In 2010 Obama said Ryan's Medicare plan was 'entirely legitimate'?

[B2G]

WTF??

“I think Paul, for example, head of the Budget Committee, has looked at the budget and has made a serious proposal,” Mr. Obama said.

“I’ve read it,” he said. “I can tell you what’s in it. And there are some ideas in there that I would agree with, but there are some ideas that we should have a healthy debate about because I don’t agree with them.”

Calling spending for Medicare, Medicaid and other public health programs “the major driver of our long-term liabilities, everybody here knows,” Mr. Obama said Mr. Ryan had “an entirely legitimate proposal” in his idea to transform Medicare into a voucherlike system that would pay current beneficiaries a capped amount to buy private insurance."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/us/politics/obama-and-paul-ryan-clash-over-ways-to-reduce-deficit.html?pagewanted=all

[pnwmom]

1. It's "legitimate" only in the sense that he is a legitimate Congressman and therefore

has the same right to propose a bill as anyone else.

Obama was just trying to be diplomatic -- although I wish he hadn't.

[B2G]

2. Considering that's our main point of offense against Ryan

I wish he hadn't either. I can just see an ad coming...

[RBInMaine]

9. "Legitimate" doesn't mean "good", and he also said he didn't support it because it wasn't enough to

cover the costs. After the 2010 election, Obama eviscerated the Ryan budget and said he would always preserve Medicare.

[pnwmom]

10. Correct. n/t

[progressivebydesign]

3. I can' usually guess who has posted something without seeing their name.

that's funny.

[Scuba]

8. I was going to go with dfk.

[onehandle]

4. The President said, 'Hey, let's talk.' The Ryanhadists replied, 'Hey, let's not.'

'You will eat the whole plan or else.'

At that point, Congress basically shut down.

[denverbill]

5. Saying a plan is legitimate and saying it's a good idea are two entirely different things.

All Obama was saying is that it wasn't downright stupid. If a Republican said the way to fix Medicare is to cut Medicare taxes and raise benefits, that wouldn't be a legitimate plan. It wouldn't fix the problem and it's stupid to even debate it. Ryan's plan might 'fix' the problem, and in that sense, it's 'legitimate', but it fixes it by screwing over people 55 and under. That's why Obama said he didn't agree with it.

[WI_DEM]

6. Ryan Is Irked as Obama Picks Apart His Budget Plan

President Barack Obama never referred to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) by name, but his speech on the deficit Wednesday could have been titled “What’s Wrong with the Ryan Plan.”

The president said the budget blueprint Mr. Ryan outlined last week wasn’t “serious,” and “would lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we’ve known” and “paints a picture of our future that is deeply pessimistic.”

Democrats had complained that Mr. Obama gave House Republicans a pass last week by not criticizing the Ryan budget. He put those gripes to rest Wednesday by dissecting one of its most fundamental reforms – the proposed changes to Medicare that would transform the popular retirement system for seniors.

All the while, Mr. Ryan sat in a front-row seat in the George Washington University auditorium Wednesday while Mr. Obama unveiled his plan to constrain growing levels of federal debt.

Mr. Ryan grew visibly annoyed during the speech, shaking his head in disgust. He feverishly took notes, and when Mr. Obama finished he stood up and bolted from the auditorium.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/04/13/ryan-is-irked-as-obama-picks-apart-his-budget-plan/

[Enrique]

7. I disagree

the only way it is legitimate is in the sense that it is legitimate to be against the concept of Medicare, which of course many conservatives have been from the beginning.

It is NOT legitimate if you are claiming to be trying to save Medicare, which I believe Romney and Ryan are claiming. Obama should not help them with that deception.

[Sheepshank]

11. Dropping the H bomb was legitimate in some minds

Bush proposing unfunded Medicare Part D was considered legitimate....but does everyone think it was good, decent, honorable, ethical and correct?


Much ado about nothing imho

[emulatorloo]

12. Yes lets stir up shit with word parsing.

Or maybe we should leave the WILLFUL MISINTERPRETATION to the Republicans and the Republican Operatives on DU.