Obama tries to reset the table

[dgriffin]

Interesting summary on CNN web pages ...






Borger: Obama tries to reset the table



By Gloria Borger


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Even a popular president who still seems to enjoy the general goodwill of the American public can have a bad week.

In no particular order, the administration has taken fire on these fronts: the deficit, health care reform, the effectiveness of the stimulus package, the message on Iran and, of course, the economy.

Sure, President Obama remains well-liked, but some polls show him losing traction with those all-important independent voters.

What's more, those who have health care have grown increasingly skeptical about the cost benefits of his wide-ranging and costly reform proposals. And then there's always this nagging question: Does Obama remain so popular because his Republican opposition is so ill-formed and disliked?

All of which makes the case for a presidential press conference: Why not reset the table on a variety of fronts? There's no better way -- particularly if you're good at it -- to recalibrate or restate some positions.

First, the recalibration. In his press conference, the president clearly decided to take a sharper tone with the Iranian regime, ramping up his indignation, if nothing else. It's not every day this ardently no-drama president uses words like "appalled" and "outraged" to describe events in another country, much less condemn the events there.

If this president is developing some kind of Achilles heel, it's on the deficit: Polls show the American public is worried about it. The dangerous corollary for the White House is that, as a result, the public won't get behind health care, which will cost, at the very least, around $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

So it was no coincidence the president made health care reform sound like a savings plan. The current costs of our care, he said, are "the primary driver of our federal deficit" -- just in case we didn't get the message.

MORE:

www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/23/borger.obama/index.html?iref=werecommend


I bolded the last sentence, because it is in support of Kracker's contention that, as he put it on June 12, "Our economy is already sinking due to the fact that millions now don't have health coverage." At the time, I asked Kracker for a citation, but he never answered me. I would still like to be taken through the numbers on this point by anyone who is familiar with the claim. I'm not particularly interested in arguing it, just want to know what supports the claim.

[gski]

It's simple. Throw out a number, sentence, what ever you want and it's instantly gospel.

The media gobbles it up like lap dogs.

Don't ask questions, don't think, we're not supposed to do that, just go along with whatever is said and give them our paychecks.

[dgriffin]

Here's an interesting article from 1993, 16 years ago. I think you can read it if you click on it once or even twice.

[gski]

16 years ago, 37 million uninsured. The 37 million number sounds familiar.

Medicare will continue to grow as our population continues to grow older.
Medicaid we already know is out of control.

Both programs we have heard are wraught with fraud, waste and abuse.
Both programs have cut payments to Dr's and hospitals even as costs have continued to go up.

There are a number of factors that go into the ever increasing health care costs.
We see one of them on TV multiple times a day. "were you in an accident, call us now", " did you take xyz drug in 1950? Call us now. " "join the class action law suit"

I once talked to an OB Dr and asked him if he'd do it again. He said no way. I was informed that he was responsible for the child until they turned 21 in NY. So as he put it, if they turn into an axe murderer and their parents say it's because I delivered them c-section, they sue me. My lawyer says it'll cost me 10K in legal fees to fight it, settle for 7. Up goes my malpractice insurance again.

All the lawsuits that are filled, settled or won, come out of somebody's profits. So who ends up paying? We do. Higher costs to make up for those lost profits.

How many drugs don't make it past the FDA? Lot's. Who pays the drug companies for the development when it doesn't come to the public? We do when they finally get one approved.

We have lots of safeguards in place, legal and governmental. We either ask for them, need them or want them, the only problem is we end up paying for all three.

I don't have the answers to all the questions. Limits on frivolous lawsuits might help.
Socialized medicine has been tried in too many other places and has had similar end results, all not good.

To think that we can simply add all the uninsured in one fell swoop, not drive up costs, not drive down availability, keep the same quality and not have it cost us more money is pure lunacy.

[dgriffin]

It's worse than lunacy, it's self-delusional.

[chris]

Just because you can does not mean you should.

I can't tell you how many claims I know of that are not real.....so thank you very much for helping my insurances to sky rocket into oblivion. And I hate those stupid commercials. Those are the people I would never give my business to. (the other day I got a letter from some turkey in Whitesboro......isn't that reaching a bit too far or are they desperate for business) I live in WNY.

[gski]

Dave, does that make them all self-delusional lunatics?

[dgriffin]

We wish for that. We always want to assume a disabled mind where there is larcenous heart.

[clarencebunsen]

I heard an interesting breakdown of the 37 million a couple nights ago on Lars Larsen. It sounded so reasonable that it probably needs to be fact checked.

Of the 37 million roughly 1/4 are illegals (from the estimates I've seen that's probably low).

Roughly 1/4 (mostly young and healthy) could afford health insurance but choose not participate. One of my sons was in this category until he became a family man.

Roughly 1/4 are already eligible for existing programs but don't participate.

That leaves roughly 12-13 million poor citizens who we should help. For that we need to spend $trillions?