Speech Thoughts

President Obama: "If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out."

Joe Wilson's real faux pas was that the president hadn't yet said, "Simon says."

"But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits and excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it[a public option] could provide a good deal for consumers and would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities."

Is anyone else bummed a little that President Obama considers profit to be overhead? Speaking of executive salaries, maybe the president can get Franklin Raines to oversee his public option plan.

Getting back to illegal immigrants, the BS from all sides that surrounds that issue is sure to spill over into any health care bill. We seem unable to provide a path to citizenship or unable to meaningfully secure the borders and enforce the law, so they will be here. Unless we are prepared to leave them dying in the streets, and I'm certain that we are not, they will be health care consumers to some degree or another. The only question is will they participate openly or will Congress do what they are doing in HR 3200 and put language in the bill that bars illegal immigrants, and then decline to put in any enforcement provisions.

Medical malpractice reform at least got a mention from the president. It seems to me to be just a bone that was tossed out to placate Republicans. Note that it was not an endorsement of any legislative action, but that the administration would look into it. Uh huh.

Mandatory health insurance makes me queasy. Is it far-fetched to think that mandatory BMI and fitness goals will be far behind? If not, why not? Obese people and those that don't exercise cost all of us, don't they?

As usual, a fine performance from a style perspective, but he didn't change my mind on anything. I still think Congress headed in the wrong direction right out of the gate and Democrats have refused to listen to most Republican suggestions. The perspective Obama seems to have that objections to reform plans are gamesmanship or simple obstruction are flat out wrong and remarkably tone deaf and partisan. I don't think he understands what happened in the town hall meetings last month.