Miami Herald Logo

Slipping in polls, Obama tries to shore up health overhaul | Miami Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Site Information
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Herald Store
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    • Sections
    • News
    • South Florida
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida Keys
    • Florida
    • Politics
    • Weird News
    • Weather
    • National & World
    • Colombia
    • National
    • World
    • Americas
    • Cuba
    • Guantánamo
    • Haiti
    • Venezuela
    • Local Issues
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • In Depth
    • Issues & Ideas
    • Traffic
    • Sections
    • Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Pro & College
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • College Sports
    • University of Miami
    • Florida International
    • University of Florida
    • Florida State University
    • More Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Auto Racing
    • Fighting
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Outdoors
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Youth Sports
    • Other Sports
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The Florida Influencer Series
    • Sections
    • Business
    • Business Monday
    • Banking
    • International Business
    • National Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate News
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Tourism & Cruises
    • Workplace
    • Business Plan Challenge
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Cindy Krischer Goodman
    • The Starting Gate
    • Work/Life Balancing Act
    • Movers
    • Sections
    • Living
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Wine
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dave Barry
    • Ana Veciana-Suarez
    • Flashback Miami
    • More Living
    • LGBTQ South Florida
    • Palette Magazine
    • Indulge Magazine
    • South Florida Album
    • Broward Album
    • Sections
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music & Nightlife
    • People
    • Performing Arts
    • Restaurants
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Jose Lambiet
    • Lesley Abravanel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Miami.com
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Sections
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Ed
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Jim Morin
    • Letters to the Editor
    • From Our Inbox
    • Speak Up
    • Submit a Letter
    • Meet the Editorial Board
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Blog Directory
    • Columnist Directory
    • Andres Oppenheimer
    • Carl Hiaasen
    • Leonard Pitts Jr.
    • Fabiola Santiago
    • Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Place an Obituary

    • Place an ad
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Apartments
    • Auctions/Sales
    • Automotive
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Employment
    • Garage Sales
    • Legals
    • Merchandise
    • Obituaries
    • Pets
    • Public Notices
    • Real Estate
    • Services
  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Real Estate
  • Mobile & Apps

  • el Nuevo Herald
  • Miami.com
  • Indulge

Latest News

Slipping in polls, Obama tries to shore up health overhaul

Steven Thomma and David Lightman

    ORDER REPRINT →

July 22, 2009 07:23 PM

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Wednesday tried hard to create momentum for his ailing health care overhaul plan, offering a lengthy, methodical — and at times defensive — explanation of why Americans should embrace his changes.

Obama, whose plan has been stymied by moderate Democrats who worry about higher taxes and Republicans who paint the effort as a big government takeover of health care, told the nation in a prime time news conference that the initiative is "central" to his effort to rebuild the economy "stronger than before."

Obama's latest health care push came as his popularity has been slipping. In a July 9-13 Ipsos-McClatchy poll, 57 percent said they approved of the job Obama was doing, a 7-point drop from early June and the lowest of his presidency.

Obama was intent on explaining his push for health care, and virtually every question at the 55-minute news conference dealt with that subject.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

In response to a question from McClatchy, he said that as a symbolic gesture he'd use any public option that became law.

"Not only the public option, but the insurance regulation that we want to put in place will largely match up with what members of Congress are getting through the federal employee plan," Obama said. "That's a good example of what we're trying to build for the American people."

He urged Americans to be patient, saying "We just can't afford what we're doing right now," and he appeared to be irritated by critics who say the nation can't afford the change.

"Everybody who's out there who has been ginned up about this idea that the Obama administration wants to spend and spend and spend, the fact of the matter is, is that we inherited an enormous deficit, enormous long-term debt projections," he said.

Obama opened his news conference by trying to reassure viewers "we have been able to pull our economy back from the brink."

Health care was most on his mind, however. With all the political doomsayers circling, Obama said, "Many Americans may be wondering, 'What's in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?'

"Tonight," the president said, "I want to answer those questions."

He listed a host of areas where the White House and key lawmakers have what Obama called "rough agreement."

They want to keep government out of health care decisions, "giving you the option to keep your insurance if you're happy with it," Obama said.

Any new plan "will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick," he explained. "It will give you the security of knowing that if you lose your job, move, or change your job, you will still be able to have coverage.

"It will limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay for your medical costs out of your own pocket. And it will cover preventive care like check-ups and mammograms that save lives and money."

Small businesses and the uninsured will be able to choose coverage through "exchanges," or marketplaces that are designed to promote competition. Additionally, no company will be permitted to deny anyone coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

What's stifled progress on the legislation, though, is cost and the role of the government. Obama offered assurance to skeptics, saying he wouldn't buy any proposal that increased the federal deficit.

"It will be paid for," Obama pledged. "Already, we have estimated that two-thirds of the cost of reform can be paid for by reallocating money that is simply being wasted in federal health care programs."

Obama recalled that he wanted to limit itemized deductions for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers, a plan that went nowhere at the Capitol.

"I continue to think my idea's the best one, but I'm not foreclosing some of these other ideas," he said. One Democratic proposal would impose surcharges on the wealthiest Americans.

Obama reiterated his oft-stated pledge that the middle class wouldn't see higher taxes to pay for health care. While not endorsing a specific version of the surcharge, he said, "that meets my principle that it's not being shouldered by families who are already having a tough time."

He said that while there'd be changes in the health care delivery system, they'd be for the better.

"And the government already is making some of these decisions. More importantly, insurance companies right now are making those decisions," he said. "And part of what we want to do is to make sure that those decisions are being made by doctors and medical experts based on evidence, based on what works."

He's got a rough fight ahead in convincing Congress that he can pay for health care without hurting the middle class, however. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the current House of Representatives proposal would add $239 billion to the already-record federal deficit over the next 10 years.

Moderate-to-conservative House Democrats, or "Blue Dogs," found that figure daunting and want more spending cuts before they'll agree to anything.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday that she's optimistic an agreement will be reached. "Some of the issues that the Blue Dogs have put forth are issues that we are all concerned about," she said.

"We are making progress," she added, "and I have no question that we have the votes on the floor of the House to pass this legislation."

Obama had said that he wants the Senate and House to pass health care legislation before they leave for their summer recesses. The House is scheduled to leave July 31; the Senate a week later.

Even those deadlines are now in doubt, however, and Obama said Wednesday "we will do it this year."

Why the rush, he was asked. "I'm rushed because I get letters every day from families that are being clobbered by health care costs," he explained.

He'd tie himself to a specific deadline, however. "Now I do think it's important to get this right, and if, at the end of the day, I do not yet see that we have it right, then I'm not going to sign a bill that, for example, adds to our deficit," he said.

The House has a 256 to 178 Democratic majority, but the Senate needs 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles — a tougher task. Also, Republicans in both the House and Senate are stoking anger and concern, arguing that they Democrats' plans would not only raise people's taxes, but also cost them their jobs.

"As Americans look up today, what they see is a big government takeover of health care that's on the table and a plan that frankly, they don't support," said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio.

Interest groups have mobilized their armies on Capitol Hill to create doubts about whether government should be in the health care business.

In his remarks, Obama took on the critics.

"I understand how easy it is for this town to become consumed in the game of politics — to turn every issue into a running tally of who's up and who's down," he said.

He also said that health care shouldn't be seen as a test of his political strength.

"This isn't about me," Obama said. "I have great health insurance, and so does every Member of Congress. This debate is about the letters I read when I sit in the Oval Office every day, and the stories I hear at town hall meetings. . . . This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to wait any longer for reform. They are counting on us to get this done."

(William Douglas contributed to this article.)

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Rural lawmaker feels competing pressures in health debate

Conservative Democrats threaten to block health bill

Poll: Canadians like their health care despite grumbles

Poll:Americans split on health care as Obama's approval sinks

Democrats unsure health care deadline can be met

Obama moves to reassure doubters on health plan's cost

Group asks Justice Department to protect abortion clinics

Related stories from Miami Herald

latest-news

Rural lawmaker feels competing pressures in health debate

July 22, 2009 03:59 PM

  Comments  

Videos

Military leaders meet to discuss U.S.-Colombia defense cooperation

Estefan and Ana Navarro conga line

View More Video

Trending Stories

Why were former members of the U.S. military driving around Haiti heavily armed?

February 19, 2019 07:49 PM

Cuts are coming for Dolphins’ receivers, but there’s one their new coach raves about

February 19, 2019 12:31 PM

Here’s one pricey player that the Miami Dolphins’ new offensive line coach wants back

February 19, 2019 04:54 PM

Haiti’s economic lifeline has taken a hit. Expedia just made it worse.

February 19, 2019 06:04 PM

Rating Reggie McKenzie’s Oakland drafts a preview of what he can bring to Miami Dolphins

February 19, 2019 12:59 AM

Read Next

No matter how season ends for Heat, Dwyane Wade’s farewell has been a personal triumph

Greg Cote

No matter how season ends for Heat, Dwyane Wade’s farewell has been a personal triumph

By Greg Cote

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 20, 2019 01:24 PM

No matter how this season ends for the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade’s “Last Dance” farewell season has a victory lap — and a lesson for all athletes on how to retire on your own terms and timetable.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Kyler Murray available to Miami at No. 13 overall would be great for multiple reasons

Armando Salguero

Kyler Murray available to Miami at No. 13 overall would be great for multiple reasons

February 20, 2019 12:34 AM
Miami dancers donate talents for UNICEF

Performing Arts

Miami dancers donate talents for UNICEF

February 20, 2019 10:15 AM
Civic leader and philanthropist Betty Chapman, widow of Miami media giant, dies at 98

Local Obituaries

Civic leader and philanthropist Betty Chapman, widow of Miami media giant, dies at 98

February 20, 2019 11:22 AM
Put pressure on Mexico to recognize Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president

Andres Oppenheimer

Put pressure on Mexico to recognize Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president

February 20, 2019 02:17 PM
The Miami Marlins are getting visual as they help players improve on fundamentals

Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are getting visual as they help players improve on fundamentals

February 20, 2019 02:16 PM
Here’s what UM thinks about key second-year players, with spring ball a month away

Barry Jackson

Here’s what UM thinks about key second-year players, with spring ball a month away

February 20, 2019 02:08 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Miami Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Public Insight Network
  • Reader Panel
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Media Kit
  • Commercial Printing
  • Public Notices
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story