# Where are the President's balls? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891 "2010-03-18T15:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/21 "2010-03-19T14:39:26Z")
> [@](#): > > “Do you believe that there hasn’t been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil in more than seven years because of the policies your administration has implemented?” Obama: Yes, yes I do Bret. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/22 "2010-03-19T14:48:45Z")
> [@Plan\_B](#): > > Politicians should accept that this is hard ball or find an easier profession. Watch Sunday Am news any time and you’ll see lots of interruptions. Obama avoided the questions, which is something he’s excellent at. He was confronted. What’s the big deal? He wasn’t being interrupted because he was avoiding questions. He was being interrupted before he had a chance to _answer_ the damn questions. From Fox News’ own transcript: > [@](#): > > OBAMA: Well, Bret, the — I think what we’ve seen during the course of this year is that we have come up with a bill that basically tracks the recommendations of Tom Daschle, former Democratic senator and leader, but also Bob Dole, former Republican leader, Howard Baker, former Republican leader. The ideas embodied in this legislation are not left, they’re not right, they are — they are — > > BAIER: I understand what you’re — I know you don’t like to talk about process, but there are a lot of questions in these 18,000 that talk about process. > > OBAMA: I understand being — > > (CROSSTALK) > > BAIER: And there are a lot of people around America that have a problem with this process. > > OBAMA: Bret, I — > > BAIER: You called it an ugly process just last month. > > OBAMA: I’ve got to tell — I’ve got to say to you, there are a lot more people who are concerned about the fact that they may be losing their house or going bankrupt because of health care. > > BAIER: OK, so we have — > > OBAMA: And so — so the — look — > > BAIER: Deem and passed, Senate reconciliation and we don’t know exactly what’s in the fix bill. Do you still think — ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/23 "2010-03-19T14:58:29Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I guess the “war” against FoxNews is officially over. My guess is that it is about to start up again. Which is a pity - he clearly needs practice in handling interviewers who do not jump in to help when he begins to splutter. > [@The Facts](#): > > I agree completely. He should have walked out as soon as he was interrupted the first time. Out of the Oval Office? And what - lock himself in the bathroom? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/24 "2010-03-19T15:02:43Z")
I’m just surprised he gave the interview at all, after what Fox did to the Clinton interview. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/25 "2010-03-19T15:03:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He wasn’t being interrupted because he was avoiding questions. He was being interrupted before he had a chance to _answer_ the damn questions. From Fox News’ own transcript: Hard to tell from that quote, since you started with Obama’s answer, not Bret’s question. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/26 "2010-03-19T15:03:49Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > I didn’t see it but it seems to me that he’s the President for everyone, not just his supporters. Seems a reasonable move to attempt to reach non-supporters through their preferred medium. Jack Chick tracts? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/27 "2010-03-19T15:05:21Z")
Meh, he wasn’t that bad. He interrupted a few times, and was generally smarmy, but I was expecting TeaBagger levels of rudeness. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/28 "2010-03-19T15:11:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I guess the “war” against FoxNews is officially over. > > I saw the interview, and was wondering when someone would open a thread like this. I was wondering how many posters here would have cheered if Rachel Maddow had interviewed Bush in exactly the same way. How many times do we hear how interviewers let those interviewed get away with not answering the questions? That would have been unthinkable! UnAmerican! Treasonous! America haters and freedom haters! Aarrrrrgggghhhhhh! [foam flecks and flying spittle] Let’s see someone interview, I dunno, Karl Rove in this same manner. And then Cheney, and then Bush. Interview them all the same way, with interuptions and attempts at gotchas, etc. Play hardball? SURE! With ALL of them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/29 "2010-03-19T15:13:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He wasn’t being interrupted because he was avoiding questions. He was being interrupted before he had a chance to _answer_ the damn questions. From Fox News’ own transcript: Ok. I located the transcript. Here was the question: > [@](#): > > BAIER: Couple more process things, quickly. > > You said a few times as Senator Obama that if a president has to eke out a victory of 50 plus one, that on something as important as health care, “you can’t govern.” But now you’re embracing a 50 plus one reconciliation process in the Senate, so do you feel like you can govern after this? > > OBAMA: Well, Bret, the — I think what we’ve seen during the course of this year… Now, I’ll be the first one to admit that Baier is asking a sort of silly “gotcha” question, not unlike what reporters do all the time, but Obama wasn’t answering it. Baier wanted to talk about Process, and Obama clearly didn’t. Makes perfect sense to me from both sides. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/30 "2010-03-19T15:13:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He wasn’t being interrupted because he was avoiding questions. He was being interrupted before he had a chance to _answer_ the damn questions. From Fox News’ own transcript: If I were in that spot, I’d have said “shut the fuck up”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/31 "2010-03-19T15:14:22Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > That would have been unthinkable! UnAmerican! Treasonous! America haters and freedom haters! Aarrrrrgggghhhhhh! > [foam flecks and flying spittle] > > Let’s see someone interview, I dunno, Karl Rove in this same manner. And then Cheney, and then Bush. Interview them all the same way, with interuptions and attempts at gotchas, etc. Play hardball? SURE! With ALL of them. That would be fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/32 "2010-03-19T15:15:15Z")
Smart move, IMO. While the True Wingnut Right wouldn’t be swayed if Pres. Obama pulled million dollar bills wrapped in long form vault birth certificates from his fundament, a part of the Republican core is people like **starving Artist** who see a lot of things as emblematic of a decline in society – and what they saw is the elected President of the United States, the first black man elected to that office, being verbally browbeaten and jerked around by a reporter – and keeping his cool and trying to give substantive answers. Guess who comes off ahead in that exchange. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/33 "2010-03-19T15:16:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hard to tell from that quote, since you started with Obama’s answer, not Bret’s question. I’d have to agree. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/34 "2010-03-19T15:23:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hard to tell from that quote, since you started with Obama’s answer, not Bret’s question. Well, yes, since the point was to highlight the constant interruptions. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/35 "2010-03-19T15:27:49Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Smart move, IMO. While the True Wingnut Right wouldn’t be swayed if Pres. Obama pulled million dollar bills wrapped in long form vault birth certificates from his fundament, a part of the Republican core is people like **starving Artist** who see a lot of things as emblematic of a decline in society – and what they saw is the elected President of the United States, the first black man elected to that office, being verbally browbeaten and jerked around by a reporter – and keeping his cool and trying to give substantive answers. Guess who comes off ahead in that exchange. Irrelevant. What matters is what the Fox True Believers (not the Wingnuts, but the people who keep the thing on all day as background noise) saw in the deconstruction, re-editing, and “analysis” of said interview over the next few hours and days. I’m not going to subject myself to it. Can someone with a stronger stomach explain how it was treated by Fox’s talking heads? Because that’s what steers the viewer’s opinions. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/36 "2010-03-19T15:30:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, yes, since the point was to highlight the constant interruptions. The question wasn’t just if he was being interrupted, but if he was being interrupted for avoiding the question. We can’t see if he was avoiding the question unless we see the question. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/37 "2010-03-19T15:32:55Z")
Right, so the first interruption makes some sense. The next four are just this Baier guy being a douche. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/38 "2010-03-19T15:35:30Z")
I have a question: Do presidents usually get treated in this manner? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a president interviewed by a hostile questioner. The reason I’m saying this is that I tend to expect that, while Fox is usually full of jerks who like to talk over people, I’d expect a better response to the president. Also, funny that they can talk back to the president, but if someone talks back to a mod… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/39 "2010-03-19T15:36:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Because Mr Obama is EVERYONE’S president, not just the people who voted for him. > > He works for EVERYONE not just for people who voted for him. He even works for and is the presidents to jerks Yes. A thousand times YES. Barack Obama is not hard to figure out. He is consciously styling his leadership style after Abraham Lincoln. He’s said so numerous times, and he’s doing it. Lincoln put up with all kinds of crap from his generals - MacClennan kept Lincoln waiting when he called on him! He put up with insubordination within his own cabinet (Salmon P Chase was trying to set himself up as a candidate next election). He also never pursued revenge against anybody. The balls you seek are bullshit - real balls are answering questions, not using bullying and intimidation even though they’re in your power, and maintaining your own dignity. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891/40 "2010-03-19T15:36:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Right, so the first interruption makes some sense. The next four are just this Baier guy being a douche. Yes, probably. But I guess you could also argue that the question never really changed, so it was all Baier trying to get things back on track to the original question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-presidents-balls/532891.md?page=3)