If nothing else, this is a sign that the Obama Administration knows how badly they’ve mishandled the public relations side of this debate so far:
President Obama will address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday about the nation’s health-care system, Democratic officials said Wednesday.
Under pressure to seize the initiative on the biggest legislative proposal of his young administration, Obama is expected to add more detail to his vision for health-care reform when he speaks to lawmakers upon their return from an August recess.
It is less likely that Obama will release his own detailed proposal, but he will comment more specifically on ideas that have already been offered by others, one administration policy expert said.
“He’s drawing on what’s already out there,” said the official, who was not authorized to speak to reporters.
I think that’s the biggest mistake that Obama has made throughout this debate.
Rather than putting a health care reform package reform package and saying this is mine, he’s let Congress take the initiative in much the same way that he with the stimulus bill back in February. The difference this time is that he made it clear even before he took office that health care reform was the defining piece of legislation of his first term. If that was the case, then why didn’t he put forward his own package instead of letting himself be subject to the whims of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the countless other senior Democrats in the House and Senate who’ve had a hand in drafting the bills that are currently before Congress ?
FDR didn’t leave it to Congress to come up with the New Deal. Reagan didn’t leave it to Tip O’Neill to put together a tax reform package. Why Barack Obama is letting something so important to his own political future be controlled to this degree by people whose interests don’t necessarily intersect with his at all points is something I just don’t understand.
Remember when Bill and Hillary tried to do this and he came up with their own legislation?
That’s why he hasn’t taken ownership over this.
Also, let’s remember that there has been A LOT of noise about this bill, and NOTHING has been voted on yet. We’ve just been debating what may or may not be in the bill. Once the final piece of legislation hits the floor will we know.
However, should Obama have taken a bigger role in the crafting? I think so. There had to be a middle ground between hands off and what Bill and Hill did.
Below The Beltway » Obama To Kick Off Health Care Reform Reboot With Address To Congress…
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I am glad the President is finally going to be speaking out on health care reform. We are well overdue to hear from the President on this issue. It has been quite a while since his major health care reform speeches on June 15, July 17, his major health care reform press conference on July 22, his heath care reform town hall meetings in Wisconsin (June 11), at the White House (June 24), North Carolina and Virginia (July 29) , New Hampshire (Aug 11), Montana (August 14), Colorado (August 15) and maybe a few other major speeches and media events that I might have missed.
This time the President will be telling us what he wants to see in health care reform now, as opposed to what he wanted to see during the campaign, or David Axelrod’s chain-mail missive of August 13 outlining in detail what the administration expected to see from health care reform then.
Speaking of which – I am doing my part. I have been diligently forwarding Axelrod’s chain-mail to every e-mail address I can find as he requested me to do. As any real American would.
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