Clap Clap!

30 seconds in, no mention of the public option . . .

The only thing we have to fear . . . they have the economic stimulus speech in the teleprompter . . Complete fake out . . .

Pivot from crisis to future - the issue of health care. You can now read the script on Jeralyn's post below.

[Fancy quotemark]I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. And ever since, nearly every President and Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, has attempted to meet this challenge in some way. A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session. Our collective failure to meet this challenge – year after year, decade after decade – has led us to a breaking point. Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans. Some can’t get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed, and can’t afford it, since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer. Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or expensive to cover.[Fancy quotemark]

The personal stories, Reaganesque. A staple now.

Defining the problem. He gives good speech. But some of us are waiting for two words and the words that follow - "public option . . ."

Interesting, defines single payer as the Left. This will piss off the single payer advocates but allows him to pivot to the public option as the Center.

Back to the text. Still no mention of the public option.

Mid-speech Sports update - Still 0-0 in Trinidad, 60 minutes in. Oudin lost the first set 6-2.

Hmm, how about the um, "public option?" We're waiting . . .

Mandates get a plug . . .

So this is the end of the Obama plan . . part 2 is the good stuff you do not get to have.

This obvious division of the speech really stinks. I am down down on this speech right now.

"Publicly sponsored insurance option just like Medicare." Choice and competition. Hopefully more than this . . .

Let me be clear, only an option for those who do not have insurance, less than 5% of Americans will sign up . . ." This is the robust defense??

Basically he is pleading that it really will have little effect.

This simply stinks. I have no wrods for how bad the public option section of the speech is. I SHOULD pretend that he is strongly defending it. He is not. He is letting you know he could not give a sh*t about it.

It is all on the Progressive Block now.

My live blog of the speech is over. This is a fail.

Post speech live blog sports update - USA 1, Trinidad 0. Oudin down a set , 2-2 in the second.

Here was the most pathetic and sorry excuse of advocacy for the public option you could have possibly fashioned:

Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable. The insurance reforms that I’ve already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5% of Americans would sign up.

Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don’t like this idea. They argue that these private companies can’t fairly compete with the government. And they’d be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they won’t be. I have insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits, excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers. It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.

It’s worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I’ve proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn’t be exaggerated – by the left, the right, or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage affordable for those without it. The public option is only a means to that end – and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.

An F for this speech.

Final sports update - US picks up 3 points in Trinidad, winning 1-0. looking good for qualifying for South Africa 2010. Oudin looks finished, trailing 5-2 in the 2nd, after losing the first 6-2.

Speaking for me only