Obama Press Conference Interrupted By Fainting Journalist
WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) - President Obama's final press conference was interrupted Friday when a female journalist suddenly fainted.
Obama had just said there was no way for U.S. to be involved with Syria "on the cheap;" and said the U.S. would have had to be "all-in" when the woman at the packed White House gathering apparently became ill and caused a commotion that made Obama stop.
"I'm sorry, what's going on? Somebody's not feeling good?" he asked. "We can get our doctors back there to help out. Does somebody want to go to my doctor's office and just have them..."
After the commotion ended, he continued with his address.
"Alright, where was I," he said.
Obama also said he regretted not being able to transfer his own political success into Democratic races across the country.
He acknowledged the failures of his party -- and himself -- to build up a broad base of support during his tenure. He says the party must do a better job of reaching out to all voters, even in states and counties they are unlikely to win.
"That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House," he said.
Democrats have lost more than 1,000 seats in Congress, state legislatures, and governor's mansions during Obama's two-term.
He also commented on fake news and its ability to deceive the electorate.
"If fake news that's being released by some foreign government is almost identical to reports that are being issued through partisan news venues then it's not surprising that foreign propaganda will have a greater effect," he said.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or Redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
