Obama Town Hall

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Can you tell us about the town meeting tomorrow, how the tickets are distributed, who the audience is likely to be, and are you expecting anybody to come and attempt to shout down the President of the United States?

MR. BURTON:  Well, the event in Portsmouth tomorrow is going to be at the high school.  There will be about 1,800 folks in the audience.  I'll get you the specific -- more specific information on how folks were invited, but it was similar to the other town halls we've had in that they're mostly just given out to the general public and they're handed out through members of Congress's office and through -- some groups help to give them out.

The President is going to talk about the economy, the importance of rebuilding it, and especially health care, and specifically some of the consumer protections that are in the health care reform that he envisions -- things like making sure that a health insurance company can't deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition; ensuring that we cap out-of-pocket expenses; things like not allowing insurance companies to water down or drop you from their coverage just because you get sick.

We expect that there will be a vigorous debate, as there have been at plenty of town halls that President Obama has had as President and as candidate, and we look forward to it.

Q    What did the President think of Pelosi and Hoyer's comment in the op/ed about the disruptions being un-American?

MR. BURTON:  Well, I think there's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America.  The President thinks that if people want to come and have a spirited debate about health care, a real vigorous conversation about it, that's a part of the American tradition and he encourages that, because people do have questions and concerns about --

Q    Does he encourage the disruptions?

MR. BURTON:  Well, one second.  And so if people want to come and have their concerns and their questions answered, the President thinks that's important.  Now, if you just want to come to a town hall so that you can disrupt and so that you can scream over another person, he doesn't think that that's productive.  And as a country, we've been able to make progress when people actually talk out what our problems are, not try to shout each other down.

So he thinks that we're going to be able to have a constructive conversation tomorrow and he'll continue to do that at the town hall later in the week and throughout this effort.

Q    The advance people heard nothing about what the audience is likely to be tomorrow, no expectation about whether there is going to be any voices raised?

MR. BURTON:  Well, at all these events you get a different kind of crowd, and certainly there have been events with the President where some people are livelier than at others.  So the President is looking forward to going to New Hampshire tomorrow.

Q    What is the President's reaction been to the town halls in the last week?  I mean, is he surprised by the sort of ferociousness and the contention?  Is he -- what's his --

MR. BURTON:  Well, there's obviously a lot of passion on one side of this, and that's why people are showing up and screaming. And again he doesn't think that that's constructive.  But, you know, there's passion on the other side, too -- the people who want health care reform and who think that it's wrong that health insurance companies can stop you from getting coverage just because you have a preexisting condition, or drop you from coverage just because you get sick.

So the President's reaction has been that there's more questions to be asked, but there's -- the American people are foursquare behind getting some kind of health care reform so that we can change the way that it's delivered in this country, and he's going to continue to work towards that effort.

Q    Does he think people are being put up to it?

MR. BURTON:  Well, I think less important than the motivations or the organizations or who's putting it together is that there's a lot of energy out there on this issue, on either side.  And the President views his role as getting health care reform done for the American people and in order to do that, that means going out there and being prepared to have a robust and vigorous discussion.

Q    Are we going to hear any new news tomorrow in the speech?  Does he have anything new to say?

MR. BURTON:  There won't be any new policy proposals or anything like that.  It will be the President talking about some parts of health care reform that he thinks are particularly important to the American people.

Q    -- insurance company reform and the preexisting condition stuff -- I mean, is there anything new beyond that?

MR. BURTON:  Well, I don't want you to get bored, but it will be some of the things that you've heard the President say that he's committed to.

Q    Bill, does the President have any reason to believe that many of the critics and opponents that show up at some of these town hall meetings aren't doing it genuinely and are not being orchestrated by some other group?

MR. BURTON:  Well, I think that there's obviously been some orchestration of some of the folks who go out there, but I don't think that that is as important as the fact that, A, there are people who do have legitimate concerns and questions about health care reform and the President wants to have an opportunity to answer those folks and wants members of Congress to have the opportunity to answer those questions, as well.  And that's why it's important that when people go to town hall meetings, if you want to have a tussle over an issue, that's fine; but screaming so that you can't hear the answer to whatever the complaint is isn't moving the ball forward for anybody.

Q    He doesn't think that the people who support his position on health care should shout back?

MR. BURTON:  It's the President's view that shouting just so that you can't hear the other person is not constructive.