A Turning Point For Obama

CTtransplant

Keep up the pressure until a health care bill is signed !
Do not forget the marches on September 13th!!!
http://marchforhealthcare.com/events/
If not now, when? If not us, who?

President Obama showed the nation who he is and what he believes in last night.
His speech to a joint session of Congress wasn't the partisan declaration of war that many of his fellow Democrats had been yearning for, but it was nevertheless a bold and confident declaration of basic principles, and a powerful and emotional attempt to recapture the public debate from the unhinged zealots who dominated it during August.
What is now more obvious than ever is that Obama is not a traditional liberal. Yes, he shares a lot of liberal values -- and he expressed that more clearly and passionately last night than perhaps ever before -- but when push comes to shove, he cares more about finding common ground than pretty much anything else. Despite all the calls to issue an ultimatum about the public option -- which seems absolutely critical to achieving fundamental change -- Obama simply will not draw lines in the sand. He still wants to get as many people into the tent as possible.
The speech did mark a turning point, however. The president we saw last night was not the high-minded pushover we'd seen so much of lately. He was inspirational, forceful -- presidential. The ending of his speech was one for the ages:
We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it's hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history's test. Because that is who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.
And to his great credit, Obama robustly addressed what had been the biggest flaw of his strategy so far. The problem with his consensus-building, community-organizer approach to making policy -- whether you like it or not -- is that it simply doesn't work if there isn't even an agreement about basic facts, or if some of the people in the room aren't negotiating in good faith. And on this topic, Obama came out fighting:
Some of people's concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but by prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Now, such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple. LinkHere