September 7, 2009 3:22 PM

Obama Supports Public Option in Speech

By
Alex Sundby
Topics
Health Care
(CBS)
Although President Obama spoke at the AFL-CIO's annual Labor Day picnic — "America's biggest," the president said — and was broadcast on the cable news channels, some of his remarks might have directed at one senator.

While Mr. Obama is expected to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday to lay out his plan to reform the nation's health-care system, the president said Monday he hoped for "a marketplace" for health insurance that would "continue to hold down costs."

"I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices will help," Mr. Obama said.

Those comments could have been directed at Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who has indicated she would support a government-sponsored option that would be "triggered" if private insurers do not meet certain standards.

Mr. Obama asked the friendly audience to tune in Wednesday night to see him deliver his plan in full, but that didn't stop him from talking about health care in broader terms.

"I want a health-insurance system that works well for the American people as it does for the insurance industry," Mr. Obama said. "They should be free to make a profit, but they also have to be fair."

The president also addressed critics who have attacked his reform campaign.

"I've got a question for all of those folks," Mr. Obama said. "What are you going to do? What's your answer? What's your solution? And you know what? They don't have one. … Their answer is to do nothing, and we know what that future looks like."

And Mr. Obama didn't just address those who criticize him on health care. Those who attacked his plans to address the nation's schoolchildren Tuesday were also included in his speech.

"Yes, I'm going to have something to say tomorrow to our children," Mr. Obama said, "tell them to stay in school and work hard because that's the right message to send."

The White House even released Mr. Obama's prepared remarks Monday following reports that some parents would rather keep their children home from school than let them hear the president's message.

While the speech launched the president's weeklong push to turn the tide in his favor for action on health care, the event had the feel of a rally from Mr. Obama's campaign last year, reports CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller.

Marking his 231st day in office, Mr. Obama defended the stimulus package his administration passed earlier this year and introduced his new senior adviser on manufacturing. He highlighted projects the stimulus package delivered to Ohio and spoke to Buckeye State residents like they were old friends, even calling on his audience to help him push Congress to pass health-reform legislation.

"Ohio, it's time to act," Mr. Obama said. "Let's get this thing done."

  • Alex Sundby

    Alex Sundby is an associate news editor for CBSNews.com

Add a Comment See all 123 Comments
by cadesl September 19, 2009 12:21 PM EDT
I thought OUR fathers fought for our freedom and the first amendment freedom of WHAT???? and democracy that we have a right to vote for what is right and what is wrong. Well our President is not doing this what he is doing is shoving it down our throats and we have to accept this idiocy? I do not agree with the President of the United States of America, nor anyone that jumps on his bandwagon. Mr President where is your birth certificate....I have mine do you have yours?????
This issue with the insurance and all President Obama is doing to put the future more at risk. Unless the GOVERNMENT (senators-governors-and so forth) is ready to accept this new so called insurance as their insurance than don't ask the people to accept it!
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by mikeoliphant September 8, 2009 5:10 PM EDT
If you watch cable news at all, you've seen the ads for ?health care reform?, now being called ?health insurance reform?. ?It is an interesting subtle switch in language?. Mike Oliphant runs a small Utah health insurance website http://www.BenefitsManager.net and http://www.dentalinsuranceutah.net whom deals with people day to day struggling to find affordable coverage. ?I think it?s important to not understate the huge difference in meaning between ?health insurance reform? and ?health care reform?. Let?s not lose focus on the need to reform a broken health care system which includes not only health insurance carriers but also billing practices of medical providers. Why isn?t TORT reform part of the national discussion? Studies show that alone could lower costs by 15% for both the medical professionals and health insurance carriers (Humana). Perhaps the federal government should take notice of what Utah has accomplished with first step of health insurance reform and promises for reform in the medical provider arena. Several interesting changes took place with the passage of H.B. 188. House Speaker Clark has championed the need for change while recognizing the experience of the private health insurance sector. To see more about this visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/utah_health_insurance/health_care_reform/prweb2614544.htm
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by lmacanal September 8, 2009 12:21 PM EDT
Yes I have my own recommendation sir, it's called "Single Payer".
Reply to this comment
by pasmalltown September 8, 2009 11:10 AM EDT
by speakinup23 September 8, 2009 9:42 AM EDT
Hey Woe - once again you liberals don't know squat.

"You just run off at the mouth, saying whatever you please, as long as it supports your position."
_________________________

Care to read Pat Buchanan's position on the state of the GOP?
http://townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2009/01/20/is_gop_still_a_national_party?page=1

And with regard to the party in power over the last 25 years, please visit:
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm

After you do, you might want to reconsider you're comments earlier, like:
"Kiss you entitlement hopes away, stooge"
"Who has had the control of Congress for the majority of the last 25 years ?"
"Yeah - bring on the vote !"

"Hey Woe - once again you liberals don't know squat.
You just run off at the mouth, saying whatever you please, as long as it supports your position."
"Pathetic, simply pathetic"

The last two statements, in your own words, seem to fit you better than the liberal posters you trying to debunk, flame on conservative.
Reply to this comment
by rocketjl September 8, 2009 10:26 AM EDT
Uprising Radio, April 2008

Van Jones; "Right after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat if the civil rights leaders had jumped out and said, 'OK now we want reparations for slavery, we want redistribution of all the wealth, and we want to legalize mixed marriages.' If we'd come out with a maximum program the very next day, they'd been laughed at. Instead they came out with a very minimum. 'We just want to integrate these buses.'

"But, inside that minimum demand was a very radical kernel that eventually meant that from 1964 to 1968 complete revolution was on the table for this country. And, I think that this green movement has to pursue those same steps and stages. Right now we say we want to move from suicidal gray capitalism to something eco-capitalism where at least we're not fast-tracking the destruction of the whole planet. Will that be enough? No, it won't be enough. We want to go beyond the systems of exploitation and oppression altogether. But, that's a process and I think that's what's great about the movement that is beginning to emerge is that the crisis is so severe in terms of joblessness, violence and now ecological threats that people are willing to be both pragmatic and visionary. So the green economy will start off as a small subset and we are going to push it and push it and push it until it becomes the engine for transforming the whole society."
Van Jones describes exactly how Ronald Reagan said health care reform would be used for eventual government expansion. Buyer beware.
Reply to this comment
by hungry1968-16 September 8, 2009 9:42 AM EDT
by speakinup23 September 8, 2009 9:35 AM EDT
Yup - you are correct about one thing genC, we are attacking the Socialist that has ALREADY created more deficit than Bush did in 8 years.







Just the fact that you have to lie constantly and continually, should tell you something.



By the way, where's that list of "successful conservative policies" that I asked you for earlier?

Gave up looking because you couldn't find ANY of them?
Reply to this comment
by hungry1968-16 September 8, 2009 9:39 AM EDT
by speakinup23 September 8, 2009 9:32 AM EDT
Got news for you hungry - most polls are getting closer to Rasmussen's findings. Not further away.

Fox News has the most viewers of all news agencies.


You simply can't accept the truth.

Oh well, there will always be idiots.





The "truth"?

How about some more of those pesky "facts" to prove the point?


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

Obama job approval 8/13 - 8/31:


CNN/Opinion Research -- 53

Ipsos-McClatchy -- 56

CBS News -- 56

Pew Research -- 52

Gallup -- 54

Rasmussen Reports -- 48

NBC News -- 51

ABC News/Wash Post -- 57





Hmmm, now which one is out of place, and vastly different from the others?
Reply to this comment
by hungry1968-16 September 8, 2009 9:33 AM EDT
by speakinup23 September 8, 2009 9:25 AM EDT

Now hungry believes Rasmussen is part of a VAST conspiracy.

Hey idiot, Rasmussen is quoted by ALL news agencies.







Rasmussen is quoted by Fox News, and that's pretty much it.

Everyone in the world knows that he's a conservative, and his polls just prove that fact.

Did you EVER happen to notice that HIS polls, are ALWAYS 3% - 10% MORE CONSERVATIVE than ALL OTHER POLLS? (Or are you implying that the several hundred other pollsters are all collectively "wrong"?)

It's not a "conspiracy". He's just another lying conservative.
Reply to this comment
by hungry1968-16 September 8, 2009 9:25 AM EDT
by speakinup23 September 8, 2009 9:12 AM EDT
hey idiot.... the following are from Rasmussen polls:







Scott Rasmussen?

The Fox News contributor and pollster of choice, Weekly Standard columnist, Bush re-election campaign consultant, and Mike Huckabee campaign adviser?

The guy who polls heavily republican areas? The guy that calls ONLY "land line" phones for his polls, while most young (read: progressive liberals) don't own "land lines" and rely solely on cell phones. The guy that reports on "strongly approve" or "strongly disapprove", while ignoring the 40% of the poll that fell in the middle?

Yeah - he's "fair and balanced", isn't he?
Reply to this comment
by hungry1968-16 September 8, 2009 9:27 AM EDT
By the way, just because Fox News says that "Rasmussen is the most accurate pollster", doesn't mean that "Rasmussen ACTUALLY IS the most accurate pollster". It just mean that Fox News is lying again.
by hungry1968-16 September 8, 2009 9:21 AM EDT
by speakinup23 September 8, 2009 9:02 AM EDT
uh, hungry, if the problem has been brewing for 25 years - care to explain how it would be one that the Republicans would be at fault ?

Who has had the control of Congress for the majority of the last 25 years ?






Who's had control of the White House for the majority of the last 40 years?

Who had COMPLETE CONTROL of Washington from 2001 - 2007, when health insurance costs were EXPLODING out of control?

Too bad they were so distracted by their unnecessary war in Iraq, and couldn't focus on America's problems because of it, huh?
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