Obama meets the press

Holding a nationally televised news conference for the first time in 17 months, Barack Obama on Friday was vintage Barack Obama.

Calm and cool but flashing hints of irritation that anybody would possibly question his job performance, the president stayed on message, blaming the economy on George W. Bush and arguing that Republicans offer nothing but "failed policies of the past" while he promises to "move us forward."

This is an amusing and constant theme of Mr. Obama’s. Perhaps the president can explain how he is moving the nation "forward" by offering little more than a watered down version of the hyper-leftist economic agenda that dominated FDR’s failed approach to the Depression 65 years ago.

Maybe "Back to the Future" would be a better mantra.

Meantime, the president made an astonishing admission during his give and take with the press.

Remember how Mr. Obama and his supporters repeatedly claimed that ObamaCare would save us money? Why, the average family would pocket some $2,500 a year in savings, the president repeated ad nauseam earlier this year. (Apparently, the check’s in the mail.)

But here come the facts to explode that nonsense. Last week, the Medicare Office of the Actuary released an analysis showing that the country’s health care costs will actually go up through 2019 as a result of ObamaCare.

Asked about this on Friday, the president hemmed and hawed, finally claiming that he never said mandating health care coverage for 31 million more Americans would be "free"– he didn’t?! — and claiming we’ve made "huge progress" attacking medical inflation.

Indeed, with unemployment at 10 percent and families across the country struggling to hold on, Americans have cut back on their medical expenditures. Put everybody out of work and they don’t go to the doctor. That’s one way to make "huge progress" on rising medical costs.

Thanks, Mr. Obama!