Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), Chairman of the Media Fairness Caucus, says Americans should not trust ABC News to provide fair and balanced coverage of the President’s health care reform plan. (:29)
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), Chairman of the Media Fairness Caucus, says ABC’s all-day coverage from inside the White House of President Obama’s health care reform plan is journalistically unethical. (:36)
Ayatollah Khomeini will “not be able to regain the mantle of authority that he once had,” said Abbas Milani, Stanford University’s Director of Iranian Studies. His coalition has “essentially ended the Islamic Republic as we know it.” (0:38)
Nicholas Burns, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, said President Obama has handled the contested Iranian elections “superbly”, yet “has not received enough credit for the fact that he has been very thoughtful (and) measured.” (0:50)
The disputed Iranian election was initially a “very murky situation”, said Nicholas Burns, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. He applauded President Obama initial response as “serious, measured, and thoughtful”. (0:23)
By Mariko Lamb- Talk Radio News Service
Nick Burns, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, countered critics who have described Obama’s response to the allegedly fraudulent election in Iran as overly passive. Instead, Burns said that Obama was “sensible” and “handled it superbly.”
Mounting evidence has suggested that the results of the recent Presidential election in Iran, which resulted in the apparent re-election of former President Ahmadinejad, suffered from fraud. The newly surfaced evidence includes: millions of extra ballots that were printed but unaccounted for, a refusal to use mandated see-through ballot boxes, a refusal to monitor ballots, and voting stations running out of ballots early despite being given an overabundance of blank ballots.
“I don’t have any doubt that it was a stolen election,” said speaker Abbas Milani, Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University, in a discussion on the United States’ response to the Iranian elections Tuesday.
Karim Sadjadpour, former Chief Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the elections were fixed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini because “a Mousavi Presidency and an Obama Presidency at the same time would make it very clear to everyone that Ayatollah Khomeini is the impediment that is standing in the way of U.S.-Iran relations.”
Burns said, “[Obama] has been very thoughtful, measured–you’ve seen that his statements have become progressively stronger in line with events.” He continued to praise Obama for not “playing politics with the issue at home” and maintaining his focus on hopes of diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran instead of succumbing to domestic criticism.
When asked during a press conference Tuesday if President Barack Obama had seen a recently released viral video portraying the shooting of a young Iranian demonstrator by an alleged Basiji militiaman, the President responded that he had. He described the video as “heart breaking” and said that it shows something fundamentally unjust (0:17)
During a press conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama noted that despite the effort from the Iranian government to suppress reports of protest, demonstrators have been able to expose their struggle through cell phones and the internet.
“In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests,” said Obama (0:53)
During a press conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama admitted that although he has tried to quit, he still smokes an occasional cigarette. The President said that while he has fallen off the wagon sometimes, he is not a daily smoker. (0:30)
President Barack Obama addressed the massive demonstrations in Iran that followed the country’s troubled Presidential election during a press conference Tuesday, praising what he described as the “courage and dignity of the Iranian people”.
“The Iranian people can speak for themselves. That is precisely what has happened these last few days. In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice,” said Obama.
The President stated that he would still be willing to establish diplomatic relations with Iran, a willingness that he had expressed during the 2008 election, but that the country would first need to cooperate with international norms and rules.
“There is a path available to Iran in which their sovereignty is respected, their traditions, their culture, their faith is respected, but one in which they are part of a larger community that has responsibilities.”
Although Obama did not say what consequences he believed the Iranian government should face following their violent, hard-line approach to the demonstrations, he did state that how the Islamic Republic treats their demonstrators will affect Iran’s standing on the world-stage.
When asked if he had seen the viral video featuring an alleged Basiji militiaman shooting a young protestor known as Neda in the chest, the President confirmed that he had.
“It’s heartbreaking, and I think anybody who sees it knows there is something fundamentally unjust about that,” Obama replied.
Health care reform also played a significant role in the nearly hour-long press conference.
The President was reluctant to say whether a public insurance option would be a required aspect of any new health care legislation, but did explain that a public plan made sense.
If…the insurance companies are saying is true: that they are doing the best to serve their customers, that they are in the business of keeping people well and giving them security when they get sick, they should be able to compete,” said Obama.
The President went on to say that if the public plan produced lower administrative costs than private insurance companies, then private companies should take note and model their own costs after the public plan.
On the issue of health, Obama did confirm that despite trying to quit, he still occasionally smokes cigarettes, although the President denied smoking on a daily basis.
“As a former smoker, I constantly struggle with it. Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes.”
