Well, if anyone with any objectivity watched Obama's speech last night to Congress, I can't see how they couldn't have been impressed.
He answered all his critics, refuted all the main lies from the right, brought home all the major reasons why healthcare reform is necessary and necessary now, and wrapped it up with a very pointed and poignant argument for healthcare reform representing the best in us.
He did it forcefully, honestly, and about as conversationally as a speech to Congress has ever been. So no one could misconstrue anything he said.
Unfortunately, I suspect the rightwing nuts and the vulnerably uninformed they arouse with their lies and hate mongering tactics weren't watching and instead will get their propagandists' deliberately distorted interpretation. Hopefully, the speech will at least cause the media to give more weight to what the president represents, which is still a majority of the country, and less to what the rightwing nuts represent, which is a miniscule percentage of the population that will always be unwilling to see any Democrat, much less a mixed race one with a funny name, as anything other than suspicious.
[It was almost funny to watch the Republicans try to figure out when to sit in stony silence with sour looks on their faces and when to stand and applaud. One of the funniest was when Obama made a statement about holding insurance companies accountable and the Dems stood and cheered and the Republicans sat stonily looking sour until one of them figured out how that might look and stood and then others looked around and got it and before long they were standing and cheering too. Woops. Almost got caught out there Pubbies.]
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FLASHBACK: Dems booed Bush during State of Union Speech...
FLASHBACK: Obama Accused Bill Clinton of Telling 'Bald-Faced Lies'...
WHIP COUNT: DEMS LACK THE VOTES
Wed Sep 09 2009 17:03:37 ET
At least 44 more moderate Members of the Democrat Caucus have gone on the record in opposition to the current health care bill in the House, a Hill source claims. Likewise, at least 57 liberal Members of the Democrat Caucus have gone on the record saying they will vote against a health care bill without a strong public option.
Unless multiple Democrats flip on their stated position on health care, Speaker Pelosi lacks the votes to pass a bill through the House on the strength of Democrat votes alone. Drudge
There is a possibilty that this socialized medicine and socialist president craters. One can only hope and work for it for the sake of a free America.
Dad,
The sour faced minority would have been funny if what they represent wasn't so dark and humorless. What is in the hearts of those who are unwilling to help the helpless?
- Miles
Tax dollars, Pimps and ACORN
Here is an example of ACORN the former employer/ally/client of Obama,current supporter and recipient of multi millions of US tax payer money by the name of ACORN. The video shows a Michael Moore Borat Shosha type interview of a Baltimore ACORN manager. The interviewer is posing as a pimp seeking a mortgage for a whore house that employs illegal underage girls. The ACORN manager advises the imposter pimp, on how to dodge emploment taxes on the working girls and obtain a loan for the whore house. Here is a fine example of the Democrats and Obama grass roots orgainzation at work.
http://www.thefoxnation.com/acorn/2009/09/10/explosive-undercover-acorn-video
It's a zero sum game. If the insuracorp/pharma/healthcare giants win, we lose. Considering their influence with the Congress and the WH I'm not confident anything good will come from "reform".
Regarding Obama's speech, here's an interesting observation:
Mr. Obama makes every argument known to man in favor of public health care, then in an elevated, lawyerly way weasels out. "The public option is only a means to that end — and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal." When straight shooters say something they take pains to speak so unambiguously that nobody can misunderstand. But when weasels say tricky things they use weasel words to cover their tracks. Straight shooters never use weasel words. It's an infallible way to tell who's who. Translated, what Mr. Obama said is that the Senate Finance Committee will pass a bill with minor restrictions on health insurance corporations, one that requires all citizens to buy health insurance, that offers a substitute for a public option in the form of "triggers" or "co-ops," and that restricts medical malpractice litigation.
http://www.electricpolitics.com/2009/09/the_mediocrity_of_barack_obama.html
The speech is an example of Obama's prime asset - verbal legerdemain. Another example is his leaving the impression with voters that the US will withdraw from Iraq, and then increasing our presence there.
Thanks for the comment Miles. Perfectly put.
I heard Professor Gates called President Obama to say Joe Wilson "acted stupidly."
Dear M:
I agree that it was an excellent speech, but I'm disappointed that the president did not make the "public option" a sine qua non. While I realize that any reform will be an improvement, one result of reform without a public option will be tens of millions of new customers for the healthcare industry. Those reforms will have to be very powerful if they are to prevent this from being a huge windfall for the corporate vultures.
TP
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Health-insurer shares advanced Thursday after President Barack Obama laid out his proposals for health-care reform in a speech that analysts said didn't add any new dangers to managed care companies' bottom lines.
Obama talked about slapping new fees on pricey insurance plans and creating a government-run insurance option in front of a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night. But his speech was not a game changer because the concepts were not new, health-care analysts said.
[snip]
“The plan for healthcare reform Obama introduced last night consisted of broad strokes,” said John Sullivan, analyst at Leerink Swann & Co., a health-care equity research firm, in a note. “We’ve heard it all before.”
Other health-care stocks, such as hospitals and drug companies, also rose.
[snip]
“We still expect benign signed reform legislation in 2009 and view such an outcome as good news for health-care investors,” Sullivan said.
Benign legislation, in that view, would be one without a public option, one that calls for insurance cooperatives, or one that only offers a public option if other health-care reform initiatives don’t drive down costs.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/health-insurers-shares-rise-after-obamas-speech-2009-09-10?siteid=yhoof
After all the election rhetoric about Obama being the most far left Senator, how we're going to descend into socialism, how he's a communist/socialist/Nazi/Muslim/antichrist/foreigner etc. I'm so disappointed to see Obama practically begging the Republicans for common ground. THIS is our socialist president?!? Won't even commit to a "public option"? So much for the idea of "Far Left" Democrats or "Centrist" Republicans.
Many, including Tea Partiers,Town-hallers and conservatives have concerns over government control of health care? Obama accuses us of “dishonest debate”. He calls talk show and conservative politicians claims of rationing of government programs, that is occurring in government run plans in Canada, the UK and Massachusetts,” bogus”. When a politician promotes a government takeover of health care program, that is by definition socialistic, it seems perfectly legitimate to call him a socialist.
Excerpts from Obama’s speech:
“But what we have also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have toward their own government. Instead of honest debate, we have seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise. Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned.”
“Some of people’s concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Such a charge would be laughable if it weren’t so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple. “
PS Where have you been John? I have missed your inane comments.
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