'The Problem is the President, Himself, Plays Fast and Loose with the Facts'

You at least have to give Barack Obama style points for having massive gonads and the ability to tell outrageous lies with a straight face.

The man who stages town hall meetings and uses little girls to ask staged questions has the temerity to accuse opponents of spreading misinformation.

President Barack Obama is challenging his critics on a national health care overhaul, accusing them of making "phony claims" about the legislation.

"This is an issue of vital concern to every American, and I'm glad that so many are engaged," Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.

Oh, so now he's glad so many are engaged. You mean those Nazi, un-American racists as they're portrayed by your supporters?

"But it also should be an honest debate, not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions, spread by the very folks who would benefit the most by keeping things exactly as they are."

Obama said illegal immigrants would not be part of the health care overhaul, taxpayers would not be mandated to fund abortions and he does not intend a government takeover of health care — all claims that critics have made at contentious town hall-style meetings with members of Congress.

Oh, so ObamaCare won't fund abortions?

Really?

The truth is that bills now before Congress don’t require federal money to be used for supporting abortion coverage. So the president is right to that limited extent. But it’s equally true that House and Senate legislation would allow a new "public" insurance plan to cover abortions, despite language added to the House bill that technically forbids using public funds to pay for them. Obama has said in the past that "reproductive services" would be covered by his public plan, so it’s likely that any new federal insurance plan would cover abortion unless Congress expressly prohibits that.

So who's lying and presenting misinformation?

Sure looks like the White House is.

To their credit, the GOP isn't letting Obama get away with his shameless lying.

In their weekly address, Republicans accused Obama of misrepresenting his proposal.

"As opposition to the Democrats' government-run health plan is mounting, the president has said he'd like to stamp out some of the disinformation floating around out there," said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. "The problem is the president, himself, plays fast and loose with the facts."

SO is it any surprise his polls numbers are in freefall?

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 29% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-nine percent (39%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10. This is the first time since July 31 that the President’s Approval Index has fallen to negative double digits.

Sixty percent (60%) of liberal voters Strongly Approve while 68% of conservatives Strongly Disapprove. This creates a challenge for the President since there are roughly twice as many conservative voters as liberals. Among those who consider themselves politically moderate, 37% Strongly Approve while 18% Strongly Disapprove.