tough crowd?

from the new york times, monday september 21:

"Mr. Obama is not usually one to avoid high-risk interviews or dodge hostile crowds. He was the first sitting president to appear on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” ... "

so leno is now a "high-risk interview" or has a "hostile crowd"? now that's funny.

the above quote was in a story regarding obama's record 5 sunday am interviews pushing his healthcare agenda. most of the interviewers tossed softball questions. kudos, however, to george stephanopoulos. he tried to challenge the president about the "tax" under the house and senate plans for people who are able to afford insurance but choose not to get it. as you can imagine, this is a problem because obama promised to raise no taxes of any kind for those making under $250,000 a year. here's another good analysis of it. it's almost as confusing as clinton's definition of "is." basically, it's not a tax because he says it's not? even though the bill says it is and the irs would be the ones collecting it? as pointed out in the ap piece, of course the tax issue is already moot with the passage of schip which raised tobacco taxes and predominantly affects those making less than a quarter mil. and as a refresher, i'm getting tired of the car insurance analogy. we can opt out of paying car insurance by not having a car--a way of life many people in this country live. the only way to opt out of a health insurance "tax" is by not making any money or being low-income which isn't exactly a motivating policy.