President Obama just doesn’t get it. He is no longer an unknown, one-term Senator from Illinois with no track record for people to look at. He is now the President of the United States. When he pushing for legislation, the legislation has specifics for people to examine and criticize. He can no longer get away with his campaign tactic of empty platitudes. He can no longer be an empty suit that people fill in with whatever they want to believe. There is now a passed record to look at as well as proposed legislation.

That is why last night’s Press Conference was a bad idea on his part. Time after time, he tried to get away with statements that did not correspond to the reality that the American people were cognizant of while listening to him. Here are some examples.

 

Now, six months ago I took office amid the worst recession in half-a-century. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month, and our financial system was on the verge of collapse.

As a result of the actions we took in those first weeks, we’ve been able to pull our economy back from the brink. We took steps to stabilize our financial institutions and our housing market.

One problem, the steps taken to stabilize the financial and housing markets were taken under George Bush. It was called TARP.

And we passed a Recovery Act that has already saved jobs and created new ones, delivered billions in tax relief to families and small businesses, and extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who’ve been laid off.

Sir, the unemployment rate has gone up after your Recovery Act was passed. How can it have saved and created new jobs?

Tax Cuts? Not really. The Recovery Act only had Tax Credits, and largely were written in such a way as to exclude the people actually paying taxes. Then they were extended in such a way as to include those not paying taxes (like the Earned Income Tax Credit). When you take money from somebody through taxes and give it to someone who isn’t paying taxes, it’s not called a tax cut. That’s a transfer payment.

 

And the fact is even before this crisis hit, we had an economy that was creating a good deal of wealth for those folks at the very top, but not a lot of good-paying jobs for the rest of America.

Now your class envy is showing. What is wrong with people getting rich? And as for those jobs, they’ve disappeared with you as President.   Here’s a tip, Mr. Obama: when the rich start losing wealth, it’s a sign of a bad economy and a reason for the President of this Country to worry, not rejoice.

It’s an economy that simply wasn’t ready to compete in the 21st century, one where we’ve been slow to invest in clean-energy technologies that have created new jobs and industries in other countries, where we’ve watched our graduation rates lag behind too much of the world, and where we spend much more on health care than any other nation, but aren’t any healthier for it.

Slow to invest in clean-energy technologies? We’ve been spending Billions on alternative energy technology since Jimmy Carter was President. And these technologies have not created new jobs in other countries. Every country that has tried to create “Green” jobs, has seen their unemployment rate sky-rocket. Look at Spain.

That’s why I’ve said that, even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before. And health insurance reform is central to that effort.

Now you’re trying to sell Health-Care reform as a way to strengthen the economy? Really? A Trillion Dollar Health-Care Plan from the Federal Government will be good for the economy? I thought it was about what was good for Americans health.

Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job or change their job. It’s about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage because it became too expensive. And it’s about the fact that the biggest driving force
behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.

Excuse me, but there’s nothing in the Bill before Congress about portability if you lose your job. Unless of course your talking about people stuck on the Government plan. And I find it difficult to believe you care about those small businesses. Not with a Health Care proposal that imposes additional costs on those businesses. You are going to force those businesses to buy that expensive health care that they can’t afford, or be fined by the Government.

(This is a very good example of Obama’s problems. He says one thing, and the facts are against him.)

 

So let me be clear: If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. If we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket.

The problem is that we know the proposal before Congress won’t work. It was tried in Massachusetts. That state has 97% of its population with Health Insurance. It hasn’t controlled costs. Insuring everybody in the U.S. won’t control costs either. Again, the facts fly in the face of Obama’s statements.

If you have health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will provide you with more security and more stability. It will keep government out of health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you’re happy with it.

Keep the Government out of health care decisions? The only way the Government can ever control costs is if it is involved in those decisions. And given the Government’s track-record, Government involvement in health care decisions is exactly what will happen in an attempt to control costs. Look at Medicare and Medicaid.

Now, if you don’t have health insurance or you’re a small business looking to cover your employees, you’ll be able to choose a quality, affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange, a marketplace that promotes choice and competition.

Excuse me, that’s You will be forced to choose a health care plan. When the Government forces you to do something, it’s not a choice. 

I’ve also pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our deficit over the next decade, and I mean it. In the past eight years, we saw the enactment of two tax cuts _ primarily for the wealthiest Americans _ and a Medicare prescription program, none of which were paid for. That’s partly why I inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit.

You did not inherit a $1.3 Trillion deficit. Remember that $787 Billion in Stimulus spending. That was all yours. There have been other spending proposals since George Bush left office, where were you on those if you were so concerned about the deficit? Mr Obama, you say you are concerned about the deficit, but you caused it.

In addition to making sure that this plan doesn’t add to the deficit in the short term, the bill I sign must also slow the growth of health care costs in the long run. Our proposals would change incentives so that doctors and nurses are free to give patients the best care, just not the most expensive care. That’s why the nation’s largest organizations representing doctors and nurses have embraced our plan.

First, the Bill proposed won’t control costs. Not unless the Government get’s involved in the health care decisions. And if that happens, doctors and nurses will have no say in the care given to patients. Look at the countries that have the type of health care you are attempting to implement.

 

Mr Obama, you problem is that there is a Bill pending before Congress with specifics. This Bill has been read and the specifics have been disseminated to the American People and analyzed by knowledgeable people. We know enough about the reform proposed to understand the result it will have when implemented.

Then you come out and tell us it will do something else. This makes you sound like a used care salesman. Or a politician.