President Obama and the Late Inning Rally on Reform

As I predicted, President Obama got a late inning rally on health care reform started last night with a powerful, purposeful speech before a joint session of Congress. And, I as I predicted we now are left to keep the rally going if we want anything done.

There's no mistaking two things about the President's call to action: 1.) It outlined an ambitious reform plan that, if passed into law, would create radical changes for the better in how health insurance companies operate; and 2.) It signaled that while the President thinks allowing the federal government to operate an insurance program for all Americans, he will not insist that Congress do so. 

He's left that to us; and rightfully so. Telling Congress what to do is the job of the American Public, not the President.  I would love to see President Obama stake his legacy on insisting on a public option, but I know it wouldn't work. I know too that the backlash from such an attempt would likely doom health care reform for another 20 years. President Obama is playing it smart. If the reform package he outlined to the world last night gets passed, it would be a major step forward -- a good start.  I don't think it would be enough, but it would be a major step forward in very delicate economic times, and that will have to do for now. Any future progress would depend on the President's - and our - continued shaping of a progressive agenda over time, just as it did during the Kennedy/Johnson years.

So now it's up to us. President Obama launched a campaign last night to change the message the public has been hearing on reform.  It's come late in the game, to be sure, and that creates more pressure.  But it can be done.

Senior Citizens in conservative states -- especially those with Democrat Senators may hold the key. They're investment in the outcome is huge, their political power is well known.  These senators need to be hearing the message from the President and from their colleagues, but they need to be hearing it from their constituents as well.  Any grass roots efforts to get the job done in the senate should focus on these groups. Lobbying the AARP and other senior action groups may help.

In the end, we won't get a public option. Not this time. We need to work to make sure that what we get is something we can build on, not smoke-and-mirrors.

Please, let's use this space to share thoughts and ideas on how we can do our part to help get the job done.