Obama Sunday Show Blitz VIDEO: Watch Key Highlights

President Barack Obama today became the first president to appear on five Sunday network shows in the same morning, an extraordinary effort to build public support for health care reform, his top domestic priority.

Scroll through the slideshow below to watch notable highlights from the Sunday show blitz. Below each of the videos, you'll find write-ups of what was said.

Obama On Health Care

Despite so many weeks of speeches, town halls and interviews, Obama said he has found it difficult at times to make a complex topic clear and relevant.

"I've tried to keep it digestible," Obama said. "It's very hard for people to get their arms around it. And that's been a case where I have been humbled and I just keep on trying harder."

Obama told Univision's "Al Punto" ("To the Point") that the strong opposition to his plan is part of a political strategy.

"Well, part of it is ... that the opposition has made a decision," he said. "They are just not going to support anything, for political reasons."

On CBS's Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer asked President Obama about "rude" criticism of his policies, specifically health care.

"People get pretty rambunctious when it comes to our democratic debate," Obama said. "That's not new... We can be civil to each other" in our disagreements. Obama also downplayed these verbal disagreemenhts as "catnip to the media." (AP/Huffington Post)

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Comments

[shivasquest]

Healthcare and education through college is part of the social contract for every other civilized country but ours.

Why are other countries able to balance profit vs humanity?

We prefere to let people suffer or be treated the most expensive way imaginable and our kids get to graduate from college as slaves to huge debt.
And we pretend to have family values?
Whos family?
C-street?

[maudefrickert]

"...the 24-hour news cycle and cable television and blogs and all this; they focus on the most extreme elements on both sides. They can't get enough of conflict. It's catnip to the media right now."

Oh, Ms H-ington, are you listening? Because with some of the sensationalized and inflammatory non-stories/blog posts that appear on this site (not to mention the headlines that are not just misleading but oftimes obviously intentionally deceptive misreprentation designed to increa$e $ite traffic) you are yourself a major contributor to the problem Obama describes.

[shellshock30]

Obama is right about the misinformation from bloggaspheres. Obama gives a speech explaining everything, short of using charts, graphs and pictures, and a week later you are all confused again...I don't get it. It's like you look in the mirror in the morning, go to work and somebody tells you you look like somebody else only to go back home and look in the mirror to make sure you are you.

Here is the deal, Obama is NOT selling Baucus's Bill. There use to be intelligent people on this board, what the hell happened?

You guys are getting played by the blogs every week....damn, I thought the repubs were suckers.

[joshrox]

The Commericals

[RightOn5]

On new taxes on the middle class Obama "Depends on what the meaning of the word " tax" is"

- see today's NY Times before posting " link please" or "liar" or 'troll"

[Chernynkaya]

It is a big problem with the "News." From another story here, here's how the New York Times writes about the Baucus bill:

“For Mr. Baucus, the challenge will be to stop his fellow Democrats — they outnumber Republicans 13 to 10 — FROM SHIFTING THE BILL SO HARD TO THE LEFT that they chase away Ms. Snowe, who could provide the crucial 60th vote needed to get the measure through the Senate.” (The caps are mine.)

Does anything jump out at you? Jeez.

[peacebro]

My favorite...

George S: "Mr. President, how do you feel about congress cutting off funding for ACORN?"

Obama: "Haven'i been following it closely but most anyone can have a corn removed without the need for congressional funding. Geeez George, lets get serious!"

[RightOn5]

Yet he could comment on "the J@ck@ss"....right !

[peacebro]

Read it again Reghtoff5, it was a joke (-:

[TFlint]

Vote for your favorite -- "All blogosphere - All opinion."

Obama is right - Turn news into trivia - what a sad world this is.

[Timothy2700]

There is no BILL per se. There are a combination of I beleive 4 that will need to be refined into one but at this point there is NO BILL. Let's see what the President can come up with by taking a little from this proposal and a little from that proposal.

Then a debate can be had but not if there is no solid BILL..and there is NO BILL at this time..these are just proposals

[CTSnowman]

I thought presidents were supposed to be on a ranch with no livestock clearing brush for their first year in office. What the heck is this guy doing?

[barkrudedog69]

I see that you have studied American History.....

Now read the thousand pages that come before your skewed comment.

[CTSnowman]

Shuddup

[RightOn5]

out there doing double-speak"....as in "depending what the meaning of the word " tax" is"

[getsomeclarity]

Obama got "Socked" on the Sunday morning shows - here's why: http://www.getsomeclarity.com

[chancho24]

He took on too much too soon imo. He's exposed himself so much that, it seems not a day goes by where you don't see Obama on the boob tube. And now this decision of whether too send more troops or not. Yikes!

[katooom]

Obama is an excellent orator and a very bright man. BUT he just does not know what is inside these bills, NOBODY DOES.

The go-round with Steph about is it a tax. Obama vehemently denied it is a tax.

BUT from Politico:
From the Baucus bill:
"The Baucus bill, p. 29: 'The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax.'"

[Beatriz09]

Obama didn't say he will sign the Baucus bill ... he wasn't talking about that bill, he was talking about his own ideas and policies.

[katooom]

So just which bill are we supposed to believe is the 'real' plan? RIght now, the dems have to play a shell game and the Reps can pot -shot at the weakest point of each. A losing situation.

Obama has no written policies for us to see! HE doesn't know what is inside these bills - NOBODY DOES!

I wish he did - That is my point. It would make things a lot easier. This entire process has been fumbled. The dems need to get their act together.

[t iessa]

I guess Obama hasn't read it.

[BeVeryAfraid]

I believe that President Obama was not out there trying to promote the Baucus Bill as all of you seem to think. He is explaining what he wants in the bill. The Baucus bill is a joke.

katooom and the rest of you need actually watch and listen to the President not your blogosphere.

[RightOn5]

He's too busy preping for all his TV performances. The "entertainer in Chief" is planning for his next career as a TV anchor and celeb in 2012

[LatteLibertine]

As far as Acorn goes I wish President Obama would have acknowledged that he supported most of the people in the organization, that most of them aren't corrupt, and that those that are corrupt will be dealt with accordingly.

I was horrified that some in the Catholic church enabled and protected priests who were molesting children and I'd never paint the entire church or priesthood with that brush.

[nonofyabusiness]

It's sorta like selected persecution (Cherry Picking if you will)

[NORBIT]

You know, he always sounds so reasonable, but his Administration/Congress does Exactly Opposite of what he promises...

Transparency

- Stimulus Bill Banged through; no 6 days on net; some lame procedural excuse that he could have had voided.

-Cap & Trade & Stimulus - most of Congress has no clue what they really contain.

- Health - Tried to Ram that through by August; disingenuous - at best! - on many assertions - he's too bright not to know, so brings honesty question up.

[peacebro]

His integrity is without question. If you think it is so east to implement your ideals then why aren't you running for the job instead of sitting back with so much arrogance.

[exhale09]

I believe the word "CRISIS" explains a lot.

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

The stimulus bill was formally introduced in the House on Jan. 26. and passed on the 28th before it was introduced to the house for four days it was discussed in several commitees. The bill then went to the Senate on the 29th and was passed Feb 10.

Then it went to a commitee and went out feb 12. Then on Feb 13th the final bill was approved by both houses.

The bill had also been under discussion since November. It also took three weeks to pass Congress. Tell me is that banged through?