Rep. Joe Wilson says there will be no more apologies for his outburst, the White House takes on tea baggers, and—surprise—Newt Gingrich was not a fan of Obama’s health-reform speech to Congress. That and more in this week’s Sunday talk roundup.
Joe ‘You Lie!’ Wilson: No More Apologies
Joe Wilson may have said he's sorry to the president for his "You lie!" outburst, but he tells Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that Obama was indeed "misstating the facts," and that he won't apologize again. Wilson now faces the wrath of his Democratic peers who plan to admonish him this week, but he can’t be too upset, picking up $1 million in campaign cash as a result of the whole ordeal.
Gibbs Defers Question of Palin’s Honesty to Webster’s Dictionary
Everyone knows that Rep. Joe Wilson thinks President Barack Obama’s a liar, but on State of the Union, John King turns the question around on White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. When asked if he would call former Governor Sarah Palin a liar for her “death panel” claims, Gibbs shies away from the “L” word which has created so much buzz, and says he’ll let Webster’s Dictionary define her.
Snowe to Obama: Drop Public Option
There are a select few Republicans that President Obama is looking to in order reach bipartisan support on the health-care overhaul, and one of them is Maine’s Sen. Olympia Snowe. Bad news for the president: On Face the Nation, Snowe says the public option must be taken “off the table” in order to move forward. Unfortunately, she faced strong opposition on the very same show with the previous guest, White House’s David Axelrod, who put his foot down and said the White House is " not willing to accept" a plan without one.
Axelrod: Don't Be ‘Distracted’ by Tea Baggers
The White House has two words for tea baggers and town-hall protesters: “They’re wrong.” On Face the Nation, David Axelrod dismissed the health-care demonstrations in Washington, D.C. Saturday, arguing that they do not represent the “mainstream” and that lawmakers shouldn’t be distracted by any of their “distortions” of the proposed health-care bill.
Guess Who’s Hawkish on Afghanistan?
Fareed Zakaria offered something like an inversion of Walter Cronkite’s famous Vietnam editorial on Fareed Zakaria: GPS. Perhaps sensing the growing impatience with what conservative Fouad Ajami sarcastically called our “good war,” Zakaria kicked off his show with argument in favor of a focused and ongoing counterinsurgency in Afghanistan.
Gingrich: Obama Can't Lead His Own Party
Newt to Obama: You Lie? Newt Gingrich was all for his school speech last week, but he can’t say the same about his big health-care speech to a joint session of Congress. On Meet the Press, Gingrich charges that he liked some things the president was saying, but failed to find any of the same information in the actual House bill, and he has little confidence that Obama will be able to push through and of those changes.
Buchanan Makes the Case for Torture
Even those who support the Bush administration’s enhanced interrogation techniques tend to speak a bit elliptically about the practices—i.e. using the phrase “enhanced interrogation.” On the McLaughlin Group, Pat Buchanan used more frank language, saying that the U.S. government used “brutal and nasty methods, no doubt about it,” but that the results justified means, and the Obama administration shouldn’t go after the people who were “doing their duty.”
The Daily Beast Video curates the most essential and entertaining video, and brings you original and exclusive productions from our talented contributors.