Obama learns that political love means never having to say you’re sorry
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When President Obama takes his show on the road, it is common for someone in the audience to shout out their love for the president. ‘I love you back’ is the president’s usual response.
But love also means never having to say you’re sorry, as Obama learned in his visit on Thursday to the University of Iowa Field House. In the process, he also described his version of politics: being realistic in accepting compromise in order to win some major point.
As Obama was explaining the importance of the healthcare insurance overhaul bill to students, the elderly, fiscal conservatives and so forth, someone in the audience shouted out: “What about the public option?”
“That’s not in it,” Obama shouted back.
“Why not?” came the challenge.
“Because we couldn’t get it through Congress, that’s why,” Obama said. “So they -- let’s -- there’s no need to shout, young man, no need to shout.”
During his presidential campaign and the early days of the healthcare debate, Obama said he favored some form of public option along with universal access to health insurance. However, much to the chagrin of the liberal wing of his own party, he said a strong public option would be good but that the political realities made it unrealistic.
“Thirty-two million people are going to have health insurance because of this legislation. That’s what this work is about,” Obama said as the Iowa crowd cheered.
“I want to just make this point. This legislation is not perfect, as you just heard,” Obama said, referring to the outburst. “This young man is dissatisfied with an aspect of it, which is fine. I mean, that’s part of what democracy is about. But what this is, is a historic step to enshrine the principle that everybody gets healthcare coverage in this country, every single person.
“It’s absolutely true -- it’s absolutely true this is a middle-of-the-road bill. This isn’t single-payer, which some people wanted. It’s also not what the Republicans were looking for, which was basically to deregulate the insurance industry, arguing that somehow this would cut down costs -- something that defies the experience of everybody who’s dealt with an insurance company out there.
“So, yes, this is a common-sense bill. It doesn’t do everything that everybody wants, but it moves us in the direction of universal healthcare coverage in this country, and that’s why everybody here fought so hard for it,” Obama said.
-- Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal
