Obama sways the country

It's one thing for uneducated fools to heckle congressmen at Town Hall meetings, or for birthers and deathers to exercise their right to free speech, regardless of how foolish it seems. But the halls of congress are a different setting, and the president of the United States deserves a bit of respect, regardless of how one feels about him.

Americans of all stripes argue that our country is different, that we are above the type of raucous government that is seen in other less developed countries. But the people of South Carolina have sent to congress Joe Wilson, who let his teabagging emotions get the best of him. Letting one's emotions get the best of you is no excuse for heckling the president during a joint session of congress.



If you want to let Rep. Wilson know how disappointed you are about his behavior, call him at 803-939-0041.

His opponent in next year's race is a former U. S. marine named Rob Miller , and his donation page was overloaded overnight, with contributions of over $100,000 since the outburst.

Now I know that I have readers who approve of the type of outbursts that Wilson made, but listen. This is the United States of America. That's all I have to say.

The president said this last night (read the speech here):

But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.

With plenty of examples of insurance company abuses(One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it. and Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne), there are still Republicans who want to do nothing.

Jeff Sessions: I think Republicans felt like it was an attack. Well, yeah. You (republicans) will continue to be attacked for your lies and misrepresentations. You all sat on your hands when the president declared (truthfully) that there are no death panels in the plan while the rest of the hall cheered that the truth was being told. sitting stone faced, does that mean that you believe the death panel garbage. The president didn't mention her by name, but we all know he meant Sarah Palin as the originator of that phrase. It's a lie. She's a liar. Republicans are fools for not distancing themselves from these lies.

And you (republicans and some democrats) will continue to be attacked about sending us to an unnecessary war and tax cuts for the rich and such. Get used to it.

Richard Shelby: I don't know who he persuaded tonight, but he didn't persuade me. Don't think too highly of yourself, Dick. He wasn't trying to persuade you. He was reaching out to reasonable people on both sides of the aisle.

Spencer Bachus: He's never going to sell that for no extra charge, the federal government is going to come in and create a host of new benefits and do it better and cheaper and more efficiently than the private sector. He laid it out for all to see. That you didn't understand it is not surprising.

This speech was arguably the best policy speech given in my lifetime by a sitting president. I was inspired and I was moved, especially by his reference to the letter from Ted Kennedy. Perfect, Mr. President.

Forget the republicans, democrats. Pass comprehensive health care reform with a public option. In a few years (or months), the republicans will look foolish for not coming along with the rest of America.

A CNN poll shows that the speech resulted in double digit increase in support for Obama's plan.

Sixty-seven percent of people questioned in the survey say the support Obama's health care reform proposals that the president outlined in his address, with 29 percent opposed. Those figures are almost identical to a poll conducted immediately after Bill Clinton's health care speech before Congress in September, 1993.

More than seven in ten say that Obama clearly stated his goals

Seven in 10 say that Obama's policies will move the country in the right direction, up 10 points from before the speech.

If you missed the speech, watch here.

Part one.



Part two



part three