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Obama Predicts Health Care Win in Fall

By JENNIFER LOVEN
,
AP
posted: 3 HOURS 2 MINUTES AGO
comments: 3527
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GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Aug. 10) - A day before facing a potentially boisterous town hall in New Hampshire, President Barack Obama praised the spirited debate over his health care plans on Monday and predicted "sensible and reasoned arguments" would ultimately prevail in Congress.
Obama plans to pivot his message somewhat on Tuesday, addressing people who already have insurance through their employers and highlighting how his proposals would affect them. The White House is retooling its message amid polling that shows Americans — especially those who have coverage — are skeptical of Democratic proposals to expand to cover many of the 50 million or more uninsured.
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President Barack Obama shakes hands with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on the left.
Alex Brandon, AP

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, as Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper looks on.

On Monday, in his first North American summit, Obama met with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, covering such shared hot topics as trade barriers, drug violence and the expected resurgence of swine flu. But questions about domestic policy — Obama's drive for overhauls to U.S. health care and immigration policy — followed him to Mexico and stole the biggest share of the hour the three leaders appeared together before reporters.
Concerns over Obama's health care reform proposal are heating up town hall meetings, chat rooms and radio shows in the U.S. — driving his poll numbers down and threatening the future of his highest domestic priority. While Congress is in recess for the month of August, lawmakers are hearing from constituents worried about divisive issues such as the government's role in health care and the costs of an overhaul.
Republicans say the heated debate is a sign of widespread public dissatisfaction with Obama's ideas. But with some of the anxieties spilling into angry disruptions and even threats, Democrats have accused Republicans of orchestrating the events to sabotage legislation. In an article published Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote: "Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American."
Obama stayed away from such provocative language.
"We are having a vigorous debate in the United States, and I think that's a healthy thing," he said, repeating that thought three times. But, he said, the dynamic will change once the recess ends and the lawmakers — and the debate — return to Washington.
"I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge. And we're going to get this passed," he said.
Obama will face a town hall audience Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H.
Foes of his plans have disrupted events with members of Congress, and the White House is bracing for such incidents on Tuesday, though Obama's town hall audiences have tended to be orderly and supportive. White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters traveling back to the United States with Obama aboard Air Force One that there is plenty of emotion from both sides on the issue.
"Well, I think there's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America," Burton said. "The president thinks that if people want to come and have a spirited debate about health care, a real vigorous conversation about it, that's a part of the American tradition."
Separately, the White House turned to the Internet on Monday to challenge what the administration contends are misconceptions about Democratic plans.
The government Web site takes on claims made by critics that the changes would result in rationing of health care, encourage euthanasia or endanger Medicare.
"Given a lot of the outrageous claims floating around, it's time to make sure everyone knows the facts about the security and stability you get with health insurance reform," said White House senior adviser David Axelrod.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-08-10 06:08:38
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RaspberriesO

12:08 AMAug 11 2009

HisMightyLight12:04 AMAug 11 2009dmeyers===========My husband works with a man who is half Vietnamese and half Chinese. He says the same thing, that a lot of Americans are complacent and don't bother to know how risky this is, and we should all be very concerned about how this threatens our future as a free country.>>>Most immigrants are PASSIONATE about living under the freedom of a Republic. I see and hear it all the time. My DIL is an immigrant -- LEGAL. My idea is to round up all the socialists & ship them off to socialist Europe. Then all the immigrants who desperately yearn for our freedom and treasure it, can come here. It could work.

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Tklinecrew

12:08 AMAug 11 2009

Barbgre1 11:57 PMAug 11 2009 Tklinecrew---:11:44 PMAug 11 2009:RAcocella 11:41 PMAug 11 2009 There will not be a governmant takeove of the healthcare industry. These people are so taken up with theories about the rights of man, that they have totally forgotten his nature >>>>>>>>>>>>> Unfortunately, I disagree. They will cut a deal with the blue dogs, get the votes and pass a vesion that will lead to government controlled health care------------------Do you think it's American to ram a bill through Congress when all the polls show that the majority of citizens are against it? America isn't supposed to work that way. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> I didn't say it was, but it IS the way Congress works, regardless of WHO is in power

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dmeyer115

12:07 AMAug 11 2009

W8; oooh,THE TRUTH CAN BE FOUND AT WHITEHOUSE.GOV!!!! RIGHT !! THE SAME GUY WHO IS SENDING OUT UNION THUGS TO BEAT UP SENIOR CITIZENS IS GOING TO TELL US THE TRUTH!! THE GUY WHO CALLED AMERICAN POLICE "STUPID", THE GUY WHO SAID " THE ELDERLY WILL TAKE PAIN KILLERS" INSTEAD OF HAVING SURGERY TO DIANE SAWYER!! THE GUY WHO WAS THE LEADER OF ACORN, A GROUP INVOLVED IN VOTER FRAUD IN 20 STATES IS GOING TO TELL US THE TRUTH!!

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(3)

W8stnotwantnot

12:07 AMAug 11 2009

Darncomputers4 WROTE: "Is it me??? I feel like Obama and his friends are trying to turn this govt. into a govt like Iran???" ---###--- YES, IT'S YOU! I am so sick of you GOP lapdogs of the pharmaceutical and Insurance industries and all you comparisons with Hitler, Germany, Nazis and Canada and now Iran and Africa. Anybody in their right mind knows that the political and healthcare systems in these places are as different as night and day. When will your lies include Haiti and Cuba? Yes, why not Cuba? Is it because that impoverished island spends a tiny fraction of what we do on healthcare and ranks better than the US in longevity, infant mortality, overall coverage and in a host of other areas? The truth may hurt the insurance and pharmaceutical industries -- but the truth can set the American healthcare system free. You just keep using these negative "buzzwords" to incite people and put them in a negative or fearful state of mind. You can fool some people for a little while but Ameri...

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(6)

HisMightyLight

12:04 AMAug 11 2009

dmeyers===========My husband works with a man who is half Vietnamese and half Chinese. He says the same thing, that a lot of Americans are complacent and don't bother to know how risky this is, and we should all be very concerned about how this threatens our future as a free country.

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(10)

RaspberriesO

12:02 AMAug 11 2009

PeopleSmoks11:59 PMAug 11 2009RaspberriesO, not a lifetime cap, an annual limit on how much the plan will cover. I'll reread that section.... tomorrow. It's late and my republican trophy girlfriend is... well you know the deal.>>>>>PEOPLE!!!!! I'm shocked. Good night. (I guess!!)

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RaspberriesO

12:01 AMAug 11 2009

RACocella ---- Buona notte il mio amico.

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(2)

HisMightyLight

12:01 AMAug 11 2009

RAcocella ================= Good night, God bless.

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(2)

W8stnotwantnot

12:00 AMAug 11 2009

Someone WROTE: You want to fix healthcare? Force all politicians to have the same plan as the people and healthcare will get fixed real fast.==@@== If the "politicians" wrote the bill Obama wants, it would be like the one congress has. ---777--- I agree. The Obama plan is VERY GOOD and would benefit EVERYBODY. The healthcare lobby (and some of the Republicans AND Democrats who take their money) DONT WANT REFORM because it would cut into their MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR PROFITS. One health insurance CEO named Hemsley,at United Healthcare, makes $102,000.OO EVERY HOUR, not every day, not every week, not every month, not every year -- EVERY HOUR -- and THAT'S WHERE OUR HEALTHCARE DOLLARS GO. The insurance companies have never treated a single patient or cured a single disease. They make money by CHARGING MORE AND MORE and by COVERING LESS AND LESS. Some of the posts here against reform are FULL OF LIES and it is impossible to answer all of them here.The Obama plan can be found at Whitehouse.gov...

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(6)

dmeyer115

12:00 AMAug 11 2009

THE PEOPLE AT THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS ARE MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS, BUT THEY ARE ALSO PEOPLE WHO'VE LIVED UNDER THE PURE HELL OF LIBERALISM,COMMUNISM!! I HAVE FRIENDS FROM EASTERN EUROPE, CUBA, AND VIETNAM WHO HAVE GONE TO THESE MEETINGS BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO LIVE UNDER COMMUNISM AGAIN!!

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(7)

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President Barack Obama predicted Monday that Congress would pass his sweeping health care overhaul this fall as more sensible and reasoned arguments prevail. But he said immigration changes would have to wait until next year, and delivered an animated defense of U.S. efforts to help restore Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.