Mr. President, as you yourself have said HCR isn't about you. It's about what the American people

[JohnWxy]

need and want.

Last week on PBS Newshour an Jim Lehrer interviewed President Obama about the Health Care REform program and the Senate "so-called" HCR bill (minus PUblic Option).

JIM LEHRER: "So you are completely satisfied with the health-reform bill that the Senate's about to pass?"

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "You know, I am never completely satisfied. But I am very satisfied."

~~
~~

"So when you look at the criteria that I've set forth, this is a good deal. Now, are there provisions here, provisions there, that I would love to have in the bill? Of course. But overall, I think that I've seen 95 percent of what will work for the American people, for small businesses and for the government budget that I was seeking from the beginning."

~~
~~
JIM LEHRER: "And let's say, for instance, the public-option plan: It's in the House version; it's not in the Senate version."

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "Right."

JIM LEHRER: All right. What's going to be your position when you sit down and talk about this?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "You know, look, I've been in favor of the public option. I think the more choice, the more competition we have, the better.

On the other hand, I think that the exchange itself, the system that we're setting up that forces insurance companies to essentially bid for three million or four million or five million people's business, that in and of itself is going to have a disciplining effect.

Would I like one of those options to be the public option? Yes. Do I think that it makes sense, as some have argued, that, without the public option, we dump all these other extraordinary reforms and we say to the 30 million people who don't have coverage, "You know, sorry. We didn't get exactly what we wanted?" I don't think that makes sense."
(more)

Well, may I say something Mr. President? May I remind you that when you were rightly criticizing the Corporate Lobbyist Party for determining to make Health Care Reform "Obama's Waterloo" - you said then, that Health Care Reform isn't about YOU it's about what the American people want and need. So I hope you won't consider it presumptuous of me to remind you of this when you say that you are "95% satisfied with the bill the Senate passed" and ask if that is what most of the people who know something about HCR would say? Is this what the 56 Senators who fought for and would have voted for the Public Option (if only the Corporate Lobbyist party, including those who call themselves Democrats, and Joe Lieberman would have let them.) would say? Is this what the Congressmen who passed the House HCR bill (with the Public Option) would say?

Also Mr. President, I am at pains to remind you that since the beginning of the Health Care reform process you handed over the job of hammering out a Health Care Reform Bill to Congress. You laid out some parameters you wanted to be met, but you handed over the reigns (and the details) to Congress. So might I suggest that 'we' let the Congress do the business of finishing the Health Care Reform legislation without now interjecting remarks like; "it's okay if The Public Option is left out". After all, a number of people have been been through some pretty brutal battle to get the Public Option in both bills (only failing in one because of a filibuster).

And I might add, saying that the Public Option is well, 'optional' to real Health Care reform, is a bit of a 'stretch', Mr. President. There is no Cost Control without the Public Option. Exchanges composed of other for-profit insurers will only provide tepid competition. Using the market pressure the Public Option can apply is the only effective way to make sure that the insurance companies will pass along the savings they will enjoy, because of the HCR provisions, to their policy holders rather than fatten their profits. WE all have seen how well regulating private industry goes (especially when the GOP put's blindfolds on the regulators). And I don't think one should sell the voters short on this. Most voters know that HCR without a Public Option is like a boat with a sieve for a hull.


I would also remind you Sir, that one of the reasons you gave for passing Health Care Reform was that proceeding as we were, the current system would break the budget before too long. Thus, HCR is legislation which affects the budget and deficit and it is therefore appropriate to use the reconciliation process requiring a simple majority for passage. Congress has majorities FOR the Public Option in both the House and Senate so why would anybody, who is in favor of REAL Health Care Reform and protecting the budget, say it's necessary to throw out the Public Option to get Health Care Reform?

So you see this argument that you presented that keeping the Public Option will skuttle the entire Health Care Reform effort isn't quite accurate, is it Mr. President? The Congress has the votes for it and why in the world would we throw out the Public Option when there are majorities FOR IT in both houses? In other words the Public Option is already approved. It's what you said you wanted. It's what everybody knows is necessary for real cost control which is an essential part of Health Care Reform.

What do you say we not give up just before we've won?..Huh?

[Hello_Kitty]

1. President Lieberman and Vice President Nelson have spoken. eom

[rudy23]

2. Actually, they also accused "the left of the left" of making it Obama's Waterloo

for insisting on a public option, that to them, was always "symbolic."

That's 70% of the American public that they wrote off as "the left of the left." So, no, it's not about us at all.

[JohnWxy]

3. WTF are you talking about? got any links? Nobody but GOP degenerates said make HCR his "Waterloo"

The fact that Dems in Senate gave up on P.O. to get fascists votes (to no avail as the fascists were never going to vote for HCR as they intended on making it Obama's Waterloo) shows that your statement is bullshit.

so called "liberals" know it's not HCR without the public option BUT they are going along as Obama has said getting a little bit is better than getting nothing. THis is NOT killing the whole concept for lack of a feature they felt was a necessity.

Killing health care reform is entirely the Corporate Lobbyist party's agenda. Kill any progress for the country so as to hurt democrats - no matter what damage it does to the country - that is consummate Republicanism. Kill the democrats, fuck the country.

Traitorous thinking.

[burning rain]

4. It always sounds good to say you're thinking about "the folks": just ask Bill O'Reilly.

.