Obama first prez to be called a liar in Senate

Washington, Sept. 10: US President Barack Obama became the first President to be called ‘a liar’ in front of a joint session of Congress by a Republican senator.
Mr Obama’s high-stakes health care speech on Wednesday seemed to fuel rather than douse an overheated political debate, with one lawmaker shouting: “You lie!” Republican Representative Joe Wilson’s yelled accusation, rare in the formal setting of a presidential speech to a joint session of the US Congress, pointed to no let-up after weeks and months of take-no-prisoners partisan fighting.
The South Carolina lawmaker later apologised by telephone to White House chief of staff, Mr Rahm Emanuel, and in a written statement declaring “I let my emotions get the best of me.” “While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility,” he said. Mr Wilson’s outburst was not the only open show of Republican opposition to Obama’s ambitious push to remake US health care, as colleagues coffed and rolled their eyes as the President defended his embattled campaign.
The shouted accusation came after a month-long August stretch that saw some of the loudest critics of the Democratic plan call Mr Obama a Nazi bent on seeing government kommissars put elderly Americans to death. When Mr Obama, seeking to put an end to that rumor, denied that providing coverage for end-of-life care meant “panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens,” a handful of Republicans called out “read the bill!”
Republicans made their disapproval clear at other points, responding with quiet but unmistakably scornful laughter when Mr Obama said his plan would not require people happy with their health insurance to change their plan.