Obama tuned into network miscues on health care

Not event the leader of the free world is immune to misinformation.

President Obama’s Affordable Care Act may have been upheld by the Supreme Court, but two news outlets delivered early reports that the mandate had been struck down. The screwups live — on TV and online — got just about as much press as the ruling for a time.

Both CNN and Fox News Channel rushed to deliver the ruling to their viewers. They just happened to have been wrong. Each outlet reported that the mandate had been ruled unconstitutional, a crushing blow to Obama.

Turns out it wasn’t just average viewers that CNN and Fox tripped up. Obama was just outside the Oval Office when he was told that the act wasn’t upheld. Senior administration officials say that the president stayed calm. It was only a few more minutes until White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler gave him thumbs up and the correct information.