Obama health adviser apologizes for 'glib' remarks

Source: AP-Excite

By CHARLES BABINGTON

WASHINGTON (AP) — MIT economist Jonathan Gruber — an adviser on the president's health care law — told Congress on Tuesday he was glib and "inexcusably arrogant" when he said it was "the stupidity of the American voter" that led to the law's passage. Democrats tried to limit the damage as the GOP raked Gruber at a four-hour hearing, but they acknowledged he has given Republicans a political gift "wrapped in a bow."

Gruber told groups in 2012 and 2013 that voter stupidity and a "lack of transparency" were important to passing the legislation without any GOP support. Appearing before the House Oversight committee, Gruber expanded on earlier apologies, repeatedly saying "I was conjecturing in areas beyond my expertise."

Gruber said his comments were uninformed, "glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting." He said he used exaggerated expertise "to try to make myself look smarter." He said the law's passage was transparent and heavily debated in public, despite his earlier comments. And Gruber said he was not the "architect" of the law.

But Republican Committee Chairman Darrell Issa of California called Gruber a crucial player in the legislation as he opened the latest hearing into what he calls "Obamacare." He and other Republicans sarcastically praised Gruber for "telling the truth" in his earlier remarks, while also hammering his testimony Tuesday and demanding details of how much state and federal governments paid him for consulting on his models for health care costs."

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2014 file photo, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. One of the Obama administration's harshest congressional critics will get a final high-profile shot Tuesday when the committee grills witnesses about the president's health care law and a former adviser's comments that "the stupidity of the America voter" helped Democrats pass the complex legislation. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141209/us-congress-health-care-4218cab925.html

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A conservative friend was telling me off about this last week. I reminded him this guy worked for Bush, so maybe that comes into play. He didn't like that idea at all.