Thoughts About the Speech

(Transcript at the New York Times)

Three take away thoughts. First, the most objectionable part of the speech is this:

It’s worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I’ve proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn’t be exaggerated – by the left, the right, or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage affordable for those without it. The public option is only a means to that end – and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.

Translation: A strong majority of Americans want this, but it’s still expendable. Not happy. Without this, we’ll all be forced to buy insurance from the private insurance companies.

Second, Obama says his plan incorporates ideas from Republicans. For example:

This exchange will take effect in four years, which will give us time to do it right. In the meantime, for those Americans who can’t get insurance today because they have pre-existing medical conditions, we will immediately offer low-cost coverage that will protect you against financial ruin if you become seriously ill. This was a good idea when Senator John McCain proposed it in the campaign, it’s a good idea now, and we should embrace it.

and

I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs. So I am proposing that we move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine. I know that the Bush Administration considered authorizing demonstration projects in individual states to test these issues. It’s a good idea, and I am directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on this initiative today.

There’s your “bipartisanship.” From here on the President and the Dems in Congress should stand firm and not give away anything else (unless hell does freeze over and the Republicans get serious). If the righties complain, point to these two elements and say the bill is “bipartisan” without them.

Finally, if the President follows up this speech with some arm twisting, and the Dems rally around the policy proposals outlined in the speech, I’ll think it was a great speech. If the Blue Dogs are unable to pull the bill further to the Right of what was presented toinght, I will think it was a great speech. If Congress falls back into squabbling about nonsense, it will not have been a great speech.

The President’s Speech

Live blog tonight. comment away.

Taegan Goddard has a partial transcript.

Notice the red, white and blue — Biden in blue, Pelosi in red, Obama in blue suit and red tie. Planned?

Well, you can sure tell where the Democrats are sitting in the audience.

“No one should be treated that way in the United States of America.” Amen.

Details:

1. No change for people who have insurance now. Repeat.
2. Insurance cannot be denied for preexisting condition.
3. Insurance companies cannot drop or reduce coverage people are paying for.
4. No annual or lifetime caps.
5. Limit on patients’ out of pocket expenses.
6. Checkups and preventive care will be covered.

Quality, affordable choice:

1. Insurance exchange. I’m not excited about the exchange. Tell me about the public option. Repubs are applauding the exchange.

2. Tax credits for low income insurance purchasers.

3. OK, I’m lost with the McCain thing. I’ll have to check that.

Oh, those risk-taking young folks who don’t buy insurance. Mandatory health insurance. I think that’s the only way any of this can work.

Key controversies. Death panels. Lie, plain and simple. Republicans not applauding. Look at those meatheads.

Who is yelling about the illegal immigrants?

Paying for abortion — under the bus. Sad.

PUBLIC OPTION. He finally mentions it.

Stress competition. Good point.

Not for profit public option. Must have. Less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up? Hmmm. Taxpayers not subsidizing. Option self-sufficient? Compare to public and private colleges. Good comparison.

Yeah, we’re open to other ideas, but the public option is a minimum.

“If Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice.”

“No government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat will get between you and the coverage you need.”

Not one dime to deficit. OK.

Waste, fraud, abuse. Talk to seniors. Demagoguery and distortion. History of Medicare.

“Reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for most of this plan.” I’m skeptical, but maybe it’s possible

“I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs.” It isn’t, but even doctors believe it is. He’s throwing a bone to the Right.

Add it all up, and the plan I’m proposing will cost around $900 billion over ten years – less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration.

Let’s put that on a T-shirt.

Most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent – but spent badly – in the existing health care system.

Exactly.

But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it.

The NY Times has the full transcript. Ted Kennedy comin’ up.

Obama is pulling the guilt strings. All you Republicans knew Ted Kennedy. Heh.

And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter – that at that point we don’t merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves.

He’s getting emotional.

What was true then remains true today. I understand how difficult this health care debate has been. I know that many in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them. I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road – to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.

But that’s not what the moment calls for. That’s not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it’s hard.

Standing applause.

OK, that was the speech. I still don’t know what the yelling was about with the immigrants.

Rachel Maddow thinks we liberals will be happy with the latter part of the speech.

Republican Response:

First impression: Charles Boustany is less of a dork than Bobby Jindal.

Summary: Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.

No insurance across state lines. It’s a scam.

Olbermann: Dr. Boustany has been sued for malpractice three times.

The yeller was Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who yelled “You lie!” when the President said there would be no coverage for illegal aliens.

Another Big Speech

I intend to live blog the President’s speech tonight, paying especially close attention to what he might say about a public option. However, a big part of me agrees with Timothy Noah — enough with the speeches already. Call in the Dems and bust chops.

Every other day I read a news story that says support for “the President’s health care proposal” is slipping. But in a way this is nonsense, because it’s really hard to tell what “the President’s health care proposal” is at the moment, so what, exactly, are people not supporting?

Right now, the country seems divided between two sets of people who are not on board with what they think the President is proposing. One group doesn’t like what they think the President is proposing because it doesn’t go far enough to genuinely reform the system. The other group doesn’t like what they think the President is proposing because it’s the President — you know, the black guy — proposing it.

The first group for the most part understands the major possible components of a potential health care bill being discussed in Congress, but they (me included) worry that the public option is being thrown under the bus for the sake of getting something passed. (See Mike Madden, “Is Something Better Than Nothing on Healthcare?“)

The second group for the most part has no more understanding of the major possible components of a potential health care bill than they understand quantum physics, which is to say they wouldn’t recognize any of it if it rose up out of the sidewalk and bit their butts. They are objecting robustly to straw man proposals presented to them by the moneyed special interests who want to stop reform because the system as it is now is a gravy train for them.

So people are objecting all over the place. But these are not objections to health care reform. Instead, the objections come from a sense of foreboding about a looming dreadful thing. The dreadful thing may be that genuine health care reform will be once again kicked forward into an unknowable future, or that or death squads will be coming to shoot grandma. Take your pick.

Even the reasonably rational objection one hears about cost — i.e., I want reform but I’m afraid it will cost too much — overlooks the tangible fact that not reforming the system will cost even more. However, I can’t blame people much for not understanding that, since one rarely hears it explained in mass media.

President Obama could have done a much better job keeping people focused on the Real Issues, I think, but he’s not really a fire-in-the-belly sort, is he? He’s more cerebral, which is a quality I appreciate. But in the real world, keeping your head when everyone else is losing theirs usually makes you the mob’s first target. Put another way, in the land of the blind a one-eyed man is not king. He’s a freak.

Well, we’ll see what he says tonight.

More to read:

Paul Krugman, “Why the Public Option Matters

Paul Krugman, “Hoping for Audacity

Patt Morrison, “The anti-healthcare-reformers’ plan? Little more than ‘keep your fingers crossed that you don’t get sick‘”

Alex Koppelman, “‘Public option’ inventor defends it

Vincent Rossmeier, “Palin continues terror crusade

Robert Reich, “Why a ‘trigger’ for the public option is nonsense