The truth: It is time that President Obama starts answering questions

There will be all kinds of explanations for why President Barack Obama answered questions the way he did during his interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly this past weekend.

And some of those talking will trot out the same old accusations that Fox has created the controversies that have surrounded the last few months of President Obama's term. They will say the network has political reasons for continuing to ask for answers to questions that the Obama administration considers asked and answered.

And while it is possible that there might be some residual feelings against the president -- after all, he has launched his own campaign against the network -- that is not what happened this time.

Truth is, the president does not want to answer -- or talk about anymore for that matter -- any of the questions many Americans do not consider asked and answered, and there are plenty of interviewers who are content to let him do so.

His comment that there was no corruption in the IRS and his disjointed explanations of Benghazi and the health care reform debacle suggest that perhaps he now believes his own press.

And he will continue to present those answers as long as he can -- if no one challenges him.

O'Reilly did -- and he should have -- as should every other reporter covering these stories.

It is not about partisanship or politics. It is about getting to the truth.

And that is something that seems to be in short supply these days.

It is high time we insisted on it.

Published in Editorials on February 4, 2014 11:14 AM