USPS - The President and the Postal Service

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President Obama made what his advisers believe were his first public comments on the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday, basically knocking its performance during his health-care-themed town hall in New Hampshire.

He said an audience member raised a "legitimate concern" about how a government-run health-care program might affect private insurers.

"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."

Then he invoked the Postal Service:

"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."

That comment provoked laughter from the audience.

Asked to clarify, the White House said Obama was pointing out that while core Postal Service services are different from those offered by UPS and FedEx, it has not undermined the competitive spirit of the private shipping industry.

"It’s been public for some time that the Postal Service’s fiscal path is unsustainable," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said when asked about the president's generally dismissive remarks. "It has been struggling due to unprecedented reductions in mail volume, and the effect of the economic crisis has made things worse." Psaki was unaware of any previous public comments made by Obama about the Postal Service or its financial woes.

The White House supports the House and Senate measures designed to provide short-term relief to the Postal Service and plans to work with lawmakers on long-term solutions, Psaki said.

Asked for comment, Postal Service spokeswoman Joanne Veto acknowledged that the president appeared to have made an offhand comment but said, "We don't doubt that the Obama administration supports us."

Still ... to have the president poke fun at your financial situation in his first public comments about your agency? Yeah, not good.