The latest victim in the debate over healthcare reform in America is ... the U.S. Postal Service.
At a town hall meeting Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., President Barack Obama took a question from the audience regarding how a government-run heathcare plan would impact the private insurance industry.
Obama replied: "My answer is that if the private insurance companies are providing a good bargain, and if the public option has to be self-sustaining -- meaning taxpayers aren't subsidizing it, but it has to run on charging premiums and providing good services and a good network of doctors, just like any other private insurer would do -- then I think private insurers should be able to compete. They do it all the time.
"I mean, if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the post office that's always having problems."
Although Obama's remark made the crowd laugh, the White House was forced to explain the comment later Tuesday.
"It’s been public for some time that the Postal Service’s fiscal path is unsustainable," spokeswoman Jen Psaki told the Washington Post. "It has been struggling due to unprecedented reductions in mail volume, and the effect of the economic crisis has made things worse."
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