Four and a half months after Gov. John Kasich personally called The Associated Press seeking a clarification of remarks he made about Obamacare, the wire service finally conceded that it was wrong — and should not have reported that the Ohio Republican did not believe Obamacare would be repealed by a GOP-controlled Senate.
"Kasich was responding to a question about the expansion of Medicaid. When he said he thought 'it' would not be repealed, the AP initially understood him to be referring to the entire health care law, known formally as the Affordable Care Act, since Medicaid expansion is part of that law and not a separate piece of legislation,"
the AP said in its correction on Wednesday.
"Kasich later told the AP he had been referring only to the expansion of Medicaid. The AP’s initial story should have made this distinction.
"The AP’s story should have made clear that Kasich often discusses Medicaid expansion separately from the law as a whole, and that the governor did not backtrack from his earlier statement in the second interview. The AP’s initial versions of the story should have said Kasich believes the health care law should be repealed," the correction said.
After the original article was posted Oct. 20, Kasich personally called the AP, as well as other media outlets — including Politico, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and New York Times — seeking to make clear that he was not changing positions on the repeal of Obamacare, reports
The Columbus Dispatch.
“From Day One, and up until today and into tomorrow, I do not support Obamacare. I never have, and I believe it should be repealed," Kasich told
Politico back on Oct. 20.
According to Politico, the Ohio governor wanted to ensure it was clear he was speaking about repeal of the expansion of Medicaid, not the Affordable Care Act (ACA) "more broadly."
The AP's refusal to clarify his remarks or release a full transcript of the interview has been a source of contention for months, particularly since the partial transcript released by the AP did not include the reporter's initial question, which was about Medicaid, not the ACA, according to the Dispatch.
"We're pleased that they have addressed their error," Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said Wednesday after the AP issued its correction, reports
Cincinnati.com.
The Dispatch also sought to obtain a transcript, contacting the AP's senior media relations manager, but it was only after Kasich's office produced an audio recording of the interview that the full context was made clear.
Wednesday's correction did not make reference to the inadequate transcript, said The Dispatch.
The Kasich correction comes on the heels of the admission by
The Daily Beast that it was retracting an entire story in which it alleged that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had proposed to delete a requirement that universities report sexual assault cases.
"A Daily Beast college columnist at the University of Wisconsin based this article off a Jezebel posting which was incorrectly reported. Jezebel updated their post on Saturday with the following after USA Today published a story debunking Jezebel's account and clarifying Gov. Scott Walker's position," read the correction posted by The Daily Beast.
"We deeply regret the error and apologize to Gov. Walker and our readers. Our original story should be considered retracted."
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