Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • Freed Up
    • The Soho Forum Debates
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Log In

Create new account

Politics

Would Obama Kiss Justin Bieber to Promote Healthcare.gov?

Nick Gillespie | 3.30.2014 9:24 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Saturday Night Live parodied the lengths to which President Barack Obama has gone to sell his signature health care program, whose enrollment deadline is kinda/sorta this Monday. Cue Kim Khardashian, Harry Styles, and Justin Bieber.

Watch as hilarity—or is it simply reality?—ensues.

Meanwhile, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett is in Hollywood trying to get creative types to put the wonders of mandatory insurance into their sitcoms, movies, and dramas:

"That's the cool thing," a host said to the presidential advisor. "You've been reaching out to people that are, you know, outside of the norm of what the president might work with. Who else are you working with? Like celebrities, personalities, things like that?"

"You name it," said Jarrett. "That's part of why I'm in L.A. I'm meeting with writers of various TV shows and movies to try to get it into the scripts." When Jarrett says "it into the scripts," she's referring to getting references to Obamacare, the president's signature legislation, into the scripts of TV shows and movies.

More here.

Anyone else remember the (righteous!) outrage over the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) getting involved in pushing drug-war messaging in TV and movies?

Update: "Obama Earns Money For U.S. By Appearing In Japanese Television Commercial"

Hat Tip: Yair Rosenberg's Twitter feed.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Kickstarter's (Oculus) Rift: Scam or Test Market?

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

PoliticsNanny StateWar on DrugsCultureCivil LibertiesPolicyObamacareBarack ObamaDrugsHealth Care
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (19)

Latest

Calling Cartels 'Narcoterrorists' Turns Drug Enforcement Into War Making

Niko Vorobyov | 7.19.2026 7:00 AM

The Hidden Problem With Democrats' $25 Minimum Wage Bill

C. Jarrett Dieterle and Kurt Huffman | 7.18.2026 7:00 AM

Labor Unions Hate Robots—and It's Stopping Democrats From Delivering on Affordability

Peter Suderman | From the August/September 2026 issue

A Pipeline Company Seized Their Land and Left Them With a $383,000 Bill. What Will the Supreme Court Say?

Billy Binion | 7.17.2026 4:30 PM

Video Shows Fort Worth Cop Ticketing a Preacher for 'Offensive' Speech at Pride Event

Autumn Billings | 7.17.2026 3:55 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS Add Reason to Google

© 2026 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Reason's July 4 Special!

For America's 250th, Get 2 Years of Reason for $17.76

Celebrate your independence with a subscription to Reason magazine, your most trusted source of honest, insightful news and analysis.

Subscribe to Reason