Obama’s Health Care Speech:
An Unnecessary Exercise Intended to Save an Unpopular Program
An Unnecessary Exercise Intended to Save an Unpopular Program
When most Presidents speak to a joint session of Congress, it is in response to a personal tragedy (as was Reagan’s speech in 1981 after he recovered from being shot), a national crisis (as was George W. Bush’s September 20, 2001 speech to the attacks of 9/11), or to deliver the State of the Union address.
It seems today the only tragedy for Obama is personal, the precipitous drop in his poll numbers, the only crisis the loss of popular support for his legislative initiatives. The current state of the union (while not calling for a constitutionally mandated address) is economic unease and increased political polarization with Americans growing increasingly upset about the Democrats’ statist solutions to pressing social, economic and political problems.
In part, the President is making this speech to address these issues, and Byron York doubts Obama will succeed:
. . . when a president makes such a rare request, he’s sending a clear message that there is an emergency, or at least an urgent issue, that must be addressed in the most solemn national forum. . . . Is Obamacare such an issue? Hardly. So it will be the president’s job to convince the public that the need to pass a national health care bill is so urgent that it ranks alongside war and other national emergencies.
It can’t be done. No matter what Obama says on Wednesday, the audience will see the speech for what it is: A president speaking not as the nation’s leader in time of crisis but rather as a salesman pushing a troubled product.
Sales jobs are the least successful joint addresses. Clinton’s didn’t work. And it hasn’t been pointed out very often, but the president in the last half-century who used the joint session format the most was the one who got the least done: Jimmy Carter.
Read the whole thing. Simply put, no matter how polished is the President’s performance tonight, it’s the ideas he espouses which have caused the current crisis (his crumbling public image). Perhaps, if he announced tonight that he was shifting his strategy to focus on the economy or launching a health care reform do-over, he might find himself standing on more solid political ground.
(It will be interesting to see if he attaches himself to any of the current reforms pending before Congress. Heretofore, he has not supported any the plans.)
In the end, all the President is doing is trying to score a political win for the sake of the trophy, even if it means further polarizing the nation and overhauling a health care system which needs responsible reform but not a major makeover.
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Back to GPW, Dan?
Best wishes,
-MFS
Comment by MFS — September 9, 2009 @ 6:50 pm - September 9, 2009
Democrats are in total disarray…
and they wanted to lead? Boobs.
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashwc.htm
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 7:59 pm - September 9, 2009
If you can’t be honest about the “problem”, why the hell should we listen to your solution?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — September 9, 2009 @ 8:27 pm - September 9, 2009
Already, repeating the same things again
Comment by Steven E. Kalbach — September 9, 2009 @ 8:36 pm - September 9, 2009
The President keeps repeating the tired worn out things. Oh God now he promises not to increase the deficiet. PERIOD. Wow how innovative. LIES.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 8:46 pm - September 9, 2009
WOW what a divisive speech. A castro like stem winder full of scare tactics. And again he lies about being deficiet neutral. Remember the net spending cuts promise Americans. He’s a liar.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 8:57 pm - September 9, 2009
This speech is choc full of lies and bad assumptions. What a joke. I did love seeing Pelosi’s face when someone in the audience jeered. I find it odd though Ted Kennedy wrote a letter about his final months when he first found out he was terminally ill. It would seem to me his final months hadn’t happened when that letter was written. More manipulative garbage.
Comment by Ed — September 9, 2009 @ 9:00 pm - September 9, 2009
62 minutes and he’s still going…….
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 9:00 pm - September 9, 2009
I hate so much the liberals mantra that AMERICA SUCKS without their ideas.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 9:01 pm - September 9, 2009
Same stuff…with platitudes…
Comment by Steven E. Kalbach — September 9, 2009 @ 9:04 pm - September 9, 2009
I liked the Republican 6 minute response from the LA congressman who’s a doctor. Brilliant. He said more in 6 minutes than Obamateleprompter did in 60 minutes. I choose the Republican plan. hehe
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 9:13 pm - September 9, 2009
Ted Kennedy got extraoridinary care when he was diagnosed with cancer. In the Obamacare plan an 80 year old wouldn’t get that costly care. He’d give them a pain pill and they’d send him home. Case closed.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — September 9, 2009 @ 9:15 pm - September 9, 2009
Obama is going to have to “call out” the CBO, cus they say hes a liar too.
Comment by American Elephant — September 9, 2009 @ 9:41 pm - September 9, 2009
I caught a very short part of the speech. It sounded desperate. I am so over any politician telling me that “there is a crisis” of any kind to attempt to garner my support. The crisis is at the White House with the man who is discovering that he isnt able to walk on water and that his own people are getting the reality of what they voted for way back when (about 8 months ago). “I’m going to call you out” sounds much different than “let’s dialogue” about this situation. Once again, Black Man speak with forked tongue.
Comment by Duffy - Native Intelligence — September 9, 2009 @ 11:40 pm - September 9, 2009
I am so over any politician telling me that “there is a crisis” of any kind to attempt to garner my support.
Wait ’til flu season gets rolling.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — September 10, 2009 @ 2:07 am - September 10, 2009
Speaking of flu season…I wouldn’t take that H1N1 shot if you paid me.
This President makes me distrust anything coming out of any govt. agency.
Comment by Libby — September 10, 2009 @ 2:40 am - September 10, 2009