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Barbara Walters: We Thought Obama Was Going to Be 'The Next Messiah'

December 18, 2013

The View co-host Barbara Walters said people initially thought President Obama "was going to be the next messiah" during a discussion about why he did not make her "Most Fascinating People of 2013" list on Piers Morgan Live Tuesday.

"We thought that he was going to be - I shouldn't say this at Christmastime, but - the next messiah," she said. "And the whole Obamacare, or whatever you want to call it, the Affordable Health Act, it just hasn't worked for him, and he’s stumbled around on it, and people feel very disappointed because they expected more."

Walters meant the Affordable Care Act, not the Affordable Health Act.

The term "messiah" refers generally to a savior of a group of people, and it is used by Christians to describe Jesus Christ, who they believe to be the son of God. In this case, Walters' idea of a potential messiah was recently awarded the "Lie of the Year" by Politifact for falsely promising Americans who liked their health care plan would keep it under Obamacare, and his approval ratings through the fifth year of his presidency are in the doldrums.

Walters did say that Obama and Michelle Obama, when they are together, are at their "most charming." Morgan put himself on record as surprised that she considered the Duck Dynasty people more fascinating than the president, though.

Full exchange:

PIERS MORGAN: You have interviewed every president of my lifetime. Why is Obama facing so much opposition now? Why is he struggling so much to really fulfill the great flame of ambition and excitement that he was elected on originally in 2009?

BARBARA WALTERS: Well, you've touched on it to a degree. He made so many promises. We thought that he was going to be - I shouldn't say this at Christmastime, but - the next messiah. And the whole Obamacare, or whatever you want to call it, the Affordable Health Act, it just hasn't worked for him, and he’s stumbled around on it, and people feel very disappointed because they expected more. It's very difficult when the expectations for you are very high. You're almost better off when they are low and then they rise and rise. His were very high and they’ve dropped. But you know, he still has several years to go. What does he have, three years more, Piers? And, you know, there will be a lot of changes, one thinks in that time.

Published under: Journalists , TV News