Obama health care speech: September 9, 2009

Barack Obama will be giving a healthcare speech on September 9, 2009 and either we'll be covering it live, or you will by leaving comments. If you'll be watching the speech, please leave a comment pointing out the things he's lied or misled about or the things he doesn't mention. A transcript of the speech will be posted here as soon as it's available.

UPDATE: You can watch this online at whitehouse.gov/live
I'm going to leave watching it up to you, please leave a comment.

UPDATE 2: I know Obama isn't telling the whole truth, but I'm not an expert on these matters so I don't know exactly how he's misleading. I'm going to do the unthinkable and note that Althouse has an open thread althouse.blogspot . com/2009/09/watching-obamas-speech.html. The full prepared remarks are here.

Note that he's playing the McCain card, with the guy who might have taken a fall beaming over being shouted out:

This was a good idea when Senator John McCain proposed it in the campaign, it's a good idea now, and we should embrace it.

Note also that Obama is - at least in this speech - not misleading about the numbers of those who are uninsured:

if you're one of the tens of millions of Americans who don't currently have health insurance

In the past, Obama has falsely claimed that 47 million "Americans" were uninsured, when in fact millions of that number are citizens of other countries.

UPDATE 3: What is this, Parliament? When Obama falsely stated that illegal aliens wouldn't be able to get coverage, at least a few people shouted something indicating he was lying, and at least one loud shout threw him for a loop.

UPDATE 4: If you're an opponent of ObamaCare, could I ask you to do me a favor? Here are two questions that could be used to quash ObamaCare. Please contact groups that go to townhalls (like the tea partiers) and suggest that they find someone who's familiar with asking questions (such as a trial lawyer) and have that person ask politicians those questions. You don't have to do much: just find a local tea party group and suggest they press politicians on those questions.

UPDATE 5: The attached video features Obama being heckled by Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who shouts out to Obama "you lie!" when, well, Obama lies about illegal aliens being able to get coverage. Unfortunately, Wilson has now apologized:

"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility."

Normally, this site opposes heckling and the like, but in this case it was a bit of a Hail Mary pass.

1/5/12 UPDATE: I replaced the video that was here (Youtube ID ejaBTvoeNq0) with another copy.

1/10/12 UPDATE: That video (foOioaQf-c8) was deleted too, so I added yet another copy.

Comments

Don't plan on paying attention.

Ditto, eh. The lines are already drawn. The public recognized a lemon when they saw one, and a lie when they heard it, so there's no interest in hearing one more teleprompter speech promising a 'free unicorn with every purchase!' Or worse, to hear his associates threaten to take the money out of our bank accounts and buy the car whether we want it or not. These shady used car, sham-wow salesmen have lost their audience for good. Now the only thing on our minds is 'where's the exit and how do I get away from these guys'?

go Obama go!!!!!! We need this yuo pricks! Its all or nothing... http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090909/ts_usnews/4conundrumsthatimpedehealthcarereform Read it you stupid morons and be educated before you talk.

The public is deeply opposed to this smithers. No amount of snake oil pitching is going to change that. There will be no death panels, no public option, no standing in line like the DMV to see a doctor. Take your red diaper communist diktat somewhere else, you pussified excuse for an American.

Pricks? Morons? Because most people believe signing a contract without reading it is unwise? Honored to be a moron in that case. OK troll, put down the kool-aid and defend your link... Highly suspect when the first sentence is a gross and unsupported generalization. 'Everybody agrees something is wrong.' What is this 'something' and are we to infer from your enlightening link that only Obama can fix whatever 'it' is? And does this 'everybody' also have any idea what is wrong? Is there consensus that its the costs, the coverage, government regulation, irresponsible voters, lawyers, insurance companies, consumers, bureaucrats or global warming that 'everybody' agrees is wrong? Does that lead ipso facto to a conclusion that the only solution of single payor, or the camels nose in the tent of the government option, is our only choice? A reasonable approach to legislation would be to ask whether a problem exists, and if it does...what caused it, then decide what the best means of addressing it is, and finally craft legislation to accomplish that end. The Obama, Reid, Pelosi strategy is ass-backwards...demanding their plan be passed without reading it, without deliberations, and dismissing anyone who asks questions about this unwise approach, as being a Nazi. Yes, health care is a large part of the economy. But that is not an argument. And it fails to identify a problem, just as it fails to support a leap of logic that a government takeover...single payor...is either a necessary or desirable solution. Is the problem one of spiraling costs due to waste, fraud and corruption as the government would lead you to believe? What if government involvement in health care is THE REASON that all the waste, fraud and corruption exists? Will we then trust Daschle, Frank, Dodd, Pelosi, Raines, and Rangel to investigate themselves and correct the problem? "The foremost problem with health care is its cost". So...have we identified the source of the costs? Is it really fraud? Or is it trial lawyers? Or did congress cause the problem with the millions of pages of regulation they have imposed on the industry? Something else? If all we want to do is pay for the poor to get free care, then start with tort reform. More than enough money in the trial lawyers pockets to pay for it, with money left over. And with no need to dismantle everyone else's health care. So why won't Obama make that the priority over single payor? Why won't they even talk about it? Power and control. http://www.physiciansforreform.org/index.php?id=35 Rationing? "Yet the system already denies care, and does so ruthlessly." If you think HMO's are ruthless, wait till you try to appeal your claim to a D.C. bureaucrat. "So we will either wreck or save the entire system all at once." Sorry, putting down all our chips at once, playing Las Vegas with 1/6th of the U.S. economy and our lives to boot, based upon a stack of paper no one has read, is a d

Hey! Interwebs ate my post :) should end with "...based upon a stack of paper no one has read, is a deal breaker. Start over.

yep. this bill is going down, just like the messiah's poll numbers. your boy president is having his head handed to him, and I love every minute of it.

New contest- How many lies were in 'The Ones' speech tonight? All he has managed to do is to expose himself as an utter incompetent and fraud.

Who are you guys? Why wouldn't you want all Americans to have access to health care? Many of the people uninsured are your friends and neighbors or thier kids because the company they work for has a policy that doesn't cover dependents. What does stuff like that say about us Americans? I'd kinda like to sit down and listen to all the ideas and use the best of them to get basic coverage for all Americans. Now that's patriotic! I sorta like my fellow Americans and their kids and I don't want them fighting insurance companies alone over basic health care. Dang, you guys are selfish and unpatriotic.

As I said before, I think the point about illegals is not so powerful because they get many services (for free) now, and I've not seen anything suggesting that will change. So in essence even if they are not covered by some sort of federal 'reform', they're still 'covered'. But when Obama claims illegals won't benefit from healthcare reform, or be able to 'get coverage', or whatever, implying that he does not think they ought to, someone should ask him why an amendment to specifically prohibit that was voted down by democrats, and whether he thinks that was wrong and it ought to be brought back and put into the bill.

_I sorta like my fellow Americans and their kids and I don't want them fighting insurance companies alone over basic health care._ Here's a suggestion for you: pick out any uninsured person or family you like, and then purchase health insurance for them. Question: What is stopping you from doing that? Then you can help setup a web site where the uninsured can be profiled, and you can collect donations to help pay for their health insurance. This will allow you and others to put your money where your convictions are, so to speak.

The health care debate is really about demographics [1] Someone should ask Al Franken how that\'s supposed to work in the long run. [2] You can say the same thing about any form of subsidized national health insurance:... [3] Food for thought...

Links:
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[1] mangans.blogspot.com/2009/08/health-care-debate-is-really-about.html
[2] www.haloscan.com/comments/lonewackodotcom/9459/#478527
[3] brucekrasting.blogspot.com/2009/09/sstf-shocker-6b-august-deficit.html?showComment=1252448217397#c4942185525080195496

For the record, I also favor some sort of 'reform' that will reduce costs [1] (which are FAR TOO HIGH per capita when compared to other western countries with comparable living standards, life expectancies, etc) and cover everyone with some form of health insurance.

Links:
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[1] www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0934556.html

24ahead, You do realize that the proposed house bill has specific language denying health care coverage for illegal aliens, right?

The regulars of this page are all selfish bastards. If the bill says it wonÂ’t cover illegal aliens, why the hell is everybody so caught up on that. CanÂ’t you hold your bitching until it starts to happen? Buying someone full healthcare coverage is expensive for someone to do by themselves. ThatÂ’s why it would be a joint effort. I went to Mexico 2 years ago for my vacation. While I was down there I fell of a dune buggy and broke my arm. They patched me up there for 100 dollars. That would not even cover the medication here. IÂ’m not saying to extend coverage to all illegals based on that, but my question is what are they doing to keep costs down that we can profit from. For one, medicine is cheap down there, much more than here. Unnecessary care by a physician to cover his ass from law suits makes up for 30% of healthcare costs. This is another place were we can improve. IÂ’m tired of negativity instead of action. Spice is right, who are you fighting for. Insurance companies, doctors, or those AMERICANS which are not as fortunate as you to have a job that covers them. Children die everyday from preventable causes. Stop thinking about yourselves and think of a greater country for all of us.

Obama Health Plan to Cover 12 Million Illegals [1] _Democrats...successfully defeated a Republican-backed amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving government-subsidized health care under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Barack Obama...The House Ways and Means Committee nixed the Heller amendment by a 26-to-15 vote along straight party lines,..._ One might ask why, if they really do not intend for illegals to participate, Democrats did not want to try to make sure they don't by voting for the Heller amendment? About the Heller amendment: [2] _Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced an amendment that would use two citizenship status verification systems, the Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) and Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) programs, to establish an individualÂ’s eligibility to obtain the billÂ’s proposed affordability credits or enroll in the public insurance option. Both programs are currently used to determine citizenship status and eligibility for public assistance programs._ Seems straightforward enough. From the Congressional Research Service: [3] _Under H.R. 3200, a "Health Insurance Exchange" would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option. The Exchange would not be an insurer; it would provide eligible individuals and small businesses with access to insurersÂ’ plans, including the public option, in a comparable way....H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens -- whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently -- participating in the Exchange._ AUGUST 25, 2009 We'll see.

Links:
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[1] www.newsmax.com/headlines/health_care_obama/2009/07/19/237484.html
[2] blog.heritage.org/2009/08/03/the-house-health-bill-the-house-ways-and-means-amendments/
[3] www.cis.org/articles/2009/CRS_Report_on_HR3200.pdf

_The regulars of this page are all selfish bastards._ Fuck off, you dumb ass cretin.

I'm a cretin and a troll? I'm not a selfish bastard that would rather see millions of americans suffer without affordable healthcare!!! You my friend are a bitch and a prick. I wish that these changes that WILL pass affect your family for the better. Maybe it can change your bitch attitude and help you be part of the solution, not the problem. By the way, the proposed bill denies coverage to illegal aliens stupid.

"Who are you guys? Why wouldn't you want all Americans to have access to health care" I also want a home in Palm Beach. A credit card with no limit.And a bank account to match it! While yur at it...how about 5 cars, make one a lamborghini. And oh yeah, please, please, give the same to ALL my relatives-(there are a bunch!) Thanks! You are a true friend to the people! "If the bill says it wonÂ’t cover illegal aliens, why the hell is everybody so caught up on that. " Hey look everybody, There is at least one person left in this country who believes everything he reads!!!! How PRECIOUS!!!!

Of course the bill does not explicitly say that illegals can participate. But as I showed, Democrats voted down an amendment that would require verification of eligibility. Why? Without that, it will be virtually impossible to prevent illegals from obtaining "the billÂ’s proposed affordability credits", and they will almost certainly be able to "enroll in the public insurance option", i.e. using those credits. In other words, given all the counterfeit documents etc out there, it's absolutely certain that illegals will be able to purchase subsidized ("affordability credits") health insurance via the public option. I didn't call you a troll, I called you a cretin. Which you are. And about as intellectually dishonest as they come.

Not to mention that The One plans to give amnesty to MILLIONS of lawbreakers-(especially gangbangers!)....Then as "citizens" they will opt in......Do you get it..You cretinous blob of extraneous material? Oh No probably not because like many politicians you cannot see beyond the end of your nose.

Haha! Somebody just got taken out to the intellectual woodshed for a spanking! Keep it up, comrades. The truth will prevail. People are fed up, and the Obots are one delusional bunch of cretins.

Mary is great, all of you are fools who love other countrties and need the USA under a third world ruler.

Wow. Spend a day at work and look what happens. Welcome, to a better class of newbies. Much better. Less spittle, more thoughtful input. "Why wouldn't you want all Americans to have access to health care?" The law already requires public hospitals to provide emergency care to all who enter, regardless of ability to pay. Or citizenship status. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/EMTALA/01_overview.asp "I'd kinda like to sit down and listen to all the ideas and use the best of them to get basic coverage for all Americans. Now that's patriotic! I sorta like my fellow Americans and their kids and I don't want them fighting insurance companies alone over basic health care" Know what? Great idea. Think Reid and Pelosi would be willing to look at some of those other ideas? Think our fellow Americans will fare any better when they trade fighting with the insurance company bureaucrats and start fighting with federal bureaucrats? Good luck with that. "...medicine is cheap down there, much more than here. Unnecessary care by a physician to cover his ass from law suits makes up for 30% of health care costs. This is another place were we can improve." Very good questions. Now just who was involved in that backroom deal to keep medicine prices high? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/internal-memo-confirms-bi_n_258285.html Unnecessary care and lawsuits?? Yes! Nail...head. So why are all the answers to your questions nowhere to be found in H.R. 3200? Investigate and report back, please.

Yes Edward is right,.. read his post. We all know about Nancy ( make a deal for me ) pelosi she is like many PEOPLE of her kind she came from a rich family that came here with nothing and her father is known to have been a made guy if you know what i mean.

"You do realize that the proposed house bill has specific language denying health care coverage for illegal aliens, right? Jerry S " You do realize that there are laws on the books that forbid companies from hiring illegal aliens, right? Then why are millions of illegal aliens holding jobs in the US? LACK OF INFORCMENT AND VERIFICATION!!!