Obama fudges at Town Hall
During Tuesday's Town Hall in New Hampshire, President Obama responded to a question by declaring:
“I have not said that I was a single payer supporter.”
Well, there's a matter of this clip:
A partial transcript of that 2003 clip:
I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately.
Now I suppose he could argue that was then and this is now, and that he had changed his mind (or, perhaps to be more honest, he said that back then to get votes). And he has said different things in different situations, and lately has not been pushing single-payer. But the fact remains that he said he favored it.
At the forum he also said that AARP is on board. Not quite. AARP favors some sort of plan, but it has not yet endorsed the proposed plans because it is waiting to see specifics and whether there are deal killers - such as wording that would affect Medicare.
AARP Chief Operating Officer Tom Nelson issued this statement following the remarks by the President.
“AARP has been working with Democrats and Republicans to fix our broken health care system.
“While the President was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate."
“I have not said that I was a single payer supporter.”
Well, there's a matter of this clip:
A partial transcript of that 2003 clip:
I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately.
Now I suppose he could argue that was then and this is now, and that he had changed his mind (or, perhaps to be more honest, he said that back then to get votes). And he has said different things in different situations, and lately has not been pushing single-payer. But the fact remains that he said he favored it.
At the forum he also said that AARP is on board. Not quite. AARP favors some sort of plan, but it has not yet endorsed the proposed plans because it is waiting to see specifics and whether there are deal killers - such as wording that would affect Medicare.
AARP Chief Operating Officer Tom Nelson issued this statement following the remarks by the President.
“AARP has been working with Democrats and Republicans to fix our broken health care system.
“While the President was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate."
posted by A Secular Franciscan | 9:08 AM
1 Comments:
I added the AARP quotes after I initially posted, so some of you who read the original version will see a small change.
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