Week Twenty-Six

National Scene 7/22-7/28/2009

By Linnie Frank Bailey

Repeating his mantra —“We can get this done. We don't shirk from a challenge,” the President continued to beat the drum for health care reform this week with a prime time news conference and town hall meetings. Hoping for significant progress on a health care reform bill before Congress breaks for a month-long summer vacation, the President had to settle for assurances from Democratic leaders that they will indeed deliver a health care reform bill this fall.

The President’s full court press for health care reform was somewhat side-tracked this week when his comments on the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, prompted a flurry of news stories on Obama’s statement in which he said the Cambridge police had acted “stupidly.” The President later suggested he could have used different words, and invited both the Professor and the arresting officer for a ‘beer’ at the White House to clear the air. They each accepted the President’s offer.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Obama Meets With Prime Minister of Iraq

As American troops deploy from the Iraq war, President Obama met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss the future role of the United States in Iraq. In a Rose Garden press conference after their meeting, the President described the transition in which all U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities, and transferred power to Iraq’s security forces. Saying the action was “an important step forward,” Obama stressed the importance of the endeavor, “This transition was part of our security agreement, and should send an unmistakable signal that we will keep our commitments with the sovereign Iraqi government. As I said before, we seek no bases in Iraq, nor do we make any claim on Iraq’s territory or resources. Going forward, we will continue to provide training and support for Iraqi security forces that are capable and nonsectarian. We'll move forward with our strategy to responsibly remove all American combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next August, and to fulfill our commitment to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.”

The Iraq War, began by the Bush Administration in 2002, had deeply divided both Americans and International supporters of the U.S. Although combat is winding down, Obama made it clear that battles remain: “As we move forward, Prime Minister Maliki and I have no doubt that there will be some tough days ahead. There will be attacks on Iraqi security forces and the American troops supporting them. There are still those in Iraq who would murder innocent men, women and children. There are still those who want to foment sectarian conflict. But make no mistake: Those efforts will fail.”

Press Conference on Health Care

The President brought his health care reform message to prime time, seeking to answer questions and calm the concerns of Americans. Addressing the importance of reform the President stated the following:

“This is not just about the 47 million Americans who don't have any health insurance at all. 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.

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. If we don't act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. These are the consequences of inaction. These are the stakes of the debate that we're having right now.”

Obama pointedly described his passion for immediate health care reform by reminding Americans:

“This isn't about me. I have great health insurance, and so does every member of Congress. This debate is about the letters I read when I sit in the Oval Office every day, and the stories I hear at town hall meetings. This is about the woman in Colorado who paid $700 a month to her insurance company only to find out that they wouldn't pay a dime for her cancer treatment -- who had to use up her retirement funds to save her own life. This is about the middle-class college graduate from Maryland whose health insurance expired when he changed jobs and woke up from the emergency surgery that he required with $10,000 worth of debt. This is about every family, every business, and every taxpayer who continues to shoulder the burden of a problem that Washington has failed to solve for decades.”

Thursday, July 23, 2009

President on the Road for Health Care Reform – Too much, Too soon?

The President traveled to Ohio today, where he visited the renowned Cleveland Clinic and held a town hall at Shaker Heights High School. He responded to critics who accuse him of ‘too much, too soon,’ saying, “Whenever I hear people say that it’s happening too soon, I think that’s a little odd. We've been talking about health care reform since the days of Harry Truman. How could it be too soon? I don't think it’s too soon for the families who've seen their premiums rise faster than wages year after year. It’s not too soon for the businesses forced to drop coverage or shed workers because of mounting health care expenses. It’s not too soon for taxpayers asked to close widening deficits that stem from rising health care costs -- costs that threaten to leave our children with a mountain of debt. Reform may be coming too soon for some in Washington, but it's not soon enough for the American people. We can get this done. We don't shirk from a challenge.”

Friday, July 24, 2009

President signals "Race to the Top" for Education

Saying “for too long we have simply talked about the problems of our education system,” President Obama signaled the start of what the Administration calls “The Race to the Top.” The goal is to improve K-12 education, including improving the quality of education and reducing drop-out rates. In comments at the White House, the President ‘dropped the starting flag’ by saying, “The race starts today. I'm issuing a challenge to our nation's governors, to school boards and principals and teachers, to businesses and non-for-profits, to parents and students: if you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments; if you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools -- your state can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students out-compete workers around the world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential.”

Monday, July 27, 2009

U.S. – China Blueprint for the Future

President Obama addressed the opening session of the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The President, in his trademark manner, presented his vision for the future by first looking at the historical context of the relationship between America and China:

“One hundred years ago -- in the early days of the 20th century -- it was clear that there were momentous choices to be made -- choices about the borders of nations and the rights of human beings. But in Woodrow Wilson's day, no one could have foreseen the arc of history that led to a wall coming down in Berlin, nor could they have imagined the conflict and upheaval that characterized the years in between. For people everywhere -- from Boston to Beijing -- the 20th century was a time of great progress, but that progress also came with a great price.

Today, we look out on the horizon of a new century. And as we launch this dialogue, it's important for us to reflect upon the questions that will shape the 21st century. Will growth be stalled by events like our current financial crisis, or will we cooperate to create balanced and sustainable growth, lifting more people out of poverty and creating a broader prosperity around the world? Will the need for energy breed competition and climate change, or will we build partnerships to produce clean power and to protect our planet? Will nuclear weapons spread unchecked, or will we forge a new consensus to use this power for only peaceful purposes? Will extremists be able to stir conflict and division, or will we unite on behalf of our shared security? Will nations and peoples define themselves solely by their differences, or can we find common ground necessary to meet our common challenges, and to respect the dignity of every human being?

We can't predict with certainty what the future will bring, but we can be certain about the issues that will define our times. And we also know this: The relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world. That really must underpin our partnership. That is the responsibility that together we bear.”