Next Gen Journal

Check out our live blog of President Obama’s health care speech before a joint session of Congress. So you know what happened. You know, for…. parties.

By Connor Toohill

8:00 PM- President Obama’s speech is about to begin; grab your popcorn and Milk Duds.

8:01 PM- Vicki Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy’s widow, is in attendance tonight. That’s a powerful symbolic message, as Senator Kennedy often declared that health care reform was “the cause of his life.”

8:06 PM- So what should young Americans be looking for tonight? Well, first of all, President Obama will probably look at the larger picture and reemphasize how crucial health care reform really is. He’ll talk about how the status quo is unsustainable; how premiums are rising rapidly; how millions of Americans really struggle without insurance. And he’ll probably mention that rising health care costs are the biggest reason for our rising deficits. In other words, he’ll emphasize that health care reform is necessary for the future of America and for future generations. Whatever your political stance, that should be something that we can all agree on.

8:09 PM- The bigger question is, what else will President Obama say? There’s all sorts of speculation on TV and across the web, but most people seem to think that he’ll present his case without making specific demands. According to CNN, President Obama will be hosting moderate Democratic senators at the White House as soon as tomorrow, so his pitch certainly won’t end tonight.

8:11 PM- The President is introduced to thunderous applause from everybody in the chamber. He just shook hands with Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-California), whose town hall meeting I attended just a week and a half ago. Many attendees at that town hall (from both sides of the aisle) were loud, angry, and unwilling to listen or compromise; we’ll see if the President’s speech changes any of that tonight.

8:16 PM- After 5 full minutes of applause (are these members of Congress or Jets fans?), President Obama is beginning his speech.

8:21 PM- As expected, President Obama is starting by emphasizing that the status quo is both unacceptable and unsustainable. He’s also going out of his way to show that the inefficiencies of our health care system affect every single American.

8:23- After citing a few horror stories of Americans denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, President Obama says, “That should not happen in the United States of America” and receives a bipartisan standing ovation. If nothing else, we should embrace that fact that there’s a consensus around health insurance reform: stopping companies from discriminating on the basis of pre-existing conditions, etc.

8:26 PM- This is important: President Obama just stated that it was necessary to build on our existing system. In other words, a government-run “single-payer” system is essentially off the table (if it wasn’t already).

8:28 PM- “The time for bickering is over; the time for games has passed…now is the time to deliver on health care.”

8:30 PM- President Obama is now laying out his concrete plan for health care reform. The first principle: If you like the health care coverage you have, nothing will force you to change it. Another principle: health insurance reform that limits the tricks and games of the insurance industry. To sum up, if you have insurance, the President pledges “more security and more stability.”

8:33 PM- The next main principle is providing coverage to the uninsured.

8:34 PM- The President just referred to John McCain and credited him with good health care ideas. Senator McCain sure appreciated that: he was the first to stand and applaud.

8:36 PM- The chamber erupts in laughter after the President says that there remain some details to be ironed out. I think that was a bit of an understatement.

8:38 PM- The President basically attacks the “death panel” idea propagated by Sarah Palin.

8:39 PM- Wow. The President also asserted that the health care reform bills would not extend coverage to illegal immigrants. Someone in the chamber shouts “You lie” or something to that effect. Nancy Pelosi’s jaw just dropped, and the President looked pretty surprised as well.

8:41 PM- “I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business… I just want to hold them accountable”

8:42 PM- Here comes the most interesting part of the speech: the discussion about the so-called “public option,” a government-run plan that would compete with private insurers. Will President Obama commit to seeing such an option in the bill? Unlikely. But he will certainly lay out his case for it.

8:44 PM- Here we go; President Obama points out that a “public option” is only a means to the end of holding insurance companies accountable; I couldn’t agree more.

8:45 PM- “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future. Period.”

8:48 PM- President Obama is now speaking directly to seniors about Medicare; that’s critical, as seniors are the main demographic group that largely opposes the President’s plan. He emphasizes that benefits will not be cut, and points out that some Republicans voted earlier in the year to turn Medicare into a sort-of privatized voucher program. That’s red meat for the Democrats, but Republicans aren’t pleased.

8:53 PM- More red meat: President Obama states that the roughly $900 billion cost of health care reform will be less than the combined costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and less than President Bush’s tax cuts. Republicans don’t like that, but it’s absolutely true. I’m reminded of a famous quote: “Every man is entitled to his own opinion, but none is entitled to his own facts.”

8:55 PM- Another critical point: President Obama says that he is open to negotiation, but he will not waste time with those who would rather kill this plan than improve it.

8:56 PM- President Obama is about to bring it home. He’s discussing a letter that he received from Ted Kennedy that Senator Kennedy requested the President receive upon his (Sen. Kennedy’s) death.

8:58 PM- Referring to Ted Kennedy, President Obama then invokes “his friend Orrin Hatch” (R-Utah), “his friend John McCain” (R-Arizona), and “his friend Chuck Grassley” (R-Iowa) and their collective accomplishments. In this way, he seems to be really emphasizing a bipartisan path forward rather than a “go-it-alone” approach.

9:01 PM- “The dangers of too much government are matched by the perils of too little.” The President is reaching his conclusion…

9:03 PM- The President’s Conclusion: “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. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and here and now we will meet history’s test. Because that is our calling…THAT is our character. Thank you, and God Bless You.”

Ok: so the President emphasized the necessity of reform; he embraced the Republican idea of malpractice reform, and he endorsed a public option. He also attacked the idea of “death panels,” and seemed to push for a renewed bipartisan approach. The reaction in the chamber was mixed; most Democrats (including liberals) seemed pleased, while Republicans had mixed reactions. Let’s get your thoughts in the comments section:

What did you think of the President’s speech before a joint session of Congress?