OPINION:
Barack Obama, the guy who’s no longer president, gave a campaign-type, rally-the-troops speech a few hours ago — while accepting an award for “politically courageous leadership,” no less — aimed at making President Donald Trump’s life more difficult.
He didn’t put it that way; it was implied.
He spoke on health care. He accepted his 2017 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for exhibiting the “qualities of politically courageous leadership.” And he told Congress — more specifically, Republicans in Congress — that if they didn’t keep his signature Obamacare intact, sick and poor people would die.
Well, he didn’t put it that way. But it was implied.
So anyway, here’s what he said — though you’ve probably got the liberal talking points on socialized health care down by now.
“In [a] volatile tinderbox of a time, President Kennedy led with a steady hand, diffusing the most perilous moment of the cold war without firing a single shot and forcing the rights of young black men and women to study at the university of their choice,” he said.
What’s that got to do with health care? Well, hold on. The rollercoaster cart’s rounding a sharp curve. But it comes back.
He went on: “It’s worth remembering this — the times in which President Kennedy led us, because for many Americans I know that this feels like an uncertain and even perilous time … And at such moments, courage is necessary. At such moment, we need courage to stand up to hate not just in others but in ourselves.”
OK. it’s a long curve — granted.
Hold tight; the end of the ride is coming. He referenced the congressional members who were new to office the same year he shoved down the throats of the American people — er, passed into law — Obamacare. And he spoke of their courage to tackle the touch issues
And now here’s the hidden gem, among the lofty hubris: “And they found themselves in the midst of a great debate, a debate that had been going on for decades, a debate that the Kennedy family had participated in and helped lead: a debate about whether a nation as wealthy as the United States of America would finally make health care not a privilege but a right for all Americans.”
And there you have it, folks — the elephant in the room for all this ongoing talk about Obamacare on Capitol Hill.
Is health care a right — the type described by Founding Fathers as fitting the bill of “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness?”
Truthfully, no.
But thanks to Obama, it now appears so.
Of all the talk on Capitol Hill about health care reform and Obamacare repeal, where’s the discussion about the fact the political class should not be involved in medical insurance?
Right. It’s all about improvement — not so much about obliteration.
And that’s why Obama, even though he’s not in office any longer, is still winning the political debate on Obamacare.
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