Obama's health care speech: the best and worst moments
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Insurance, Health
Love him or hate him, the President can give a speech! During President Obama's health care address to Congress last night (full text here) one couldn't help but wonder if even the most hardened of birthers and deathers--those who fight against health care reform by spreading false rumors, such as the "death panel" nuttiness--couldn't help but feel moved. Here are, in the opinion of this reporter, the highlight's from last night:Best line of the evening:
Ooooh, that's a toss up, but I'm going to have to go with: "I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last."
But a very close second, that will be immortalized, is: "That large-heartedness – that concern and regard for the plight of others – is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character." The first one showed backbone, which is what the President needs if he's going to pass reform.
Worst line of the evening:
"Well the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do."
Wait a minute, didn't he already ask us to "put away childish things" at the inauguration? If he says this one more time, it better be followed up with a spanking, because every patient parent snaps eventually, and that's what he's sounding like, a dad on a road trip: I mean it, guys, I mean it... Quit throwing things or I'm coming back there!
Wonkiest detail:
Hmmm, well, not a lot to work with here. If his speech had too many details, it wouldn't make for good television. This one's hard so let's go with: "That's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance – just as most states require you to carry auto insurance. Likewise, businesses will be required to either offer their workers health care, or chip in to help cover the cost of their workers. There will be a hardship waiver for those individuals who still cannot afford coverage, and 95% of all small businesses, because of their size and narrow profit margin, would be exempt from these requirements. But we cannot have large businesses and individuals who can afford coverage game the system by avoiding responsibility to themselves or their employees." That's when you stare at Biden and wonder how hard he's resisting pointing and waving at people in the audience.
Most chilling line:
"Insurance executives don't do this because they are bad people. They do it because it's profitable. As one former insurance executive testified before Congress, insurance companies are not only encouraged to find reasons to drop the seriously ill; they are rewarded for it. All of this is in service of meeting what this former executive called 'Wall Street's relentless profit expectations.'"
Best reference to a meme:
Death panels: "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 by prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Now, such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple."
Memorable moment:
It's a tie:
1) Michelle Obama tearing up as her husband walks in and takes the podium. During his standing ovation, the camera cut to the first lady multiple times, showing us the emotion on her face and giving us a sense of all the support and personal conversations leading up to this moment.
2) The deathrays shooting out of Nancy Pelosi's scowl of vengeance. You can see why conservatives hate her so much, Pelosi does not play around. We find out later, in the post-speech wrap-up, that Pelosi sent that telepathatic "I will end you" to Joe Wilson, the rabid Congressman from South Carolina who heckled.
Scene stealer:
Nothing spells "this will make my career" than disrupting a momentous occasion as Joe Wilson did with his "you lie!" moment. Unfortunately for Wilson, the stunt backfired, raising $350,000 for his opponent, Rob Miller, a Democrat running against him in 2010. Ooh. (But that's okay, he pleased some of his biggest financial supporters: the insurance industry.)
Most sympathetic character:
That young Congressman from Illinois with the nice abs! Everyone knows that Aaron Schock is young and hip and hip/young people love to fit in. It must have been painful for the Schocker, who's buddy-buddy with the First Lady, not to stand up and applaud with the rest of the audience. The fact that he was so eager to finally do so shows in how he was first up, and smiling, during the Republican's single standing ovation--for malpractice reform. This video shows how happy he was to finally see some action.
Best post-game wrap-up by a pundit:
Paul Begala on CNN: "The harder work will come not under the kleig lights, but behind the scenes. Pres. Obama will need to twist lots of congressional arms to pass his plan. But tonight he fired a shot across the bow of some of the self-professed fiscal conservatives. He decried how the Bush tax cuts, the Bush war in Iraq and the Bush prescription drug plan helped explode the deficit, squandering the Clinton surplus and plunging us deep in debt. No one who voted for that unholy trinity -- and a whole lot of Blue Dogs did -- can credibly oppose Obama's health reforms on fiscal grounds. Let's hope he drives that point home even more powerfully when he meets with moderate Democrats in private."
Overall Consensus of speech:
Out of the park!--the most emotional we've ever seen our President, and he attempted to reach the best in us and channeled the best in politics, which together make the character of our country.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
9-10-2009 @ 2:36PM
TC said...
Out of the park. I don't think so. The President is eloquent, but just not truthful.
The senator interrupted saying you lie because guess what, Obama LIES. He lies all of the time. He later says he didn't remember the facts correctly. Give me a break. I may not agree with a president but he is supposed to be my president. I want one that doesn't outright lie to me. Is that really too much to ask?
Another thing we were waiting for is facts. Did we get them? I hear crickets. Nope. Facts make for a boring speech. That is correct, but we need facts to believe what we're hearing. Without facts, why should I believe the president when he says we will be able to "squeeze" the money out of the system when the general accounting office says the plan will raise the deficit by over $1 Trillion. Who should I really trust....a president who falsifies what he says time and again or the record keeping office of the US government that doesn't have an agenda either way. That's pretty easy for me. Secondly, if these costs can be squeezed so easily out of the system then why aren't we doing it with medicare. That system is projected to be bankrupt within a short period of time. Why don't we prove we can squeeze the costs out of that system first? We can prove it works and then move onto this problem. If we've proven the one system isn't feasible, why in the world would we take on a bigger problem. This administration couldn't even get cash for clunkers to work. It's been months and people still don't have their money.
If you want to cut the costs of healthcare, eliminate access from illegal immigrants and limit the jury awards that are allowed and make it harder to sue the doctors and other medical professionals. I had to visit a PT recently. His office pays $250,000 in insurance. He's never had a suit against him. That's pathetic. That's why procedures cost so much. It's been estimated that almost 1/4 of California's budget deficit is due to illegal immigrants there.
Deal with the causes not the symptoms.
Reply
9-11-2009 @ 1:08AM
LeLe said...
We have dealt with hearing lies from THE PRESIDENT when BUSH was in office for all those years of torture, so before you judge OBAMA take a step back and recognize who really told the lies which resulted in the country being in the condition that we are currently in...enough said!
9-11-2009 @ 6:31AM
CCC said...
Yeah TC! You are right!
9-11-2009 @ 9:49AM
CO said...
As far as I'm concerned, being treated for illness is a basic human right. The sad truth is not everyone can afford healthcare but this does not mean that not everyone should receive it. Just like everything else in life with benefits comes sacrifices. God forbid the government puts money into treating its population and giving it access to something so important! Of course there will be downfalls jus as there is with every law this country has. But the benefits outweigh the negative aspects and this definitely needs to be taken into consideration. Unfortunately America has taken a turn for the worst and we are now a place where the richer seem to be getting richer, and the poor seem to be getting poorer. There is no quick fix to this problem. People against the new reform need to seriously consider looking into the government run healthcare policies in other countries such as England just to educate themselves on the benefits of such a plan.
9-11-2009 @ 10:39AM
jennifer said...
WOW So much for Wallet Pop being a place for serious advice on being smart with our money! It's pretty obvious from your opening of tis article that you are in love with Obama but for a financially "frugal" website to not point out how impossibly expensive this healthcare plan is but rather to glory in the Messiah's oration is pathetic. I guess you dont think its a problem that the national debt is already growing at about $9 BILLION every 5 WEEKS! And no...it's not Bush fault anymore.
I'll be getting my advice elsewhere form now on.
9-11-2009 @ 10:55AM
pema said...
i have seen the part of the bill where it says no health care form this program for illegals. so perhaps you ought to check the bill out. so many people watch fox and hear hannity say oh he said ins guys are bad people.when clips show he never said that. there are alot of lies out there and i suggesst you check them out before fowarding them, otherwise its gossip.
9-11-2009 @ 1:39PM
R said...
...and may I say, that the LIES started with him being the "first Black President..." He is NOT BLACK...he is BIRACIAL, though he does not EVER acknowledge his WHITE roots because being the narcissistic egomaniac that he IS, he would not ever get the ACCOLADES he thinks he is getting from the public!! WHAT A disgrace to his people...ALL of us...black AND white...his agenda is to be the Messiah but he is falling from GRACE! Can't happen soon enough!!
9-11-2009 @ 2:03PM
Julie said...
TC you have great questions and unfortunately the media will never ask them. Your best point was, have the government show us where the money will come from by showing us they can do the same for medicare and fund it without hurting the American people. They can't and therefore they won't. Why shouldn't we be told the truth. I'm an Democrat who would like to trust Obama but I learned during the primaries and in his presidency that he lies all the time. Americans are starting to realize how much he lies or back tracks because people who had believed it was about hope and change now refer to him as just another politician. That is not how he ran if they bother to remember. They didn't see it then but they are starting too now. Politicians are everywhere but we settled for an image with no experience and now we are stuck.
9-10-2009 @ 5:01PM
Julien said...
The cause for action should be clear: people are dying without proper care. ANY plan that tries to solve that problem should be welcomed and given a chance.
Where I come from (France), our "social security" is not a buzzword, or the reflection of a "communist" country. It materializes as something very simple: when you face life-threatening conditions, you WILL get care. And for the millions of families that are struggling to survive, this uncertainty of whether you'll be able to support your family on healthcare issues is just not here. And it feels good.
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9-11-2009 @ 1:10AM
LeLe said...
That is exactly my point....I don't like the fact that people are being punished for having an illness..,it is sad that there are people that actually agree with any of that....
9-11-2009 @ 8:27AM
Sally said...
ANY plan? I don't think so....you don't just accept anything just because it is something different. How dumb is that? Oh yeah, you are from France, the country that stands for nothing and doesn't do anything in this world. The country that also has to depend on other nations to step in and save their rear-ends.
Yep, we should listen to YOU.
9-11-2009 @ 1:42PM
R said...
You might get CARE, but not TREATMENT!!! Go to the dictionary and llok up BOTH words...there is a DIFFERENCE! This plan, the way the Dems want it, is DOOMED to fail our people. The insurance industry need work for sure, but NOT THIS WAY!!!!
9-11-2009 @ 6:21AM
Sam said...
'Out of the park,' Chalupa?
Try 'out of touch!'
Both of you ...
Your column is pure crap ...
Reply
9-11-2009 @ 10:32AM
Donna Miller said...
You are absolutely right Sam!!
9-11-2009 @ 9:20PM
George Abdow said...
Does the author of this article work for a news agency? and are they supposed to be giving an objective view?
Because it sounds to me like something written by a member of the Obama administration!
Reply
9-11-2009 @ 6:42AM
joyceches said...
"You Lie" The bill may not contain insurance from illigal aliens but it won't stop them going to emergency rooms for free care will it? He also intends to make the illigal's legal. Then they will get health care. All he is doing is trying to make an end run around the "American people", So does the President lie....Hell yes he lies! QUESTION: Will this program be run as efficient as say.....the post office?
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9-11-2009 @ 10:53AM
gj said...
You're an idiot. Using the Post Office as an example of "non" efficiency?
What other organization on the planet can get a letter from one point in the country (perhaps from your trailer), to another spot (maybe Sarah Palin's house on the lake in Alaska) for less than half a dollar?
I'd call that pretty damned efficient.
9-11-2009 @ 6:43AM
lauren said...
I keep hearing Joe Wilson said "you lie!"...but not one person (except Joe himself), has commented on WHY he said that!! Obama was talking about illegal immigrants not being covered...however, Joe is on the committee and there are 2 amendments that cover illegals. So I guess he was right-- YOU LIE, OBAMA!!!! And where do I send a campaign contribution to Joe????
Reply
9-11-2009 @ 8:28AM
Sally said...
I would like to send a contribution to Joe too, and anyone else who opposes the Socialist Democrats, including our president. We need to get rid of them before they destroy our nation!
9-11-2009 @ 11:12AM
larry said...
we already spend billions on illegal imigrant healthcare. The passage of this legislation will require the tranfer of income from the top 50% to the lower 50%. The proof of this is the EU example, England corporate tax 45%, 19.5% Value Added Tax on every purchase, service and professional fees, National Health Insurance and pension tax 11% employee 15% employer, individual income tax 50% over $80M 40% over $50M 20% over $17M, there is no allowance for home mortgage interest ,charitable contributions or real estate taxes.Gas for your car is around $7.00 per gallon of which over $5.00 is tax. Inheritance tax is 40% over $500M. French taxes are a joke. we have three employees here we pay them 60M Euro per year in total but also 60M Euro in benefits, health, retirement, unemployment, etc.. So much for FREE Health Care!!! By the way check out how many people carry private Health insurance in addition to Mandatory Government Insurance. Also how many British people go out of the country for major surgery after waiting to long for treatment and because of the quality of care and the lack of modern diagnostic tools. Be careful of what is being forced on us. According to the New York Times and usual; suspects I am insentive, a spreader of lies, racist, a right wing zealot any a loonie. The facts speak for themselves, i rounded off the numbers and coverted pounds to dollars. For the sake of comparison I did not list all taxes, fees and other charges that European have to pay to maintain their systems.