Obama: On second thought, it’s totally okay for Congress not to pass ObamaCare by August; Update: Lowest rated press conference yet

Well, no, champ, it’s not okay. It’s a huge, potentially crippling setback, and a personal embarrassment for him that his big health-care pep talk last night — which even his fans in the punditocracy are panning — was greeted this morning by Harry Reid deciding to pull the plug before the “deadline.” No problem for the O, though; watch as he segues effortlessly into the new reality. Too bad he didn’t falsely claim that he never expected to have a bill by August, though. I’m at the point where I kind of look forward to those Orwellian “but let me be clear, I have consistently said” lies when he has to reverse himself on something.

Note his admonition to the Senate to “just keep working” while they’re getting ready to, um, take a month off. Exit question: If health-care reform is such an urgent national priority, why aren’t the Democrats suspending their vacations to pass it?

Update: More bad news for The One: The ratings for his press conference last night were half what they were for his first primetime presser, notwithstanding the importance of the issue. The good news? I guess he chose the right night to perform poorly.

Dwindling audiences. Obama press conference drew 24.7 million viewers last night. Three previous: 28.8 million, 40.4 mil and 49.5 mil.

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