OK, I’ll admit, I did not listen to that much of the “it’s not about me, but, hey, look at me, I’m Thee President” prime time campaign stop. I tuned out while driving to get dinner not long after I heard him say
- I’m the president, this MUST get done
- and then yammering on about the people needing protection from medicals and the insurance industry. I’m just wondering, what about protection from the government, when it comes to health issues?
After that, I had a hankering to listen to Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers for some reason.
Anyhow, Dr. Melissa Clouthier has a good time-line of the snoozefest. It seems that none of the journalist who are allowed to ask questions of Thee President manage to ask exactly how these plans will save money. We know
- Who: far left progressives/marxists/socialists/fascists
- What: fundamentally change the way Americans recieve health care services and insurance and supposedly reduce costs
- Where: America
- When: before people realize how insane this whole plan is
- How: ?????????? No one knows. No one is saying. Everything says this will cost way more, and the only way to reduce costs is by reducing payments from the goverment for Medicare and Medicaid, which means more and more doctors will opt out, and will not take the government option insurance, and, let’s not forget rationing.
Well, on to my betters. William Kristol had this to say
President Obama spent most of his press conference tonight denying what President Kennedy famously affirmed — that to govern is to choose. Obama promised us health care this is at once better and cheaper, with both more regulation and more freedom to choose, featuring an assurance that government won’t limit our care and a commitment to a government panel that will save money by restricting care.
The juvenile happy talk reached its peak with this presidential statement: “If there’s a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and works just as well, why not pay half price for the thing that’s going to make you well?†Now, there’s good idea. Why hasn’t anyone else thought of that? For this reform, we need to spend $1 trillion?
So on health care, I’d be surprised if the president changed any minds, because he never seriously tried to address criticism of his proposal on the merits.
He should get a quick bump, as many have pointed out, in his personal polls, but, doubtful for his health care plans. Sidebar: do you remember the media polling on Bush’s personal’s, versus his plans? Yeah, me neither.
First, Obama offered this example of how doctors make decisions under the current system instead of doing what’s in their patients’ best interests:
Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that’s out there. So if they’re looking and you come in and you’ve got a bad sore throat or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, “You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out.”
Does Obama really think pediatricians knowingly order unnecessary tonsillectomies in order to “make a lot more money?†Isn’t this a rather casual slander of a lot of doctors? And in any case, is this what’s driving up health-care costs? It’s probably as likely health-care costs are high because hospitals have too many vice presidents for government relations making $300,000 a year. But I wouldn’t think it appropriate for the president to single them out for attack either.
So, yet again, Thee President is insulting private citizens.
And, let’s not forget that he attacked a police officer, as well.
Others: Firedoglake, Washington Post, Pundit & Pundette, Flopping Aces, Gateway Pundit and Patterico’s Pontifications
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU
