By GottaLaff
WH presser begins. AP: O considering taxing hi-end hlth ins? G: WH evaluating Kerry proposal. I have nothing moreMark Knoller adds:
AP: what will change dynamic on HCR, "a lit of problems." G: not a lot of problems. We're 80% there
Gibbs: no date set for Fates-Crowley beer. /And no brand chosen.
Jake asks what I asked Friday: a new deadline for HCR? G: looking forward to signing bill in fall. Again, no new deadline.
Ed Henry: what happened to letting TV cameras film all negotiations on HCR? G: O is very comfortable w level of transparency.
Henry pushes G on transp. Why not release names of health execs visiting WH b4 being sued? G: O is comfortable w WH transp.
Gibbs takes a pass on commenting on having a co-op instead of a public plan in HCR bill. /will O ever take a stand on this?
WSJ: what is WH view on prog TV adds pressing Dems on HCR G: haven't sen ads Not even OFA ads? Gibbs: no.
G: O hasn't laid down marker on public option. O backs "the option of looking at" co-ops. Confusing on if O prefers pub option
Fox: Crowley prefers Blue Moon, Gates says Red Stripe or Becks. What does O prefer? G: he had a Bud at the all-star game.
Q: any comments on 9/11 tapes re Gates episode. G: no. /Any bootlegs out yet?
Is VP becoming more of a distraction to O? G: "no". /Imagine the shortest no that Gibbs could say.
Bill Press: is there anything you can say to make the Birthers go away? G: no. "fictional nonsense"
"The President was born in Honolulu, Hawaii...he's a citizen," said Gibbs today of Obama.Back to David Corn:
Gibss says of the doubters "nothing will assuage them." He says there are 10,000 more imptnt issues for people in this country to discuss.
Gibbs says Obama's status as an American has been "proven ad nauseum."
Sam Stein: has public option been watered down too much? Is O upset by this. G suggests not. /O never gets upset about the deets of HCR.
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