TAKING THE CHAMBERS TEMPERATURE

"I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last"........and with that President Obama, arguing for his political life, laid down his health care plan, incorporating elements from each parties preferences.
Seeking to clear the air of the rumors and half-truths and seeking to address the American people once and for all with one cognisant plan, Obama called a joint session of Congress to lay his cards on the table, as it were.

The speech was truly Obama-esque, taking on the role of leader and teacher, author and facilitator, and at times taking the assemblage to the cloakroom for a good old fashioned scolding. "I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than to improve it." To those who have sought to make short term political gains.....to those who characterized this initiative with calls of death panels.....those are outright lies."

While the audience was mainly civilized, it was this last inference that brought about a significant amount of boos from the conservatives in the chamber, but this was not the topper of the evening. Promising that his bill would not mandate guaranteed coverage for illegal aliens, Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, shouted "LIE!" One could only wish the Representative would have missed the speech, opting for a hike along the Appalachian Trail with his counterpart, Governor Sanford.......no such luck.

The bill as outlined by the President, will be a bi-partisan bill, if not due to the Republican votes it garners, but the Republican wishes it contains. No funding for illegal aliens, no funding for abortions, real tort reform, a guarantee of no additional additions to the deficit due to this plan and a renewed free market sense of competition between a not-for-profit public option and the individual insurance companies, especially in regions where there is none. The remainder of the bill re-established previous wishes of the President....no cancellation due to pre-existing medical conditions and no coverage caps in coverage.

Will one speech garner support from Republicans? Probably not, but then again, he won't need their votes, as long as he was able to solidify his party solidly behind his plan. Will the conservatives answer his call to join him in a unified, bi-partisan effort to finish off the details of this bill? Time will tell, but without question, the pressure will be on them to quit bitching, roll up their collective sleeves, and get this done. For me, on a scale of one to ten, ten being best, I would give it a nine for content and a twelve for leadership skills. This is the man this country has been waiting to rally behind, confident, assertive and up lifting. I for one, was impressed.

And that is the world...."the World According to Kimba." thanks for reading