The State of the Union address as a political math test

Barack Obama had once hoped to be a conciliatory president who understood his adversaries, writes columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. It was clear that the Obama who addressed the nation Wednesday also understood that he confronts a Republican Party that sees unflinching opposition as a path to victory.

Syndicated columnist

WASHINGTON — There was an unexpected poignancy to the moment. Barack Obama, who once strode across the political landscape as a master of the persuasive arts, found himself needing to prove that mastery all over again.

In a single speech, his task was to: prevent the result of one special Senate election from calling into question his agenda or his power; respond to the discontent that poured forth from and after Massachusetts; re-establish his popular standing; and, in the process, both ignite the left and win back the center.

So, in his State of the Union address, Obama sought to pass a political math test by solving several simultaneous equations. He distanced himself from Wall Street but also reassured the businesses of Main Street. To independents, he insisted he still seeks a Washington that can work across partisan lines, but he also challenged Republicans to end their obstructive ways.

A speech he once hoped to give in celebration of a victory on health-care reform became instead a passionate plea to save his policy dream from political oblivion.

"By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance," Obama declared. "Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small-business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans. And neither should the people in this chamber."

Obama interpreted the popular mood less as a revolt against his party or himself than as a reflection of "deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years." He sought to show that while he had heard the protests, he was not reacting by abruptly changing what he stands for or where he would lead the nation.

His aides insist that there is no new Obama, that his latest populist-sounding economic proposals were foreshadowed by campaign promises. Indeed, his call for both parties "to work through our differences" and to turn away from "the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades" could have come from the Obama of 2004 or 2007.

But yes, aides insisted in briefings before the speech, the president has been tempered by combat. A calm, cerebral man can know when he has to fight.

Obama pledged to spend money to fix the economy now while pushing for longer-term efforts to cut the deficit. He continued to strike a populist tone in calling for tougher rules on banks and for rolling back a Supreme Court decision vastly expanding the influence of corporations in electoral politics. "I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests," he declared, "or worse, by foreign entities."

At the same time, Obama sought to grapple with public unhappiness over the economy, a particularly strong sentiment among working-class voters, who have most felt the lash of hard times. It was clear that if Obama did nothing else, he would identify himself with the word "jobs" and shout his determination to bring them back.

It was also obvious that he realizes his administration lost two critical battles last year: to define his stimulus plan and his health-care proposal. Polls show that Republicans' negative claims have stuck with voters, while the administration's arguments for the merits of both plans have not.

Obama made the case for his ideas again, but he also challenged Republicans to do more than criticize. "We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent — a belief that if you lose, I win," Obama said. "Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can." And Obama underscored the Democrats' determination to highlight the GOP's role in creating Washington's sour atmosphere. "Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics," he said, "but it's not leadership."

Barack Obama had once hoped to be a conciliatory president who understood his philosophical adversaries. He is still that man, and much of his speech described ideas, especially in education and energy, that could well win support across ideological lines.

But it was clear that the Obama who addressed the nation on Wednesday also understood that he confronts a Republican Party that sees unflinching opposition as blazing a path to victory. And he offered himself as a president ready to do battle. "We don't quit," he said. "I don't quit."

E.J. Dionne Jr.'s column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is ejdionne@washpost.com

Source:seattletimes.nwsource.com/

Health Reform Reboot?

After President Obama's State of the Union address Wednesday night, responses from the both sides of the political fence quickly followed. Many were waiting to see if the President would continue strong support for healthcare reform or back away from the issue. While not as urgent a priority as the economy, Obama did vow he would not walk away from the issue of healthcare and encouraged Congress to remain committed (See DM 14477).

Virginia Governor Bob McConnell delivered the official Republican response following the President's address. Concerning Obama's stance on health care reform, McConnell stated, "All Americans agree, we need a healthcare system that is affordable, accessible, and high quality. But most Americans do not want to turn over the best medical care system in the world to the federal government. Republicans in Congress have offered legislation to reform healthcare, without shifting Medicaid costs to the states, without cutting Medicare, and without raising your taxes. We will do that by implementing common sense reforms, like letting families and businesses buy health insurance policies across state lines, and ending frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals that drive up the cost of your healthcare."

On the Democratic Congressional front, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated, "President Obama engaged America in a conversation about what has worked, what needs improvement and how we can move forward together.... Jobs are still too few, healthcare is still too scarce and expensive, foreclosures are still too frequent and our energy future is still too treacherous....As the President expressed tonight, we are moving full speed ahead in bringing about the meaningful change that we were sent to Washington to deliver."

In the other chamber of Congress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gave an upbeat message, also mentioning a commitment to healthcare reform: "Tonight, President Obama presented a vision to the American people of a stronger union, a new foundation for prosperity, and a thriving middle class. Working together, we will adopt a bold agenda for our economic growth -- founded on good-paying jobs, strong schools, quality, affordable health insurance, and critical investments in small businesses and our clean energy future....Addressing a critical challenge for our economy and millions of households, Congress will pass health insurance reform that lowers costs for American families and small businesses, creates jobs, and ends the insurance companies' worst practices."

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chair of the crucial Senate Finance Committee, also followed with strong comments: "We will also work with President Obama to pass comprehensive healthcare reform that lifts the burden of skyrocketing healthcare costs off of American families, businesses and our federal deficits. Healthcare costs are growing far faster than our economy and, as a result, slowing our economic recovery. When a strong bill that lowers healthcare costs becomes law, businesses will be better able to hire and invest, families will be better able to protect their savings and the federal deficit will shrink. Health reform helps fulfill the promise to get our economy back on track. Health reform also represents a critical component in our effort to combat a decade of ballooning federal debt. Health reform will cut the deficit by more than $100 billion in the first ten years and by hundreds of billions more in the decade that follows. Reducing the federal debt is critical to a strong and vibrant economy, and we stand with President Obama in our shared commitment to tackle this challenge head on."

Others on the Republican side had high marks for some other messages in the President's economic outlook and his style, but were still uniformly against the current healthcare reform plan. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) was critical of how Obama addressed the issue: "...the number one issue that has been in the public debate has been healthcare....So, it took 45 minutes approximately for the President to reach that discussion and there was absolutely no nod to the voters of Massachusetts, Virginia or New Jersey. No recognition that his plan is very unpopular and all he said was, it is my fault for not explaining what I'm doing better because my way is right and Congress, you better act. Now, that is not the way to lead when you've got a country that's so dissatisfied."

Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) had his own suggestions for how reform should be approached. "On health care, the American people think we need to get back to the basics and start over," he said. "I think we ought to do a step-by-step approach. For example, we know by allowing insurance to be sold across state lines and forming risk pools across state lines that we can open accessibility to affordable health care for almost a third of the uninsured. We know that a third of the uninsured are really eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or SCHIP but they're not enrolled. The government ought to have an enrollment system so when they show up at healthcare facilities the coverage is there....I would rather start with a step-by-step approach that deals with the things we know we can do rather than a comprehensive and pervasive overhaul of a system that ends up destroying what 86 percent of Americans have, all for the 14 percent who don't."

Finally, the American Medical Association, which has with some reservations supported the healthcare reform legislation stated: "The AMA applauds President Obama for his ongoing commitment to health system reform and we second his call to 'Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.' Every American will benefit from health insurance market reforms that eliminate unfair business practices like denials for pre-existing medical conditions. It is a tragedy that millions of Americans live sicker and die younger solely because they lack health coverage -- every American should have affordable, high-quality health coverage. The pressures on our healthcare system have not abated; people are losing their health coverage along with their jobs and the rising cost of premiums is putting pressure on employers and familie

Source:dotmed.com/