jackdied.com RSS feed
   Men are not fit to rule men and saints don't run for office.

Obama's Prime Time Health Care Speech
[jackdied]
Sep 09 2009, 18:38 EDT [updated Sep 09 2009, 21:04 EDT]
.. is tonight at 8pm. I don't see how it can possibly help him because I don't think there is anything new he can say that will give congressmen more cover with their constituents.

There are two ways politicians can sell a policy:

  1. You will get more for less (free shit).
  2. Supporting X confirms you are a good person (grace on the cheap).
The early attempts at promoting the bill focused on "free shit." This was a failure because while the promoters said the bill would save money the bill itself contained lots of new spending and taxes; Even a credulous public isn't that credulous. Recent attempts at selling the bill have focused on "grace on the cheap;" namely that supporting some form of universal health care is the good and moral thing to do.

But the reaction to the critics of #1 ruined any possibility of #2 working (I'm dubious it had a chance anyway). The promoters of the bill made vague predictions of benefits and then called everyone who didn't agree liars; The slew of articles (pro and anti) with the word "myths" in the title is a tipoff that people were arguing about less than concrete information. Even worse when the switch to #2 happened Obama used moral language not to flatter people into supporting the bill but by instead calling opponents sinners. This completely misses the point of "grace on the cheap" which is to give out free halos, not to demand penance.

So even if Obama avoids scolding his opponents tonight (a big "if") I don't see how anything he says can actually help.

Update excepts of the speech have been released and Obama has picked option #3: Don't try to sell the bill at all, just pass something and take your lumps.

Well the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care.

..

I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.

This will be very popular with his supporters (I have friends who have been screaming JUST DO IT for months). Only time will tell if he can sell congress on the plan.

After the speech

Not much new in the speech, and it wasn't as combative as the excerpts implied. This was a long, wonkish recitation of all the previous #1 (free shit) talking points. The new info is that there will be a public option and there may be tort (lawsuit) reform. The closing of the speech was a long #2 sell (grace on the cheap) with some mixed messages about the proper role of government.

Font: Bigger Smaller Screen Width: Narrower Wider
0.11 seconds
jackdied.com 2003-2007