On bus tour, Obama embraces "Obamacare," says "I do care"
President Barack Obama gestures during a town hall event at Lower Hannah's Bend Park in Cannon Falls, Minn., Monday, Aug. 15, 2011. / AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Updated: 3:28 p.m. ET
In the first stop on President Obama's week-long midwestern bus tour, the president appeared to attempt to take ownership of the term "Obamacare" - a phrase Republicans have been lobbing at him as a pejorative since the 2008 passage of his controversial health care bill - telling audience members, "I have no problem with people saying Obama cares."
"I do care," he pointed out. "If the other side wants to be the folks who don't care? That's fine with me."
Dressed casually in khakis a white button-down at the event in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Mr. Obama reiterated his argument that America's broken political system, rather than an inability to come up with solutions, was guiding the nation's economic woes.
"There is nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed," Mr. Obama said. "What's broken is our politics."
He continued: "What's been happening over the last six months - and a little bit longer than that if we're honest with ourselves - is that we have a political culture that doesn't seem willing to make the tough choices to move the country forward... The question is, can we break out of that pattern?"
The president pointed to a number of initiatives he has proposed to create jobs and spur economic growth - including renewing payroll tax cuts, building up infrastructure programs and giving tax breaks to companies that are hiring veterans - but said "Congress needs to move."
"There's no shortage of ideas to put people to work right now," he said. "What is needed is action on the part of Congress... a willingness to put the partisan games aside and say, we're going to do what's right for the country - not what we think is going to score some political points for the next election."
Mr. Obama also referenced a Monday morning opinion piece by Warren Buffett, who urged politicians in Washington to raise taxes on the "mega-rich" who have been "coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress."
"Solving our debt and deficit problems simply requires all of us to share in a little bit of the sacrifice... to do a little bit more to get this country back on track," he said. "And that's not too much to ask."
"We are fighting for the future of this country," he said.
Cannon Falls is the first of five small Midwestern towns Mr. Obama will visit this week. From there he'll travel to Iowa, and then to northwestern Illinois.
The itinerary will provide Mr. Obama with an audience that's likely to be receptive; in 2008, Mr. Obama won four of the five congressional districts he's visiting and only lost Minnesota's district by 1.5 points. Moreover, all five cities are faring relatively well economically.
Asked about the fact that Mr. Obama's bus tour will take him to areas with relatively low unemployment, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Monday that the president wants to observe economic strategies that are working and potentially apply them to the rest of the country.
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Yeah, we all know it's horse sh*t. We can recognize manure no matter which party shovels it. Still, you've got to admire good spin tactics when you see them. :-)
When the stock market dropped in 2008, President Obama said that he didn't watch the stock market - that it was like watching a political poll. It is nothing like a political poll. Millions of Americans lost life savings and their retirement in the drop. Either he was too dumb to understand the impact of the market dropping, or he simply did not care that Americans were losing their life savings. It is hard for me to believe that he would be so dumb as not to understand, so I have to believe that he does not care. His true love is massive socialist government programs, not the American people.
Hey Robbie, NOBODY lost their life savings EXCEPT idiots that ran scared and got out of the market.... but you wouldn't understand that because you can't blame Obama or the PPACA for these people's bad personal choices!
First, I guess you consider Obama's unconstitutional actions in Libya, not a war. Not that every other President since FDR didn't sidestep Congress, but I digress. Or perhaps you favor the Libya action. I count 3 wars and that ignores what the drug cartels are doing on the Southern border, and I'm sure many other examples. Massive spending cuts also includes the Defense Dept.--do we need to build schools in Afghanistan?
Second, you are also economically illiterate. In order to get more revenue into the Treasury, the economy must boom. You seem to buy into the simpleton argument that raising taxes will get more revenue into the Treasury. It won't--no matter how many times the Democrats say, "tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires". Taxation will kill jobs and decrease revenue just as the Luxury tax did in the early 90s, and virtually every other time this pea-brained logic is applied. And by the way, insightig, its the small businesses that create the lion's share of the jobs, which is why there aren't any. Powerful people such as the 4000 you site and powerful corporations can hide assets--I agree, close all the loopholes.
And the only thing the Dems cared about in 04 was booting Bush out. Your point?
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cbsnacilbuper, you're just displaying your ignorance for all to see, here.
Bush had already served two terms as President. He could not legally run again. So "the Dems" couldn't have cared less about "booting Bush out" because he was already gone.
I have done that too, Jaylah. It is best to admit you didn't read the comment correctly, that is something a liberal does...
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The other side (neos) care about you...if you make a million+/yr.
Otherwise, fuggetaboutit......
He passed it to satisfy his own ego, and for no other GOOD reason!
Mandate and all.
President Obama campaigned on trying to get affordable health care for ALL Americans. It was the reason many Americans voted for him. Most Americans were for that until the town hall meetings when the tea party, Sarah Palin and Republicans lied about it and accused the President of trying to kill Obama and spread misinformation. Oh, and guess what, Republicans are now trying to kill Grandma with the Paul Ryan bill.
Lets all go waaaay back to 1990. In 1990, we passed a 10% tax (with a President with an "R" after his name) on yachts, luxury airplanes, jewelry, furs, and expensive cars. It was touted as a fair, easy way to soak the rich without harming the working man. Hey Progressives, remember the luxury tax?
Well in less than 1 year, the largest U.S. yacht company, Viking Yachts, closed one of its two plants and laid off more than 1,100 of its 1,400-member workforce. And one-third of all yacht builders in the U.S. ceased production. The industry lost 7,600 jobs in the first year. Before the tax was finally repealed, 25,000 workers lost their jobs.
The U.S. went from exporting yachts to importing them. Viking Yachts shrank to just 68 employees. Congress estimated the tax would generate $5 million in revenue the first year. Reality didn't read the estimate... The Treasury lost $24 million in tax revenue because all the yacht makers either closed up or left the U.S. Congress repealed the tax in 1993--signed into law by a President with a "D" after his name.
History repeats itself. Only massive tax cuts AND massive spending cuts will get our economic engine to roar. Unfortunately, the American people have been hooked on handouts. I am left to conclude that Mr. Obama only means to harm the US economy by tax increases on "the wealthy", which by his definition are all of the small business owners that make the huge pre-tax income of $250k/year. Since he is so smart, a genius, he must be aware of the damage that his ideas of increasing "revenue" on these "millionaires and billionaires" will yield. The rhetoric makes me nauseous.