Oregon Live: President Obama walked away with the dubious distinction today of having uttered PolitiFact’™s œLie of the Year� for 2013.
And the claim that earned him this lack of honor? PolitiFact Oregon, relying on great writing and research by our national counterpart, presents it here:
“œIf you like your health care plan, you can keep it.”�
When PolitiFact examined the assertion last month, it gave Obama a Pants on Fire rating, not only for erroneously telling people that, under his Affordable Care Act, they could keep their health insurance plans if they liked them, but by then suggesting he and his team had been misunderstood all along.
“œSo this fall, as cancellation letters were going out to approximately 4 million Americans,”� wrote Angie Drobnic Holan, “œthe public realized Obama’™s breezy assurances were wrong.”�
Worsening matters was the fact that the president doubled down by insisting his message went more like this: “œNow, if you have or had one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law, and you really liked that plan, what we said was you can keep it if it hasn’™t changed since the law passed.”�
Even staunch Obama allies were forced to cry foul when a fact-check showed he had made the initial promise at least 37 times without ever adding the caveat of “œif it hasn’™t changed since the law passed.”�
A rare presidential apology followed.
“We weren’™t as clear as we needed to be in terms of the changes that were taking place, and I want to do everything I can to make sure that people are finding themselves in a good position, a better position than they were before this law happened,”� Obama said during a Nov. 7 interview. “œAnd I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me.”�
DCG
