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◼ President Obama's approval rating is at or near record lows. His foreign policy has been feckless. And his recent budget proposal was virtually ignored because his domestic agenda is going nowhere in Congress. So with 2014 looking like an increasingly grim year for Democrats seeking re-election, the role of the most powerful leader of the free world has been reduced to that of an insurance salesman. - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner @philipklein
Appearing on an online video comedy skit with “Hangover” co-star Zach Galifianakis, Obama urged Americans to visit healthcare.gov “or call 1-800-318-2596,” where, “they can get coverage all for what it costs to pay your cell phone bill.”
...The spectacle of the president of the United States turning into a pitchman for multibillion-dollar publicly traded insurance companies is jarring. It also represents quite a journey for Obama, who once described himself as a "proponent" of single-payer health care, which largely eliminates for-profit insurers.
But Obama finds himself in this situation due to a combination of his own choices and political constraints. He rejected market-based reforms of the health care system (such as allowing the purchase of insurance across state lines and ending the discrimination in the tax code against individuals buying insurance on their own) that would have increased competition for insurance and brought down premiums.
◼ Transcript: Obama's appearance on 'Between Two Ferns'
