Obama Gives Republicans An Unhappy Super Bowl Sunday in Pregame Interview

Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 12:23 am

President Obama ran through the Republican no tax defense and scored a touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday by telling the GOP that the revenue discussion is not over.

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Pelley’s first question returned to the subject of Obama letting his theoretical son play football. The president repeated that he would have to think about it, and the questions about concussions would give parents pause. Obama separated the NFL, which is played by adult professionals, from youth football. Obama also complimented the NFL for taking the lead on concussions and research.

Pelley asked the president if he was through raising taxes. Obama said, the question wasn’t about raising rates. The question is combining smart spending cuts with closing loopholes and deductions. Obama said if we combine all things together we can invest in education and research while lowing the deficit. The president said there is no doubt that there has to be more revenue.

The next question was about women in combat, and if Obama had any hesitation in ordering women into combat. The president pointed out that women are already in combat. He said, “I have the honor of meeting extraordinary women in uniform who can do everything a man can.” He added women should not be prevented from advancing.

The president gave a flat answer of yes when asked if scouting should be open to gays. The president said that he believes gays and lesbians should have the same opportunity as others. Obama said he wasn’t sure if the spending cuts will push the country into another recession. He repeated his line that Washington can’t continue to operate under a cloud of crisis.

This interview was a nice summation of the last couple of weeks of news. Most importantly, the president used one of his biggest audiences of the year to put Republicans on notice that he expects them to raise more revenue. Obama is sticking to his balanced approach, and he isn’t having any of the Republican claims that the revenue discussion is over.

With all the recent conversation about gun control, it was a bit surprising that Pelley didn’t ask a single question about the subject. He also didn’t ask about immigration reform. I suspect that Pelley didn’t want to get too political with the Super Bowl Sunday interview. This yearly interview is a chance for the president to reach a lot of Americans who don’t follow politics, so keeping it focused on the news of the day was a smart move for CBS.

The president is signaling that he plans to ride the wave of his early second term popularity for as long as he can. Obama isn’t going to back off the balanced approach, and if Republicans thought otherwise, they got a rude awakening on this Super Bowl Sunday.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association