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Funny, or Die? The President's Satiric Health-Care Pitch

March 13, 2014
What do you think about the online mock-interview President Obama taped to promote Healthcare.gov and the Affordable Care Act?

By now you've surely viewed or at least heard about the online video that tilted the Internet the other day in which comedian-actor Zach Galifianakis mock-interviewed President Obama and the two lobbed tongue-in-cheek brickbats at each other.

This event—this performance—intrigued me, partly because I write about manufacturing workforce issues, including the Affordable Care Act, and partly because I am, sadly, old enough to remember when presidential candidate Richard Nixon snatched a chunk of the youth vote away from Hubert Humphrey by appearing on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In to mock-quizzically utter the catchphrase "Sock it to me?"

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That was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

I'd love to hear what you readers think about President Obama's unconventional Healthcare.gov-promotional gambit. Does it crack you up? Tick you off? Do you find it momentous? Inconsequential? Amusing? Desperate? Shrewd? Undignified? Clever? Disturbing? All of the above? None of the above?

Type your reactions to the questions above in the Comment box below. And please: no holds barred—within reason, of course. Let's see if we can tilt the Internet again.

About the Author

Pete Fehrenbach Blog | Associate Editor

Focus:  Workforce  |  Chemical & Energy Industries  |  IW Manufacturing Hall of Fame

Email: [email protected]

Follow Pete on Twitter: @PFehrenbachIW

Associate editor Pete Fehrenbach covers strategies and best practices in manufacturing workforce, delivering information about compensation strategies, education and training, employee engagement and retention, and teamwork.

He also provides news and analysis about successful companies in the chemical and energy industries, including oil and gas, renewable and alternative.

In addition, Fehrenbach coordinates the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

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