in five point restraints and promptly, but cheaply, euthanized. Since these freeloaders would obviously have no means to pay for burial services, their useful tissues and organs are harvested to provide spare parts for the paying customers and luminaries like Paris Hilton and former Vice President Dick Cheney. The remainder of the body is burned on the premises to provide heat for the hot tubs on the liposuction unit. Many panicked Americans seeking treatment flee to the Canadian and Mexican borders only to be turned back by immigration authorities. They die in droves, providing the few remaining U.S. medical schools with a steady stream of anatomical specimens. There is not much need for doctors, with such a limited patient pool, the U.S. actually becomes the world’s largest exporter of trained physicians, and the nursing shortage that loomed so large in the early part of the decade has been resolved overnight. Surplus cadavers are collected by companies BFI and Waste Management, Inc, who in true entrepreneurial spirit have expanded their recycling operations to include corpses. No sense in burying the wretches, that’s just a waste of prime real estate! Instead, bodies are trucked off to mass incinerators where they provide the fuel to run industry. At last, a cheap source of renewable energy. Yes, it’s a new day in America, and no one is on the public dole!
Posted by: Ngouda | 10/14/2012 at 08:08 PM