Obama's Health Care Speech: Hope Over Fear

In his speech last evening, President Barack Obama made the commitments that a broad coalition in the faith community had asked for -- reform as a moral issue, affordable coverage for all, and no federal funding of abortion.

First, the faith community has asked the president to make "the moral case" for health care reform, not just the policy arguments -- and he couldn't have been more clear about the moral imperative for fixing a broken system. He quoted a letter from Ted Kennedy, written last spring but delivered to the president after Kennedy's death, stating that health care "is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country."

Second, we have told the White House that the faith community will accept nothing less than accessible, affordable, and secure coverage for everyone. The president said that, "If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans who don't currently have health insurance, the second part of this plan will finally offer you quality, affordable choices." And while there may be various means of achieving that goal, "I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can't find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice." He rejected the incremental approaches that will again postpone bringing everyone into America's health care system and making sure it is working for all of us -- and so will we.

Third, we have told the president that we needed to hear a clear commitment on prohibiting federal funding of abortion as well as maintaining a strong conscience protection. He gave that public commitment: "Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place." As the president said, "There remain some significant details to be ironed out," but his commitment to these principles means we can now work together to make sure that they are consistently and diligently applied to any final health care legislation. The practical application of that principle should mean that no person should be forced to pay for someone else's abortion, and that public funds cannot be used to pay for elective abortions.

Now it is the job of the faith community and every concerned American to make sure the final bill reflects these moral principles. And the faith community will continue to be vigilant to ensure that each one is followed throughout the process of achieving health care legislation. The president has set the stage for finally achieving real solutions to health care reform by defining the deeper moral issues at stake and clarifying the policy debate. We will now be calling on our members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, many of them members of our congregations, to support these moral commitments and to make sure, as they "iron out the details," that each one is firmly upheld.

At the beginning of the speech, after noting the continuing economic crisis, President Obama said, "[W]e did not come here just to clean up crises. We came to build a future." That future indeed involves a significant social transformation, and like most such change, it invokes strong reactions. We in the faith community have a special role in that process of change -- to help the nation make the spiritual choice of hope rather than fear, and to believe that the way for all of us to move forward as a society is to make that choice.

Jim Wallis is the author of The Great Awakening, Editor-in-Chief of Sojourners and blogs at www.godspolitics.com.

Click here to get e-mail updates from Jim Wallis

Follow Jim Wallis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jimwallis

Comments

[JohnIII]

Saying that if we don't reform healthcare "more people will die" is not using fear?

[gb1200]

I think Obama approached Health care reform the wrong way. What he should have done is fixed the lobbyist problem in Washington, then campaign finance reform (and throw in regulation of wall street while we are at it). Until Washington DC purges special interest money and influence we will never have true change in this country.

[DocTwain]

Mr. Wallis, this seems a singularly rosy view of the President's speech and its implications for healthcare reform.

"He rejected the incremental approaches that will again postpone bringing everyone into America's health care system and making sure it is working for all of us -- and so will we."

The President's approach is deeply incrementalist, if not outright obstructionist. He made clear that a public option is dispensable; he made clear that even if there is a public option, employers, even though mandated to buy insurance for their employees, would not be permitted to offer this cheaper public option to their employees as a coverage choice--instead they would have to pay an overpriced premium to the zero-value-added private health insurance cartel--; and he made clear that even such a hamstrung public option (that would not be an option to most of the public at all), it would not even commence until 2013. And what is the motive of such postponement? Patently, to protect and expand the market shares revenues and profits of the cartels. The President's plan will increase total plutocratic waste and graft, not reduce it.

An incisive analysis of the real implications of the President's speech for healthcare reform can be found here:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-19087-Special-Interests-Examiner~y2009m9d11-What-Obamas-Speech-Really-Means-Prognosis-for-Healthcare-Reform

[babyboomerorig]

The title of this article says it all.

Democrats hope and Republicans tout fear.

[airtyme]

Hope over fear? I think it is more "miscalculation over hope" for crying out loud. This president can not get anything right when it comes to estimates or forecast. Oh, that's right, we can't blame him because he never had executive experience before.

http://politicalintegritynow.com/2009/09/does-obama-even-understand-the-fundamentals-of-economics/

[dtghope]

How about the 'faith community' actually helping President Obama --- to get the votes he needs to pass this legislation.

With rights comes responsibility --- if you want all these things in the bill, you had better be prepared to join the President and do the necessary work to help get his preferred legislation passed.

Do not just criticize the President for the bill failing to pass and/or condemn the President for failing to pass a bill that has everything in it that you want.

Are you prepared to take some of the blame, for not helping, if the President's efforts ultimately fail (in whole or in part)?

"Now it is the job of the faith community and every concerned American to make sure the final bill reflects these moral principles. And the faith community will continue to be vigilant to ensure that each one is followed throughout the process of achieving health care legislation. The president has set the stage for finally achieving real solutions to health care reform by defining the deeper moral issues at stake and clarifying the policy debate. We will now be calling on our members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, many of them members of our congregations, to support these moral commitments and to make sure, as they "iron out the details," that each one is firmly upheld."

[ockraz]

Dtghope: While it is not the entirety of the faith community by any means, the Catholic church has made clear that if the abortion issue is dealt with in a way which is acceptable, then they will strongly and vocally campaign for health care reform.

[babyboomerorig]

Pick and chose policies. I guess that's what most of us do.

[phylliscooper1]

Saturday is my mother's funeral. She just spent 13 days of pure hell in a hospital she walked into with chest pain. Words can not describe the agony she endured, not because of her medical condition but because she was 81 years of age when she arrived for treatment. She was dismissed, under treated and maltreated. Routine angioplasty and a stent was withheld because of her age. She was moved between ICU and other medical floors 6 times during a 13 day admission. This vibrant lady developed pneumonia, kidney failure and finally lasted 8 hours on the final unit they moved her to, hospice. Call lights were ignored, staff addressed her family instead of her and she was in charge of her own affairs when she was admitted.

For those who think that health care reform will "pull the plug on grandma" let me assure you, that time is already here, and not because of the President.

[dtghope]

My condolences to you and your family for your painful loss.

Your courage in sharing your Mother's story is admirable. Stories such as yours, might well help in softening the hardened hearts of those politicians entrusted with policy and funding decisions --- leading them to make necessary improvements to the American health care system for the benefit of all Americans, not just the priviledged few.

You have done your part, by sharing your story here with the HuffPost community. Thank you for your efforts.

May you and your family find comfort and solace during your time of mourning.

[ncmom54]

With all due respect Mr. Wallis, Jesus called out the Pharisees for what they were; 'vipers' and came against the money changers in the temple. The faith community is broken and there is no one willing to stand up (as usual) to the rage against Humanity in the name of Christianity.

"The world is a dangerous place to live - not because of the people who are evil
but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert Einstein
----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­---------
I find it incorrigible that many of the 'faithful' who have made abortion their cornerstone of morality are apathetic to the number of people who suffer and/or die each day due to lack of health care because 'it costs too much'
Our Humanity is in Critical Condition.
Churches could truly honor our nation's "In God We Trust" by giving up their tax exempt status ...
providing enough revenue to cover the costs of health care for EVERYONE.

[oneanddone]

HOPE???? LOL More like "The World According to Obama" A total PIPE DREAM

[JHKH]

I see the speech as hype over hope. The public option is not public. It is limited to those who are uninsured, and it is only a method to purchase private insurance by way of government subsidy. Those who already have a private insurance policy are effectively banned from this option. Where's the choice?

Anyway, if all it is is another way to buy the same crappy private insurance policy through a different agent, what about that is change?

Those already insured have been chained to the options: bad insurance plan A, bad insurance plan B, bad insurance plan C, etc. There is no public option at all that we can select. The only way onto the public option is to fall on really bad times.

[babyboomerorig]

That day will come, but we have to start somewhere. With the Republicans stating that they will vote against anything the President comes up with, it makes it a little tough. The Democrats have adopted 183 issues presented by the Republicans and they'll still vote against it.

[PlaceboStudman]

Sorry, not everyone bought into the hope over fear concept. Some of us, the critically and terminally ill, who will be critically and terminally ill whether we have insurance are not are still scared sh*tl*ss that we will die before any substantive discussions of real CARE occur in this country.

No, I take that back. We have nothing to fear. Because we KNOW that no substantive discussion will occur regarding actual care in this country until everyone else, whose biggest medical concern is a stubbed toe or sprained ankle from the thanksgiving back yard football game can get their ankle set for free, or the balding old guy recapturing his youth can get his Rogaine for free

[ICUP]

Abortion is legal and ought to be covered under the plan. I wonder if these so-called "people of faith" would rather see a woman die than see her have an abortion? As to not wanting your taxes to pay for things that morally disgust you, I'd rather not have paid for a bailout of greedy, craven Wall Streeters. We can't always get what we want.

[JillQ]

I didn't want to pay for the war in Iraq- and I still am, as well as my children.

[MAH999]

Agreed. And I could have passed on the money that's been spent and is being spent to kill people in Afganistan and Iraq. No one seems to mind that we kill people after they are born. Just when they can control women in the process.

[ockraz]

MAH999- You are mistaken. Many pro-lifers believe in social principles that are opposed to war, and despite what you may have come to believe this is not something that we care about because we are interested in controlling women's lives.

[oneanddone]

Tell them to go work at McDonalds to pay for it. Not with MY money

[snarkopolitan]

Very well, but then MY money shouldn't go to paying for bypasses for Big Mac eaters.

[ICUP]

Once you've paid your taxes, it's the government's money.

[terramartom]

As an Atheist myself I can at least appreciate Mr. Wallis's usual straight forwardness. Although we differ on a Women's right to chose, we can at least debate that and the other moral imperatives that go with the Health care issues at hand with facts, unlike the republican representatives in the Senate and Congress that really represent Big business interests, Oil, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals and are willing to lie and say anything as long as they can get funding and re-election money for their campaigns from Corporate donors that they protect with legislation designed to shelter these companies with tax loopholes, degraded environmental regulations, and to screw the American citizens out of their hard earned incomes...­..

http://richmonk31.blogspot.com

[airtyme]

Also, I have yet to see one person show where in the U.S. constitution that says it is the governments responsibility to provide everyone health insurance.

by the way, how accurate has the president been since he took office?

http://politicalintegritynow.com/2009/09/does-obama-even-understand-the-fundamentals-of-economics/

[cybexg]

It can easily be justified under the commerce clause...p­erhaps you might just want to read about the commerce clause

[ICUP]

The Commerce Clause has been used and abused for years. I favor national health insurance, but let's not contort the Constitution in order to justify it.

[JillQ]

We the peeople...­.promote the general welfare.

Read it, it will help.

BTW- Where in the Constitution does it say it is the government's responsibility to pay for roads, fire departments, police departments, etc.?

[CTtransplant]

We need to keep up the pressure until a health care bill is signed !

Folks, do not forget the marches on September 13th!!!

http://marchforhealthcare.com/events/

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Kennedy was one of our greatest champions of health care reform. He carried the torch for a long time...and now it is up to us to continue to carry it!

Our elected officials in Congress receive health care mostly paid for by us tax payers, yet many are trying to make it impossible for us to purchase an affordable plan of our own :

While many of us are struggling to afford medical insurance/medical bills.
While Congress people try to stop healthcare reform.
While Congress people accept large contributions from lobbyists to prevent health care reform.

Please sign these petitions - and by all means, spread the word! Thank you!

http://www.petitiononline.com/PubOp676/petition.html
http://www.democrats.com/honor-ted-kennedy?cid=ZGVtczQ0MTA5OGRlbXM=
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4922/content.jsp?content_KEY=2763&tag=hk1_typ-e1

[MAH999]

Not any health care bill. Unless it provides for a public option there should be no mandate. Since Obama made it clear that he is not going to support a public option in any real way, there isn't any chance it will happen. It doesn't matter how many people show up to demonstrate. We are better off with the status quo than to pass what amounts to a box of bandages for a hemorrhaging patient.

[CTtransplant]

MAH999, You give up way too easily!

[snarkopolitan]

"better off with the status quo"??? Truly spoken like someone who is either young and healthy or has health insurance already. You think. but don't be too sure.

My insurance company tried to get out of paying for my emergency appendectomy because I had gone to the doctor for a stomach ache a month before the coverage kicked in. My acute appendicitis was a "pre-existing condition!"

The republicans mean to kill this bill by any means necessary, because they know that once the foot is in the door, the door will open.

When you're bleeding to death, you don't ask if the tourniquet is dirty.