That was footage from president Obama’s health care speech to congress, in which Joe Wilson, Republican representative yelled “you lie!”.
The outburst has generated strong disapproval from among democrats and republicans alike, prompting a swift written apology from Wilson.
“Congressman Joe Wilson, was the gentleman if you can call him that, who yelled you lie.”
“Totally disrespectful, no place for it in that setting or any other, and he should apologize immediately.” (Larry King Live)
“Hello I’m congressman Joe Wilson, I want to take this moment to speak to you directly. Last evening I let my emotions get the best of me, on the critical issue of health care. It was wrong, and I apologized to the president shortly afterwards, and he acknowledged my sincerity.” (Joe Wilson for Congress)
“It is bad enough that Mr. Wilson was factually wrong that Mr Obama was not lying when he said that health care would not pay to cover illegal immigrants. That’s why section 246 of the bill is called ”no federal payment for undocumented aliens... In other words Mr. Wilson you lie. Congressmen from South Carolina Joe Wilson Today’s worst person in the world, in a landslide.”
(Countdown with Keith Olberman)
We’re looking at perspectives on Wilson’s behavior, his motives, and the consequences of his outburst for both parties from FOX News, CNN, the Examiner, and The Raw Story.
FOX News interviews Nile Gardiner of the conservative Heritage Foundation, who points out the differences between governmental protocol in the US and the UK.
“In the UK there hasn’t been a lot of attention paid to the incident last night in congress, it’s really a non-story in the UK... In Britain, its perfectly normal of course for the prime minister to be accused of lying or having no integrity whatsoever in the House of Commons on a daily basis, certainly at least once a week during the prime minister’s questions.”
An opinion piece in the Examiner agrees, but from a domestic angle, comparing Wilson’s comments to those made by democrats during former president George W. Bush’s speeches.
“Because there were no calls for Democrats to apologize for their outbursts, we don't know if any of them said anything comparable to Wilson's "You lie!" But the point still remains that Wilson's outburst wasn't an aberration, and the media hysteria following in its wake is completely unwarranted.”
The Raw Story newspaper examines Wilson’s motives, pointing to a possible connection between his outburst and the major source of his campaign contributions.
“Whether because of his outspokenness or in spite of it, Wilson is a major recipient of contributions from the health care industry. In fact, over his entire congressional career, health professionals represent Wilson’s top industry contributors, donating a total of $244,196 to his campaign.”
A CNN report asks whether Wilson’s outburst overshadowed the president’s message on healthcare, and examines how it will affect the future of the debate.
“I think some it’s coming through, but certainly this is a distraction. On one hand for democrats this is a distraction because what they want to talk about is moving forward and being energized by the president’s speech, and for republicans it’s embarrassing. So I think you have this aspect that it’s a double-edged sword.”
Although some in the media are saying it’s no big deal, Wilson’s outburst has generated a lot of attention. We want to hear your thoughts on the issue.
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