Yes, We Can Healthcare

The United States has a well-intentioned president who gives brilliant speeches. The United States is also a country where no government has ever been successful in creating an equitable healthcare system. The big question hanging over the country since yesterday has been whether another brilliant speech would be enough to shatter the spell of ignorance that has held sway for decades.

In order to realize his most important domestic goal, reform of America’s decrepit healthcare system, Obama gave an impassioned speech before a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening. His ability to give such speeches was already common knowledge, but this time he finally demonstrated something his supporters had long been yearning for: he stood up to his political foes.

His unusual appearance marked the end of a summer during which Obama and his team seemed to be losing ground. The hot August in which ultra-conservative talk show moderators and politicians, especially Alaska’s ex-Governor Sarah Palin appeared to have control of the airwaves, was now behind him. Those were weeks in which opposition to Obama’s plans had become increasingly shrill and showed that Obama’s opponents would stop at nothing in their rabble-rousing. For example, how Obama’s reforms were a prelude to socialism and planned “death tribunals” that would euthanize the elderly whose health care was too expensive.

Obama needed to put his foot down and, Obama being Obama, the foot would be put down elegantly. He announced during primetime that “The time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action.” He then explained in plain language, as if he were giving his next day’s itinerary, that his plan for healthcare reform had three goals: more security and stability for those already insured; affordable insurance for the approximately 46 million uninsured and a long-range goal to rein in ballooning U.S. healthcare costs. When he later casually added that a few details still needed to be worked out, he garnered scornful laughter from the ranks of his opposition.

The president wasn’t disturbed by the icy silence or the provocations that greeted him. Not even when one Republican shouted, “You’re lying!” in response to Obama’s assertion that it was not his intention to insure illegal aliens under his plan. Obama’s speech wasn’t directed toward Republicans; the last six months have shown that they are opposed to his plans. Despite that, Obama said that his door was always open to all constructive suggestions, regardless who made them.

His message was directed primarily at those people in the television audience and the doubters and renegades in his own ranks, the so-called “blue dogs” with whom he said he was trying to find a way to overcome the status quo by any means whatsoever, adding repeatedly that “we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal.” He also said he believed government had to play a part in assuring the availability of good health insurance for low-wage earners but that such a plan wasn’t absolutely necessary for him to support new health reform legislation.

“I’m not the first president to take up this issue, but I’m determined to be the last,” Obama said to standing ovation cheers from Democratic ranks. Despite that, Obama was unable to drum up much excitement among news analysts.

Many of them have long doubted that Obama would ever be the president to get healthcare reform up and running. Before him, greats such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton were unsuccessful in their attempts. Each and every time, the fragile consensus necessary for passage of such legislation was dashed on the central issue of government’s role in any reform.

The American media, soon after Obama’s excellent speech, was already warning that the president’s most important domestic initiative and also his entire presidency were hanging by a thread.

The reason for this gloomy commentary was based on the fact that after almost eight months in office, Obama’s team has precious few victories to display: the U.S. economy shows few signs of recovery, the unemployment figures continue upward, the war in Afghanistan threatens to turn into another fiasco and the greening of America is on extended hold due to a lack of funding.

Obama, the bright genius who moved into the White House looking like another Kennedy, suddenly looked in August somewhat speechless and vulnerable. A veritable Republican camarilla centered around the conservative Fox News organization’s Glen Beck and his congenial colleague Rush Limbaugh was able to turn much of the American public against healthcare reform.*

Republican politicians have often traipsed behind those two whenever they went wild. Beck, whose fans number in the millions, celebrated his promotion this week to being Obama’s number one enemy.

It gets Obama’s supporters red hot when their president refuses to strike back. Even they’ve begun to complain about him. But Obama tested the Democrats’ patience early on during his campaign when he kept his temper and projected a pragmatic image. In the end, his strategy paid off: he won by keeping his cool and showing understanding.

On closer inspection, nothing really looks as bad as many of his critics imagine. Sure, the nationwide town meetings this summer were grotesque and hysterical, but they didn’t really seem to weaken the Democrats very much. The most important players in the healthcare reform debate, the hospitals, insurers and pharmaceutical firms are all still seated at the debate table and haven’t deserted to the opposition’s side.

And while the Democrats are of two minds when it comes to the role of government in creating a social health insurance program, they’re largely in agreement on the major points of the various plans designed to make the system more reliable and less greed-oriented. Four of the five plans being considered have already passed congressional muster and have been approved by their respective committees.

Max Baucus, the conservative Democrat and chairman of the highly important Senate Finance Committee who was suddenly cast into the spotlight on this issue promised to try to get a bi-partisan reform program through committee this week that would be based on a not-for-profit business model rather than on the creation of a government-run insurance program.

That shows the Democrats are now putting the pedal to the metal. That will diminish neither the immensity of the undertaking nor the complexity and extent of the partisan squabbling. But Obama has now shown that he’s in charge and is the one setting the milestones. Many Americans who willingly let themselves be sidetracked and who like to believe that Obama seeks to introduce socialism and give government agencies arbitrary powers have nonetheless expressed in the purgatory of the town hall meetings their own fears that everything might remain unchanged: drastically escalating health care costs and the fear that they might be dropped by their insurers if they fall seriously ill. Obama said, “The time to act is now.” And never before have so many people of vastly differing opinions been so united behind that statement.

*Translator’s Note: Wikipedia defines a “camarilla” as “a group of courtiers or favourites which surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice.”