The New York Times' Philip Galanes interviews Al Franken, the Democratic Senator from Minnesota, who used to be a comedian:
PG To be fair and balanced about this, there is a Democratic version of this problem, too. When President Obama said, "Don't worry, you can keep your doctor ..."
AF Yup. He shouldn't have said it.
PG Was he selling or lying or just really hoping it would be true.
AF I'm not sure why he kept saying that. First of all, no one can definitely keep their insurance because insurance companies make the decision whether to offer the same damn insurance. But it was embarrassing and bad that he said it. And it opens us up to the same charges we're heaping on everyone else.
Whenever I try to make this point in response to complaints about President Trump's supposedly unprecedented assault on the truth, I get accused of "whataboutism," or worse. Maybe people will take it more seriously coming from Senator Franken or the New York Times, but somehow I doubt it. If you can't remember what Mr. Franken is talking about here, the video below may help.