In a fiery speech before a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama declared “the time for bickering is over” and the moment has arrived to protect millions who have unreliable or no health care coverage at all.
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Mr. Obama utilized this rare joint session before Congress to outline in great detail his own vision for America’s future health care, saying the changes he wants would cost roughly $900 billion over the next decade, which is “less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans” passed during the Bush administration. The President vowed to find ways to pay for the program without raising taxes or cutting coverage, but by eliminating billions of dollars in waste and making health care more efficient. He also took a moment to address the awful rumors floated throughout the summer, including “Death Panels” that would “pull the plug” on Grandma, calling such rumors an “outright lie.” But in a rare moment of disrespect, Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted out “YOU LIE” when the President said illegal immigrants would not benefit from his health care proposals. The President paused briefly, never once losing his cool or decorum. But only moments later he delivered perhaps the best line of the night, with the challenge to Congress: “We did not come here to FEAR the future, we came here to SHAPE it.”
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Rep. Joe Wilson rudely interrupts the
President, calling him a liar
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The President concluded his remarks by recalling several letters he received from concerned Americans desperate for health care reform. He quoted from a few of those letters, but the one that stood out was a secret letter written by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in his last days, who asked Mr. Obama to speak of his letter after his death. With the Senator’s widow and children in attendance, it was the most poignant and touching moment of the evening, in memory of the man who devoted his career to the issue of health care for all.
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SOME MEMORABLE QUOTES FROM THE EVENING:
I’m not the first President to take up this (health care) issue, but I’m determined to be the last!
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The time for bickering is over
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In the United States of America no one should go broke because they get sick
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It’s time to give every American the opportunity we give ourselves.
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The time for bickering is over
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In the United States of America no one should go broke because they get sick
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It’s time to give every American the opportunity we give ourselves.
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For more information on the President’s plan, click HERE.
So what did you think of the President’s speech?
I watched Pres. "O" last night and IMO, he did what he needed to do_he came to life, got off the ropes and knocked the sh*t (intellectually and rhetorically speaking) out of his opponents. He made the case for limited but strong AND responsible government. It was a straight up NO chaser…Just. The. Facts…kind of speech that is required to expose oppositional BS for what it is_utter BS wrapped in ignorance, corruption and dishonesty. The speech was delivered in such a way that even the most feeble-minded_and fair minded_person could: 1) understand the seriousness of the issue and 2) know that the President is NOT about playing games with the lives of the American people. REAL healthcare reform is desperately needed to improve a woefully broken system with skyrocketing costs that’s certain to eventually take everybody down with it_the insured as well as the uninsured. I believe he has_for now_resumed… Read more »