Obama Says Single Payer System Would Be Too Disruptive

During a town hall meeting Tuesday in New Hampshire, Obama stressed that while he wanted action that would provide coverage for as many Americans as possible, he has not been pursuing a single-payer plan.

“For us to transition to a system like that I believe would be too disruptive,” the President said. “A lot of people who currently have employer based health care would find themselves dropped and they would have to go into an entirely new system that has not been set up yet. I would be concerned about the potential disruptiveness of that kind of transition.” (0:35)
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Obama Dismisses "Death Panel" Rumors

During a town hall meeting held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire Tuesday, Obama dismissed rumors of “death panels”, a term picked up by Conservatives such as former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to describe government officials who would decide whom to provide coverage for under a public system. The President said that the rumors emerged from an amendment in one of the drafts of health reform legislation that sought to expand medicare coverage to include consultation for end of life treatment, such as hospice care or drafting living wills. (1:02)

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Leahy: Obama Nominated Most Qualified Person

If another vacancy appears on the Supreme Court, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) suggests President Obama "pick the most qualified person possible and nominate them. That's what he did and that's what he'll do if there's another vacancy." (0:15)
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Natl. Security Adviser: Obama Has New Approach To War On Terror

John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter terrorism, said that the administration will do everything in its power to keep the American people safe. Brennan says that the President recognizes that terrorism cannot just be fought by military power, intelligence operations, and law enforcement. (0:48)
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Janet Napolitano Talks Common Threats And Collective Response To Terrorist Attacks

Janet A. Napolitano, United States Secretary of Homeland Security addressed a packed crowd at the Council on Foreign Relations this morning in New York. Her speech entitled: Common Threat, Collective Response: Protecting Against Terrorist Attacks in a Networked World, underscored that America is still vulnerable and we must continue to "comprehend and anticipate the range of new threats, including nuclear, chemical and biological." She highlighted the greater use by insurgent groups around the world of these types of deadly weapons.

Napolitano also said under the Obama Administration, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) also prioritizes protecting the borders from immigration which she stated may also include terrorists trying to get into the country.

"We have to develop a global environment for security. We have to engage the American people in our collective efforts. "

She underlined getting greater support from American citizens and to promote airline passenger vigilance aids in building a "culture of preparedness". Napolitano said that 85 percent of our critical assets are owned by the private sector--and their knowledge of technical assistance can greatly help secure infrastructure. She said better training of local law enforcement is a major part of her workplan in the coming months --stating local law enforcement could work together to analyze and provide intelligence. She also cited the importance in maintaining international partners to broker agreements with allies on monitoring baggage and cargo and to forge agreements to combat serious crime in partnership with the Department of Justice.

"We are a nation of families. Think of us as a hub. We have to strengthen our own networks and build on our international partnerships" she said.
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GOP'er Deal: Obama Took More Time Picking A Dog Than Reforming Health System

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) says President Obama spent more time deciding what type of dog he wanted than what type of health care is good for the American public (0:30).
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Cantor Says Obama Presenting Americans With A False Choice

House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) says President Obama is presenting Americans a false choice with respect to government-run health care, and argues that there is another way (0:45).
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Giuliani: Government Transparency Down Under Obama

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says government transparency has decreased since Obama took office. Giuliani says that the apparent rush to pass health care legislation is a sign of lack of transparency since it gives legislators and the public less time to read it. Giuliani adds that spending more time on the bill will allow the President to actually read it. (0:31)
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Steele Slams Obama's "Dangerous Experiment"

Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, says that President Barack Obama is determined to transform the American way of life, and argues that his changes could have dangerous consequences for the economy and the nation. (1:01)
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President Obama Says Health Care Reform Is In Sight

President Obama held a press conference Friday to give an update on the progress of health care reform. He said that more groups are signing on to tackle the issue including pharmaceutical companies, AARP, American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association. In addition, Obama said he is committed to not having health care add to the national deficit. The President was definite in saying that health care reform will be achieved by the end of this year. (9:06)
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Legal Expert Says Obama Has Followed Bush On Congressional Oversight

Morton Rosenberg, a legal expert from the Congressional Research Service, says President Obama has continued "controversial" policies used by former President George W. Bush, and that Congressional oversight over the executive branch has "yet to be revived." (0:58)
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Obama: Health Care Reform Will Cut Deficit

President Obama stated at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy Friday that cutting health care costs will reduce the U.S. federal deficit. (0:30)
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Obama: Iran Must Halt Nuclear Program

President Obama stated at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy Friday that the world has "opened a door" to welcome Iran into the international community. Now, Iran must hold up its end of the bargain by discontinuing its nuclear weapons program (1:05).
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Boehner Accuses Dems Of Misusing Stimulus Money

House Minority Leader John Boehner criticizes the democrats for inappropriately allocating money from the stimulus package. To illustrate his point, Boehner uses the example of how Congressional democrats allocated money to save the saltmarsh harvest rather than providing stimulus money to farmers who needed money to turn up water pumps for their fields. (0:49)
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King Says Napolitano Is Obama's Puppet On Immigration

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) checks in live from the Arizona-Mexico border where he says DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano should understand the issue of illegal immigration, having been Governor of a border state. However, says King, Napolitano has her hands tied in terms of enforcing immigration laws because her boss, President Obama, doesn't support cracking down on illegals. (:28)
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King Says White House Snubbed Him, But That's OK

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) checks in live from the Arizona-Mexico border where he discusses being left out of a recent White House summit on immigration. Despite being the highest ranking Republican on the House Immigration Subcommittee, Congressman King says he was not invited to attend the summit because the current administration supports giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, and doesn't want to debate the issue with those in Congress, like King, who oppose amnesty. However, King says, he believes he can make more noise about the issue as a political outsider. (:38)
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Obama Commemorates Legacy Of Stonewall Riots

During a speech commemorating the work of LGBT leaders, President Barack Obama touched upon the legacy of the Stonewall Riots, a touchstone of the gay liberation movement in which gays and lesbians demonstrated against a police raid of a well known gay club. According to Obama, the effects of the riots can still be felt in activism today (0:26)
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Obama Seeking "Practical" Way To Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy

President Barack Obama said Monday during a speech commemorating the work of LGBT leaders that he is working with Congress and the Pentagon to find a practical way to repeal the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (0:25)
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German Chancellor Merkel Praises Obama's Environmental Stance

German Chancellor Andrea Merkel praised President Barack Obama's stance on climate change during a press conference with the two Friday. Merkel noted that Obama is "100% committed" to the environment. The dubbing is provided by the White House. (0:30)
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Obama: I Like Chancellor Merkel

During a press conference with German Chancellor Andrea Merkel, President Barack Obama commented that he like the Chancellor "a lot". The President complimented Merkel, saying that she is smart, practical and trustworthy. Obama said that those were qualities appreciated in an international partner (0:37)
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