Obama Brings the U.S. One Step Closer to the American Dream

Obama Fixed Two Holes in the American Dream

On March 24, Taiwan’s United Daily News published an article in the social commentary section called “Obama Fixed Two Holes in the American Dream.” The article says that Obama pushed the U.S. Congress to pass the health reform bill, and that even though the domestic response was not very enthusiastic, in the long run this bill will have a lasting effect on American vitality. First Obama broke racial barriers and was elected president; then he went on to pass the health reform bill, thus closing the gap between the rich and poor caused by the capitalist system. With his own strength, he fixed two holes in the American Dream.

Below is a selection of the article:

“Today, the U.S. Congress passed a health care reform bill by seven votes. Even though the domestic response was not so enthusiastic, this will affect the manifestation and preservation of American vitality and have a long and deep impact. Obama stuck to his ideals even when facing strong resistance. Obama’s victory was difficult but beautiful.

As the most powerful country in the world, it is a disgrace to see that America’s current health care coverage is so low, failing to cover disadvantaged groups in the country. Many lower class people are unable to pay for insurance premiums and have to pay extremely expensive medical bills when they get sick. Over half of the individual bankruptcy cases in America are caused by the inability to pay for the costs of medical treatment. The late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy described health insurance as “the most ambitious industry that American society has not yet perfected.” After passing this new bill, 32 million people who were once abandoned by society will finally have health care. This repairs a significant hole in the American Dream, supporting that which stresses, “all men are created equal.”

This accomplishment is especially important to Obama. Not only does he need this success to boost his approval ratings, but he also needs it to face an upcoming crisis. In a year a crisis will arise where every level of society will confront the government; at this time, Obama will need an ideally designed reform to reawaken the trust and hopes of the public towards government policy. In the past year, the Democratic Party has lost special elections in several states, including states where the Republican Party formed a strong boycott against the health reform bill. On top of that, the Tea Party rally is helping to gradually discredit Obama. In this situation, if the health reform bill had not passed, Obama would seem like an ineffective president, and it would be an uphill battle to pass any other reforms.

But Obama’s fighting spirit cannot be overestimated. He is not willing to let down the American people and he is resolutely working to end the broken health insurance system that only served the rich. However, this is not an easy task. His first challenge is to overcome America’s deep-rooted capitalist thinking as well as the business community’s huge emphasis on profit. Next, he has to respond to the stonewalling and criticisms of the opposition party and various interest groups, revising the bill until it is as workable as possible. After that, he still needs to persuade the American people to be caring and make sacrifices so that everyone can work together to patch up the missing piece of the American Dream.

When the bill finally passed the House of Representatives, it did not receive full support from the Democratic Party, demonstrating that the new system is still quite controversial and reaching a consensus will continue to be difficult. Furthermore, on the eve of the vote, the Obama administration was well aware that after winning this battle, the Democratic Party will lose a lot of middle class votes during the midterm elections in November. But compared to achieving an influential, long-lasting, historical reform, the outcome of one election is not so important.

Obama has said before that a government official’s job is not to get re-elected but to solve problems and help people. For this reason he would prefer to be a good president for one term instead of a mediocre president for two terms. Obama has always impressed people with his rhetoric, but after the health care reform bill successfully passed, he proved his ability to develop policy and showed that he has outstanding determination.

Of course, one should also give credit to his supporters in the Democratic Party who were actively helping to pass the bill. Many of them chose to stand with him on the front line, fighting for the biggest dream of this era.

The health reform bill has been called the biggest, most complex, and most controversial policy in modern history. After going through nonstop discussions with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance agencies and other industries as well as ten months of disputes with political opponents, the representatives of Congress finally compromised and drafted a bill. Obama has never given up due to a drop in approval ratings and he has not chosen to waste his time on small routine reforms to fulfill his responsibilities. Instead he has faced risks such as losing the next election and encountering public opinion backlashes by taking a step that half a century of former presidents were unable to make.

When looking at the political advantages and disadvantages, giving health care to 30 million disadvantaged groups and offending the sensibilities of countless people who want to keep the status quo is completely unreasonable. But if all politicians only calculated these short-term benefits, how could one ever develop a fair and humane society?

This margin of seven votes not only patched a big hole in America’s health insurance, but also gave a chance for a society focused on business to transform itself. Obama wants to spend nearly one trillion dollars over the next ten years to fix the wound in health care, and the people who would benefit are marginal groups. This point was the main point of controversy during the debate and remains a point of controversy even after the completion of the legislation.

First Obama broke racial barriers by being elected as president, then, by completing the health care reforms, he closed the gap between the rich and poor caused by the capitalist system. With his own strength he patched two giant holes in the American Dream. Thanks to these two accomplishments, it seems that he has already established a reputation for himself in history.”