"HI!  BILLY MAYS HERE!  YOU DON'T NEED A CABINET FULL OF CLEANERS! IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE WITH HARD WATER BUILD-UP, SOAP SCUM, RING AROUND THE TOILET...  THEN YOU NEED KABOOM!"

Should the Obama Propoganda Machine hire Billy Mays, the infomercial pitch-man famous for his loud voice and flambouyant sell-style, to push the government-run healthcare program?  Mays has been arguably the most successful product hawker for the Home Shopping Network and other commercial venues.  Orange Glo sold more than $500 million in products in 2002 in large part to the selling prowess of Billy Mays.

From the Tampa Bay Business Journal:

Mays makes no apologies for being a peddler or a pitchman. The 43-year-old got his start as a youth, selling Washmatik, the washer in a bucket, on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J.

"I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen," he said. "That's the kind of style I have."

For 12 years, Mays traveled the country, pitching products at home shows, state fairs and auto shows...

It's all about crowd control" Mays said.

Sounds a lot like the Obama campaign-style methods of pushing the democratic agenda on the American people; loud, obnoxious, and even though you may not want the product, you feel compelled to listen to the pitch.

On June 24th, ABC will give the world a chance to hear Obama's argument for government healthcare insurance directly from the horse's mouth as they broadcast from the Blue Room at the White House.  But some are not impressed with the gift the White House-horse is giving ABC.

Drudge Report has more details here:  ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSERepublican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay wrote a letter to ABC President David Westin expressing concern with the White House taking over programming on ABC.

"... Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party’s views to those of the President’s to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party’s opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime."

The letter was obviously not important enough for Mr. Westin to respond to personally.  Instead, Senior VP Kerry Smith responded.

 ... ABC News prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers -- of all political persuasions -- even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum.  ABC News is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue.   ABC News alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president.  Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control.  To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience."
 

The White House press team has put together a plan to keep Obama on the campaign trail to push its healthcare plan.  Though the president makes a press appearance almost every day, less and less Americans are watching the networks that cover his administration without debate, as evidenced by the latest cable news ratings.  Fox News, which claims to be more fair and balanced than other networks and hosts decidedly conservative commentary during primetime programming, has consistently increased its viewers, outprogramming it's competitors by a large margin.

With the ratings so clearly showing that Fox News is the most popular media outlet for Americans to get their news, the Obama administration still gave the exclusive coverage to ABC.  Perhaps they have already been to the Billy Mays' school for pitchmen.  Perhaps it's all about "crowd control."

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On a side note, the takeover of media outlets in Venezeula by communist leader Hugo Chavez is decidedly similar to the road the Obama administration seems to be taking with American media, albeit a softer approach.  To read more on how Chavez is paving the road for nationalized businesses including the US company Cargill Foods, click here.