US President Barack Obama does not think racism is “the overriding issue” in the fierce debate on healthcare, but that tempers are rising over the proper role of government, he said in interviews to be broadcast today.
“Are there people out there who don’t like me because of race? I’m sure there are. That’s not the overriding issue here,” Obama said in an excerpt of an interview to be broadcast on the CNN show State of the Union.
The US leader, in a media blitz to shore up popular support for healthcare reform, is taking to all five major US news shows today after commandeering prime-time television earlier this month with a major address to Congress on the issue.
Obama has been pushed to weigh in on the controversial issue of race after former president Jimmy Carter claimed racism was driving demonstrations and rhetoric on the president’s healthcare reform plans and spending policy.
“The overwhelming part of the American population” is much more concerned with how healthcare changes will affect them, Obama said, according to an interview excerpt released by ABC News.
The “biggest driver” for the more intense opposition to his administration’s proposals, Obama told the network’s This Week program, is more likely to be from people who are “passionate about the idea of whether government can do anything right.”
The president similarly told NBC’s Meet the Press program that it is an argument “that’s gone on for the history of this republic — and that is, what’s the right role of government? How do we balance freedom with our need to look after one another?”
There has been a long-standing debate in the US on big power plays from the White House, Obama told CNN, which is “usually that much more fierce during times of transition or when presidents are trying to bring about big changes.”
The vitriolic attacks of the 1930s on US president Franklin Roosevelt “are pretty similar to the things that are said about me — he was a communist, he was a socialist,” Obama said in an excerpt released on Friday by CNN. “Things that were said about [former US president] Ronald Reagan when he was trying to reverse some of the New Deal programs were pretty vicious as well.”
Obama’s spokesman Robert Gibbs moved this week to calm temperatures after Carter said much of the criticism leveled at Obama, the first black US president, was the result of racism.
“The president does not believe that the criticism comes based on the color of his skin,” Gibbs said.
In an interview with NBC on Tuesday, 84-year-old Carter had said he thought that “an overwhelming proportion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, he’s African-American.”
The debate exploded after Republican Representative Joe Wilson shouted “you lie” at the president during a speech to Congress last week and thousands protested against Obama administration policies in Washington.
Since then, a succession of Democratic lawmakers and political columnists have warned that the heckling and other overt signs of public disapproval not only foster a dangerous climate, but also reflect underlying racial bias.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: The project would only be the beginning, as Taiwan needs at least 120 satellites to ensure uninterrupted communication, Wu Tsung-tsong said The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) yesterday said it plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites starting in 2026 as part of the government’s plan to boost the resilience of the nation’s communications. The development of the technology gained attention after Ukrainians were able to access the Internet through Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, despite their infrastructure being severely damaged in the war with Russia. Two of the satellites would be built by the government, while four would involve cooperation between TASA and private contractors. “Over the past 30 years, the satellite technology in Taiwan has
PLAN: Nations would receive US$5m a year if they could advance Taiwan’s international participation, diversify supply chains away from China or counter Beijing’s influence The US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Friday introduced a bill that would approve US$120 million to be spent on supporting Taiwan’s international space and tackling coercion by China. The bipartisan legislation — the Taiwan Allies Fund Act — was proposed ahead of the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on May 20. The committee said in a statement that the bill “strengthens Taiwan’s global network of friends by authorizing [US]$120 million over three years for the State Department and USAID [US Agency
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: The government needs to convey regulations to advertising platforms based overseas and access to the offenders could be restricted, Minister said The government is considering asking TikTok and other large digital advertising platforms to have agents based in Taiwan in accordance with the draft act on the prevention and control of fraud and crime, which is scheduled to be reviewed at an Executive Yuan meeting today, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The draft act is one of the legislative measures being introduced by the government to tackle scams, including the draft technology investigation and security act, and amendments to the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) and the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法). They are also to be reviewed