In the fourth prime-time press conference of his presidency, President Obama pushed his plan for health care reform.
He said "the stars are aligned" and that Congress has to take advantage of this window of opportunity.
The president admitted he was rushing -- out of necessity.
(He said, "If you don't set deadlines in this town, things don't happen. The default position is inertia").
But he said that if a bill comes to his desk that doesn't do enough to reduce costs, he won't sign it.
Obama also said Americans are counting on Congress to act, and reform would be critical to rebuilding the economy and controlling the deficit.
He also singled out his critics for playing "games" with their health care.
BUT if you were looking for specific details on HOW he'd pay for health care reform, save money, and keep costs down... forget it; he didn't offer any.
Source
Source 2 with VIDEO LINKS
From RedState this morning...
1. So now it's "Health Insurance Reform"
Did you notice Barack Obama's shifting strategy? It is no longer "health care reform" that Obama agitates for. It is "health insurance reform."
There is a big difference according to polling. People recognize that American healthcare is really the best in the world, despite Obama's best efforts to claim otherwise.
It is the insurance system that people don't like or trust.
But now Obama opens himself up to a serious problem. According to Obama, he has "great health insurance, and so does every member of Congress".
That begs the question - if we're going to have a taxpayer funded health insurance program, why shouldn't we just allow every American to get on the President's and Congress' healthcare plans?
No reform is needed. Just open up that plan to the American people. Offer it across state lines just like a Blue Cross-Blue Shield Plan.
Why not if it is such "great health insurance"? Instead, Obama proposes a different system for the American people - one not nearly as good as what Congress and the President get.
And the kicker is neither Obama and the Congress want to give up their "great health insurance" for the "hoi polloi plan".
2. Obama Presser: More of the Same from the Self-Styled "Agent of Change"
Tonight's presser was simply more of the same from the self-styled "agent of change" and "post-partisan politician": Pure politics, unwavering liberal ideology, appallingly transparent scare tactics, demonization of a nameless opposition, and an argument so thick with straw men that the President had better wait until he's several hundred meters away to light his next cigarette, lest the entire building go up in flames.
Obama's declaration tonight that the health care overhaul debate is "not about [him]," because he has "great health insurance, and so does every member of Congress" is pure canned comedy.
First of all, the claim that this is "not about" him is laughable on its face, given his accusation that those in his own party who don't drop their objections to the fact the health overhaul bills currently in Congress will cause costs and deficits to skyrocket while utterly failing to improve coverage and care are "going to destroy [his] presidency."
Second, everybody knows Obama and Congress have, as the President put it, "great health insurance." The problem is that the coverage he and his Congressional allies are attempting to foist on the rest of us is far from "great." If it were on par with what he and Congress are receiving now, then neither Obama nor his Congressional allies would object to Reps. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and John Fleming's (R-LA) amendments that would automatically disenroll all federal elected officials from the President on down from their current "great health insurance" and replace that insurance with the Democrats' proposed "public option" - government-run insurance plan - as their sole source of health coverage.
