Obama's First Fifteen Days

Today, on day 15 of his presidency, Barack Obama fulfills another campaign promise and signs the State Children's Health Insurance Program bill. This tri-partisan triumph, supported by Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and nonpartisan groups from the AARP to the YWCA, will provide health coverage for 11 million American children, and a down payment on the promise of universal health care. Coming a day after Tom Daschle's sad but honorable withdrawal as HHS Secretary, this historic health care development is a reminder that despite the drama, President Obama is able to deliver the change he promised.

While President Obama has stumbled, he has not fallen. He set out lofty goals for himself - progressive economics and post-partisanship; speed and deliberation; ethics and experience - that sometimes are at odds with each other, but this has not stopped him from pushing an economic recovery package, assembling over 2/3 of his cabinet, and drawing lines in the sand with his own appointees and corporate executives all in his first 15 days as President. He accepted responsibility for his mistakes - what a breath of fresh air! - and pledged to learn from them. So far, so good.

As to the liberal laments and conservative catcalls about triangulation, let's get real: yes, President Obama will triangulate his base and his party on some issues because that is what Presidents do. We knew this going in; indeed, many of us Democratic National Committee superdelegates discussed this publicly during the marathon 2007-2008 election: what happens when we nominate a candidate to straddle the dual roles of leading the Democratic Party and leading the country? The voters decided that Barack Obama's "post-partisan" approach was the best choice for the times and we worked our hearts out to elect him President.

Now that President Obama is working to remain above the fray, how does it feel to go from being "the base" to being "the fray"? Well, about as expected: we knew this would happen, that it wouldn't feel great, but that our agenda would be worth the trouble. We have the stamina to push our agenda of a 21st century economy, universal healthcare, and reasonable return of our troops from Iraq mindful that, as Obama said today, we cannot "let the perfect be the enemy of the essential." We are not about to go to main street workers or uninsured kids or military families and say "gee I was going to work on this agenda but Barack Obama is triangulating me so I quit." Please. Our times are bigger than that, our call to service is bigger than each of us, and as long as President Obama shows us his good faith efforts to deliver the change he promised, his early stumbles will not keep him from walking his walk.

Comments

[Uncool]

Say it!

[lhp]

In Texas, there are apparently income requirements for getting SCHIP insurance for your children. If you make too much money, your children are not eligible. So even if you can't afford private insurance, you are not eligible to have your children insured by SCHIP. So check the requirements befor you drop your private insurance. It sounds like a great idea but the restrictions on income eliminate most of the people who are in business for themselves or who have access to insurance through their employers. At one point, Texas could not spend the money allocated for the program because the restrictions eliminated many of the people who would have liked to use the insurance to cover their kids.

[URDRWHO]

In PA you can make up to a bit above $80,000 a year to get your kids on SCHIP. Plus you must go uninsured for 6 months before applying. Therefore....heh heh, those that decided to drop their insurance and are waiting to get their kids on SCHIP will raise the uninsured stat. Interesting huh?

[joevecchio]

Dear Hal, Thanks for responding. Saudi produces approx 10 MBD and the USA buys only 1.4mbd or so from them. We get oil from offshore in Chad and other African countries where oil platforms cost over 1 billion. That's competitive. It may cost the Saudis 5 to produce but they sell it for the going price. So I don't under stand why you would reply about the competition value of oil. I already know what you know about the competitive economics. Those cars that get 17mpg that the liberal democrats are driving, ( Biden and his 15 mpg truck, Rangel and his 16 mpg Cadillac, Rachel Maddow and her 16 mpg truck, and Kennedy's 18mpg Mustang, etc, is the reason we have to drill. These cars will have a life cycle of ten years. So in the year 2020, oil for these vehicles will either come from the USA or from another foreign country. So the negative Drill baby Drill argument is illogical. As a democrat who was censored by the liberal democrats in NY for telling the truth about energy, i find Obama's statement, " we are borrowing from the Chinese to pay the Saudis" to be interesting. Because that is what he is doing with the stimulous program. He let me down by being undereducated about energy facts.

Thanks, Joe Vecchio writer/director, WHY I LEFT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND JOINED AL QAEDA. A satirical educational documentary about oil consumption by democrats. borodinobu­llett.com.

[bronceye]

What if people stop smoking?

[vegas9999]

Check out how well the state of NY has done with off track betting. They have lost money every year. Like our post office and Amtrack. That is enough for me to see the gov. take control of our health system.

[harveyr2]

We're socializing the banking industry and the auto industry. The tobacco industry is already socialized. So why not socialize health care too. After all, I have the utmost respect and confidence in our elected leaders and the bureaucratic lifers that work in government agencies.

To all of you who suggest that it couldn't be worse than private industry ... Congratulations, you've "eaten the dog food."

Here's what I don't understand: If a socialist system is so appealing to you, why didn't you emigrate to a socialist country years ago?

[drblack]

All Americans should have affordable health care,but the way S-Chip is funded is terrible.
Obama has raised taxes on the poor by raising tobacco taxes,especially by raising the tax on bulk tobacco to over $25 a pound.
It is not up to you or the governmnet to tell people what to do with themselves so please don't exclaimthat "smokers should quit".
If you aren't a smoker you don't have the moral right to discuss or support this bill because you aren't paying for it.
Funding S-Chip by raising tobacco taxes $25 a Lb exposes what this bill was designed to do; punish smokers.
It would create a much larger and constant money stream to have added a penny to every cell phone call or text message.
This bill is one more step toward an organized Black market in tobacco.
Black markets ALWAYS create violence and corruption and end up creating more problems and higher costs.
I want to help pay the cost of S-Chip and I don't want to buy tobacco to do it.
As it stands I have no right to applaud this bill because I don't fund it.

[Karmaghedon]

Excellent point!

No one but smokers have bupkiss to say on this bill, and I guess when we get fed up paying/funding other peoples healthcare, we will just quit smoking....where will the money come from then? Hopefully they will tax coffee and other things that are more universal to include EVERYONE pitching in.

How about a "your child acts like an animal in public" tax?

Or how about if you cant afford insurance for your children, stop having children?

That could work......

[MsFeminist]

DrBlack: Do you treat patients with lung cancer, heart failures, or emphysema? Sounds like it.

[URDRWHO]

Affordable. Can I ask, what dollar amount equals affordable. I have yet to get an answer from those that banter about the word affordable.

[URDRWHO]

It is time for me to drop private insurance and jump on the welfare wagon. Obama is only going to grow the false sense of entitlement mentality that is rampant in this country. I get very PO's when I read about some guy making $40,000 a year but can't pay $100 a month for private insurance for his son.

You think this is good? It only points out that the people writing these articles have no clue to what is about to happen in this country. My father found in WWII and now wonders why he fought. The communist/­Socialists have won.

Do yourself a favor and do an internet search on article about cancer patients in the UK not getting their chemo drugs. Once there is only one payment system [the government] you have no other options. You sure don't have the option to go to another health plan.

Yep, to many people in our society are like those sea gulls in the movie Saving Nemo. They sit on the post screaming.­..Mine!...­.Mine!....­Mine....Mi­ne!

[ProudAmerican23]

the worst of it is those people you mentioned, Could actually afford to buy their own insurance IF they made it a priority on their lives over things like cable tv, and their need to have a Iphone!

[skmbho]

The only people who seem to be shouting "mine, mine, mine" are you republicans. You are shouting "I have mine and you don't deserve yours". You are also the people who insist that no teenagers receive birth control information and that every fertilized egg is delivered into this world, and yet you begrudge a healthy life for these persons you insist must be here. Granted not all adults are hardworking and responsible, but the children they produce are innocent and deserve the best start in life a country like ours can give. You also discount the thousands of people who are currently in dire straights from no fault of their own. Many people are one paycheck away from disaster because of the trend in this country away from security for the middle class. Because there is limited availability for healthcare, most people depend on their employer for health insurance, with 500,000/month losing their jobs that means there are a lot of people with no healthcare for their families. I pray that you don't lose the security that makes you so smug and uncaring of those with greater problems than yourself. I pray that you never have a seriously ill child and no means to provide for that child.

[URDRWHO]

What the heck makes you think I am a Rep? Just because I dont' agree with socializing medicine? FYI I am registered as an Independent. I take a lot of shots at how GWB messed and when I don't agree, I will take shots at Obama.

I find being an Independent gives me the luxury to attack any of them when they are acting up? Apparently you don't have that luxury.

Security! Since 1974 I have been self employed. I have and do spend some sleepless hours when times get tough. I do not like paying my health premium anymore than I enjoy paying property taxes, my $450 a month heating bill, etc. But you know what, throughout history and into the future people will need to take care of their own business.

One of my fiends that is very, shall I say liberal, coined the phrase false sense of entitlement. Daily he sees people using food stamps for expensive foods that he can't buy and then buying with cash, things like a dozen long stemmed roses,

In 1972 I spent 1 month on food stamps. I got a job delivering newspapers because to me, & my up-bringing, living on foods stamps was not an option. I was living in a car in a parking lot. I know what it is like to be poor. The false sense of entitlement society is no longer stigmatized by living on the government dole.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

It's a great first start and if Dems let President Obama lead he will get much more accomplished.

[rocketman69]

I'm dead serious mr./ms. moderator, I AM going to stop paying $500/month for family coverage, buy $60/month coverage for my wife and put the kids on ARKIDS (SCHIP). That will save me $440/month. One heck of a stimulus for MY family.

[rocketman69]

Best bill yet, I dumping the insurance on the wife and kids and riding the gravy train.

[StillIRise]

Good post. Oddly - at least based on my recollections - the performance of every President before Obama has been assessed after the first 100 days. President Obama however is being assessed every single day of the fifteen days he's been in office, beginning with his first appointments to his cabinet. And every day of these fifteen days, someone is predicting or asserting that his presidency is over, that it's doomed to failure, that he's a lame duck, that he's betrayed his base, etc. Maybe if we held him to the same 100 day standard that we've held our other presidents, we might better see how the day-to-day decisions he makes, or the missteps that are common to every new president, actually unfold, and we might even see the bigger picture instead of the snapshots that some are judging him on now. Considering the unprecedented mess that Bush has left for President Obama to unravel and the Republican Party's determination to oppose any and everything he does, I think President Obama has done exceptionally well in these first fifteen days, and has already done more to create the kind of government our country deserves than Bush did in the eight long miserable years of his presidency!

[gbowser]

A million times yes. Thank you for this comment.

[wonketteRAWKS]

What no credit for the congress and senate?

[Christine Pelosi - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes of course!

See this passage from above post:

"This tri-partisan triumph, supported by Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and nonpartisan groups from the AARP to the YWCA, will provide health coverage for 11 million American children, and a down payment on the promise of universal health care."

[oregonbird]

We're not getting everything we want, and we're not going to let that stop us from making the right decisions. Yes. yes. Yes. Never mind bi- or tri-partisan. Let's go for non-partisan.

[indyleftist]

"Obama fulfills another campaign promise and signs the State Children's Health Insurance Program bill"

Is that what was promised? I thought I kept hearing the words universal healthcare over and over again from Obama. It doesn't sound like he's fulfilling that pledge

[Christine Pelosi - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes, barack Obama primised SCHIP as well as universal health care. Todaymarked the first step.

Links for reference:

Then-Sen. Barack Obama was a co-sponsor of S.1224 - the S-CHIP bill of 2007
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1224

McCain was opposed.
http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/08/18/obama-vs-mccain-health-care-policies/