Obama's Interview with Fox News Was Both Disrespectful and Problematic

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

The Democrats must pass health care reform. If they pass the legislation, they are still going to get hammered in the mid-term elections. If they don't pass the bill, the hammering will only multiply in its intensity. Right now, our Congress finds itself in a terribly complex situation, with terms like "reconciliation" and "deem and pass" being thrown around like profanity against a growing backlash from a portion of the American public. If we could go back in time, President Obama would never have taken on this issue.

I watched President Obama's interview with Brett Baier on Fox News with intrigue. I wondered why Obama would want to appear on a network that has spent hundreds of millions of dollars undermining the White House. I then realized that Obama's appearance is likely in line with the White House strategy of taking on the Republicans face-to-face. Rather than appearing to be an elitist leader who hides from his adversaries (as George Bush might have done), Obama is walking into one lion's den after another, making his presidency even more interesting than it was when he arrived. Also unlike President Bush, Obama is savvy and intelligent enough to debate 100 Republicans in a single bound, the way Tiger Woods can dominate a golf course with scores of non-black competitors. Barack Obama is his own greatest asset.

What got the nation's attention in last night's Fox interview was Baier's blatant disrespect for the president. In one instance after another, Baier would cut Obama off in the middle of his answers and wouldn't let him finish his points. He was appeasing his right wing supporters by chopping the presidency down to size, and putting Obama "in his place." I could understand the source of Baier's frustration, since Obama and the Democrats are not exactly listening to the Republicans as they put forward their talking points, and this was their chance to come after Obama.