Health care, Egypt, dominate pre-Super Bowl interview with President Obama

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly sat down for an interview with President Barack Obama in the White House before the start of the Super Bowl Sunday afternoon.

The turmoil in Egypt and the recent decision against his signature health care law dominated the 14 minute interview.

O’Reilly thanked the President for his role in protecting Fox News journalists who were attacked and beaten in Egypt.

In calling for an "orderly transition" of power in Egypt, Obama said Egypt could not go "back to what it was".

While telling O'Reilly that the U.S. cannot dictate what Egypt must do, the President said “the time is now” for change, and said he expressed those concerns to Egyptian President Mubarak - a man he called a "good partner" in the war on terror.

While calling for a representative government in Egypt, he said the Muslim Brotherhood was just one faction of many.  “The Egyptian people want freedom,” he said.

On the issue of health care, the President said Judge Vinson was wrong in declaring the 2,700+ page law unconstitutional.

Although pressed on the issue, Obama did not tell O'Reilly how he would react if the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional, saying only that he would look at GOP proposals he thought were good, and said that he did not want to fight the battle over the law again.

The House of Representatives voted to repeal the law in mid January, and the Senate defeated a repeal measure along a strict party line vote.

Despite being ruled unconstitutional, Democrats are pushing ahead with implementation of the law.

The President also told O'Reilly the American people were "pretty evenly divided" over the issue of health care, but a Rasmussen poll shows more than half the nation's voters want the law repealed:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of Likely Voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law, including 47% who Strongly Favor repeal.  Thirty-eight percent (38%) oppose repeal, with 29% who are Strongly Opposed.

The interview became a bit contentious when O'Reilly asked the President how he felt about being viewed as a "big government" person who wants to make decisions for people.

Initially, the President laughed off the idea, and claimed the country was slipping into a depression when he came into office.

The interview lightened up toward the end, when O'Reilly asked what the President saw as the worst part of the job.

The President answered by joking about wearing a jacket on Super Bowl Sunday, but also noted that every move he made was being watched, and complained that he was unable to "have a spontaneous conversation" with people.

Obama did say that the longer he served as President, the more he enjoyed the job.

He told O'Reilly he did not take criticism personally.  "The people who dislike you don’t know you,” he said.

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