The president’s speech to the nation about the health of his health care plan and the wobbly healthcare.gov site drew tepid Twitter reviews from pols and pundits alike. O touted the revamped website, saying it’s working well for the majority of users, and a million customers logged on Monday. The oratory brought a “meh” from Rich Lowry, editor of National Review.
And a yawn from Guardian columnist Ana Marie Cox.
When the familiar speech veered to the section where Obama digs in his heels with “We’re not repealing it as long as I’m president,” Business Insider Politics Editor Jose Barro announced the bulletin to the world. (You can almost see Barro rolling his eyes.)
While we’ve seen Obama give similar rah-rah speeches, Lowry still shakes his head about the role of Salesman-in-Chief.
***
President Obama is known for keeping the press waiting for him – often more than half an hour after the scheduled time announced by the White House. His tendency for tardiness spawned a Twitter account of its own. The answer this time?
Not too bad considering.
***
A huge majority of Americans believe 435 House members and 100 members of the Senate are skating.
Nine percent. That’s the latest approval rating. Yet Speaker Boehner – who has faced an uphill battle with the most conservative wing of his party -- takes this moment to pat himself on the back.
To use a standard Washington cliché: That dog won’t hunt.
And he blames the other guys, saying, "The House continues to do its job. It's time for the Senate to get serious about doing theirs."
Jennifer Bendery who covers the White House for Huffington Post tallies up the numbers:
“The 113th Congress has passed 55 bills into law this year, seven fewer at this point than the 112th Congress, making it, at least for now, the least productive Congress in history.
“The 2014 calendar for the House shows members will work 113 days, down from 126 days in 2013. In 2012, 107 days were scheduled.”
No matter how you spin it, at a minimum, the Hill’s reputation for working hard is in need of a no-nonsense PR wizard to boost Americans’ confidence.
Or maybe, they could just work harder.
***
As long as we’re giving the speaker some advice, the New York Times’ Jonathan Weisman has a suggestion:
A fatal accident in New York does tend to put the Beltway cliches in perspective.
***
On "MediaBuzz," we held forth about why our culture is so obsessed with selfies. Fusion’s Jorge Ramos, who describes himself on his Twitter page (in English and Spanish) as an immigrant, journalist and anchor, gets in on the game with Bill, tweeting it to his one million followers.
Nice picture -- even if it makes you two look a bit too cozy.
***
Quick – who’s the lieutenant governor of New York?
Poor Chuck.
(For the record, Senator Schumer, it's Robert Duffy.)
***
New York Magazine jumped on the “how-conservative-is-this-Pope” media meme of the week with its feature, “It’s Time to Play ‘Bill de Blasio or the Pope?’
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile took the bait trying to attribute quotes to either the incoming New York mayor or the pontiff.
The real question should be: Who is going to do more good for the world? My money’s on Francis.
***
Watch Lauren every Sunday on #MediaBuzz at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.
If you’d like to recommend your favorite political tweets, email laurenashburnFNC@yahoo.com or send her a tweet @laurenashburn with the hashtag #TwitterTalk.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
More from Politics
