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Obama Presser Didn't Seal the Deal

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 23, 2009 8:48 AM CDT

(Newser) – Barack Obama took over the network airways for an hour last night, but pundits doubt the dull press conference will move the needle on health care. Here’s what they’re saying:

Obama blew his chance to turn the conversation around, writes Mike Madden of Salon. “If you'd listened to him talking about health care reform before, there wasn't much you hadn't already heard.” Indeed, he became animated only when someone changed the subject to race.

We’ve come to expect Obama to tackle issues head-on, but not last night, writes Mark Halperin of Time. He parried each question with “partial responses and vague rhetoric.”
Obama’s naked goal was to remind America that reform will help everyone, not just the uninsured, says Ben Smith of Politico. “But instead of shaking the rafters, he spent most of his hour just checking rhetorical boxes, with language so poll-tested and focus-grouped, it was bleached of life.”

[Videos (1)]

President Barack Obama answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama responds to questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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President Barack Obama held his fourth prime-time news conference Wednesday night. (AssociatedPress)

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Obama Presser Didn't Seal the Deal