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| Obama Town Hall Questioners Were Campaign Backers |
| 2009-03-28 |
| The Teleprompter Jesus couldn't allow the message to deviate, nor be expected to respond to unvetted opposition questions. Think of the squeals of hysterical outrage if Rove had done this for Chimpy McHalliburton? He's a fake President Obama has promised to change the way the government does business, but in at least one respect he is taking a page from the Bush playbook, stocking his town hall Thursday with supporters whose soft -- though far from planted -- questions provided openings to discuss his preferred message of the day. Obama has said, "I think it's important to engage your critics ... because not only will you occasionally change their mind but, more importantly, sometimes they will change your mind," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs recounted to The Post's Lois Romano in an interview Wednesday. But while the online question portion of the White House town hall was open to any member of the public with an Internet connection, the five fully identified questioners called on randomly by the president in the East Room were anything but a diverse lot. They included: a member of the pro-Obama Service Employees International Union, a member of the Democratic National Committee who campaigned for Obama among Hispanics during the primary; a former Democratic candidate for Virginia state delegate who endorsed Obama last fall in an op-ed in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star; and a Virginia businessman who was a donor to Obama's campaign in 2008. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #14 I recall Bush's team would pick very friendly venues and keep pesky non-supporters out. Didn't they also more or less keep out the press? If I'm remembering that correctly it's an important difference from O's 'town hall'. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-03-28 20:10 |
| #13 The last time they went unscripted they got Joe the Plumber. |
| Posted by: Skunky Glins 5*** 2009-03-28 19:28 |
| #12 I seem to recall during the Republican primary some of the 'debate' questioners were outriger Democratic Operatives. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-03-28 15:43 |
| #11 I recall Bush's team would pick very friendly venues and keep pesky non-supporters out. They'd have tickets for the event and distribute the tickets to supporters. No tickee, no entry. I don't recall them using campaign backers as plants for questions, though if everyone in the hall is a supporter, that's hardly needed. I should note that the whole idea of having a friendly venue packed with supporters is not a new idea in politics, nor is it new to use tickets to a 'free' event to ensure a welcome reception. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-03-28 15:35 |
| #10 Teleprompter Jesus. LOL. I hate you! |
| Posted by: Spirit 2009-03-28 15:18 |
| #9 Cause a question for the President is a f***ing valuable thing, you just donÂ’t give it away for nothing. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-03-28 14:02 |
| #8 Verlaine, to my knowledge W's staff did not do this, or we'd still be hearing about it. Looks to me like WaPo defensiveness over the lameness of their messiah: "see? they did it too!1!!..or something" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-28 13:56 |
| #7 Obama needs to remember that the MSM built him up and they can knock him down. Do they have the guts we'll see. |
| Posted by: macofromoc 2009-03-28 13:46 |
| #6 The Democrats have got the dog and pony show down pat. You have to have a fake front when the top woman in congress is from the gueer captial of the world, the top male in congress is from the gambling capital of the world, and the oval office occupant is from the shake down capital of the world. |
| Posted by: Elmereque Thaiper5816 2009-03-28 12:23 |
| #5 These sheeple knew they were media administration "plants" and were probably rewarded handsomely for their deeds. They are little more than shameless, leftest, tools of the Obama state. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-28 12:19 |
| #4 taking a page from the Bush playbook Frank G, it seems the WaPo is asserting that, in fact, Dubya's people DID do this. I don't recall it. In this case do I trust my memory or the WaPo's connection to reality? |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2009-03-28 12:14 |
| #3 Gawd, It's Martin Luther King hooked on electronics. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-03-28 11:26 |
| #2 does this really surprise anyone |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-28 11:25 |
| #1 Teleprompter Jesus. LOL. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-03-28 10:52 |