SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Obama with His Foot in the Air
Jun 25, 2009
Two things bother me about Obama's press conference performance on Tuesday.
And they concern two big issues: health care and the economy.
He's backsliding on both.
On health care, he was pressed by reporters who followed up on each others' questions-a good, new journalistic skill that evidently fell from the sky after Bush left office.
What they were pressing him on was whether his public option for health care was non-negotiable.
After hedging, he basically said no. "We have not drawn lines in the sand," he said, "other than that reform has to control costs and that it has to provide relief to people who don't have health insurance or are underinsured."
What a concession! A public plan is the best way to provide that relief, and 72 percent of the public says it wants a public option. But Obama seems prepared to sell them down the river.
On the economy, when asked directly whether he thinks we "need a second stimulus package" since unemployment is likely to top 10 percent soon, he said, nonchalantly, "Well, not yet."
What's he waiting for?
The rate to hit 10.5 percent? 11 percent? 12 percent?
He even said when he was drawing up the first stimulus plan that "nobody understood what the depths of this recession were going to look like."
Well, that's not true. A lot of good, progressive economists did, like Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, and Dean Baker. They predicted unemployment above 10 percent. That's why they pushed for a stimulus that was twice as big as the one Obama settled for.
It's disingenuous for Obama to hide behind the Condoleezza Rice construct that "nobody" could have imagined what then happened.
And it's deeply troubling to see Obama acting so timorously on the major issues that he himself has identified.
I keep waiting for him to go to the mat on something, to put his foot down, and say, I'm not going to stand for higher unemployment so we must pass another stimulus bill, or I'm not going to sign a health care reform bill that doesn't have a public option.
But never puts his foot down. It's always in the air.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
© 2023 The Progressive
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
Two things bother me about Obama's press conference performance on Tuesday.
And they concern two big issues: health care and the economy.
He's backsliding on both.
On health care, he was pressed by reporters who followed up on each others' questions-a good, new journalistic skill that evidently fell from the sky after Bush left office.
What they were pressing him on was whether his public option for health care was non-negotiable.
After hedging, he basically said no. "We have not drawn lines in the sand," he said, "other than that reform has to control costs and that it has to provide relief to people who don't have health insurance or are underinsured."
What a concession! A public plan is the best way to provide that relief, and 72 percent of the public says it wants a public option. But Obama seems prepared to sell them down the river.
On the economy, when asked directly whether he thinks we "need a second stimulus package" since unemployment is likely to top 10 percent soon, he said, nonchalantly, "Well, not yet."
What's he waiting for?
The rate to hit 10.5 percent? 11 percent? 12 percent?
He even said when he was drawing up the first stimulus plan that "nobody understood what the depths of this recession were going to look like."
Well, that's not true. A lot of good, progressive economists did, like Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, and Dean Baker. They predicted unemployment above 10 percent. That's why they pushed for a stimulus that was twice as big as the one Obama settled for.
It's disingenuous for Obama to hide behind the Condoleezza Rice construct that "nobody" could have imagined what then happened.
And it's deeply troubling to see Obama acting so timorously on the major issues that he himself has identified.
I keep waiting for him to go to the mat on something, to put his foot down, and say, I'm not going to stand for higher unemployment so we must pass another stimulus bill, or I'm not going to sign a health care reform bill that doesn't have a public option.
But never puts his foot down. It's always in the air.
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
Two things bother me about Obama's press conference performance on Tuesday.
And they concern two big issues: health care and the economy.
He's backsliding on both.
On health care, he was pressed by reporters who followed up on each others' questions-a good, new journalistic skill that evidently fell from the sky after Bush left office.
What they were pressing him on was whether his public option for health care was non-negotiable.
After hedging, he basically said no. "We have not drawn lines in the sand," he said, "other than that reform has to control costs and that it has to provide relief to people who don't have health insurance or are underinsured."
What a concession! A public plan is the best way to provide that relief, and 72 percent of the public says it wants a public option. But Obama seems prepared to sell them down the river.
On the economy, when asked directly whether he thinks we "need a second stimulus package" since unemployment is likely to top 10 percent soon, he said, nonchalantly, "Well, not yet."
What's he waiting for?
The rate to hit 10.5 percent? 11 percent? 12 percent?
He even said when he was drawing up the first stimulus plan that "nobody understood what the depths of this recession were going to look like."
Well, that's not true. A lot of good, progressive economists did, like Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, and Dean Baker. They predicted unemployment above 10 percent. That's why they pushed for a stimulus that was twice as big as the one Obama settled for.
It's disingenuous for Obama to hide behind the Condoleezza Rice construct that "nobody" could have imagined what then happened.
And it's deeply troubling to see Obama acting so timorously on the major issues that he himself has identified.
I keep waiting for him to go to the mat on something, to put his foot down, and say, I'm not going to stand for higher unemployment so we must pass another stimulus bill, or I'm not going to sign a health care reform bill that doesn't have a public option.
But never puts his foot down. It's always in the air.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.