Obama's solid health care speech

What did you think of the Obama speech? I will reserve my opinion on the policy part of it until I read the analyses tomorrow. I clapped when the president said that he would make it illegal for insurance companies to punish people with pre-existing conditions. Terrific! I like too his statement about making the plan pay for itself, but I'm skeptical about that one. We'll see. Overall, my gut feeling is that it was a very good speech, and that the president helped himself a lot tonight -- especially with his close. Here's the transcript of the speech, and here's how the speech ended:

On issues like these, Ted Kennedy's passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick; and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance; what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent - there is something that could make you better, but I just can't afford it.

That large-heartedness - that concern and regard for the plight of others - is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people's shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand. A belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgement that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.

This has always been the history of our progress. In 1933, when over half of our seniors could not support themselves and millions had seen their savings wiped away, there were those who argued that Social Security would lead to socialism. But the men and women of Congress stood fast, and we are all the better for it. In 1965, when some argued that Medicare represented a government takeover of health care, members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, did not back down. They joined together so that all of us could enter our golden years with some basic peace of mind.

You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, and the vulnerable can be exploited. 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.

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. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history's test.

Because that is who we are. That is our calling. That is our character. Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America.

That's good oratory right there. Julie and I were talking over the weekend about friends who are struggling to pay for health care between jobs, and how we'd be pleased to pay higher taxes if it would make it easier for families like them to sleep at night knowing that they don't have to worry about their children's health coverage. There's a tremendous moral aspect to this debate, and Obama did well to speak to that tonight. This part of his speech challenged me as a Christian, and it will color my thinking as I try to figure out what the right thing to do on health care is.

I was shocked and appalled when Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, shouted at the President of the United States, during a presidential address to Congress, shouted, "You lie!" What a disgraceful remark. Has that ever happened? That intemperate and disrespectful outburst may have helped Obama as much as anything else he said tonight. Is that really what the Republican opposition has come down to -- hotheads who call the president a liar during a speech to Congress? What is wrong with the Republican Party? Who are these people? I don't care if this or any president really is a liar, you don't do that. They didn't even do it to Bill Clinton, who was, in fact, a notorious liar. And if they had done so, it would have been shocking and repugnant. It may seem like a small thing, but when a member of Congress feels emboldened to do that to a president, it tells us something. Something important is lost. Joe Wilson did not dishonor the president; he dishonored himself and his party tonight.

Policy reflection tomorrow -- but if y'all want to talk about the policy aspect of it, go ahead. Politically, I think it was a winner for the president, but I don't know if it'll be enough to turn the blue dogs. I guess we'll have to see where the public opinion polls go.

UPDATE: I should mention that the Republican response, given by Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany, a medical doctor, was pretty good. At least it reads that way; I didn't get to see him deliver his speech.