Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham called President Barack Obama’s declaration of victory in the battle for Obamacare his “Mission Accomplished” moment, comparing the White House’s swagger to President George W. Bush’s premature announcement of the end of combat operations in the Iraq War.
Ingraham mocked Obama’s excitement over the supposed 7.1 million Obamacare enrollments reached by the March 31 (sort of) deadline, playing Barry Manilow’s “Looks Like We Made It” over the White House’s braggadocio.
“You know, I was thinking about this,” she said. “I was watching Obama — now this is Obama back in campaign mode. They see this whole thing slipping away… looks like you’re going to lose all these Senate seats, right?”
“So thinking back,” she continued, “who else perhaps did this kind of very early, some would say preemptive, claim of victory when it wasn’t clear at all that America had been victorious? Maybe even hanging a banner? What did that banner say on it? ‘Mission Accomplished?'”
Ingraham cut to audio from May 2003, when Bush announced from an aircraft carrier that “in the battle of Iraq, the United States and her allies have prevailed.” That statement — and the “Mission Accomplished” banner behind him — were roundly mocked after a violent insurgency killed thousands more American soldiers for years afterward.
“Yeah, mission accomplished with Obamacare!” Ingraham laughed. “All we were after is a number. But wait a second, wasn’t that number a lot higher when the Supreme Court decision came down? That magic number? It was quite a bit higher. Remember the CBO forecast was millions higher than the 7.1? That was taken down a notch, you know, 7 million.”
The radio host explained that despite the Democratic celebrations, the problems with Obamacare are far from over. “Obamacare was all about the uninsured,” she noted, but at least one study suggests that only 858,000 previously uninsured Americans — “nowhere near the 7.1 million” — have actually gotten coverage under Obamacare.
“So it wasn’t President Bush who hung the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner,” Ingraham continued. “You know, the ship did. Someone had that idea. But it was a triumphant landing on the boat, and you go out there, you look great.”
“Obama looked great yesterday!” she said. “This is Obama in his glory. I’m surprised Jay-Z and Beyonce didn’t show up.”
“He’s should’ve had a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner made, and actually hung it behind him,” Ingraham laughed. “That would’ve actually been fun. I’m actually giving an editorial cartoonist a great idea right now . . . Mission accomplished. It’s done.
“Meanwhile we’ve got 858,000 people signed up!” she exclaimed. “We’ve turned the entire healthcare system upside down. And we’ve got 858,000 people signed up.”
LISTEN:
[h/t Breitbart]
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