ON GLASSES: 'CARE PLAN'
TITLE:
'FRAGILE'
[Het Parool, The Netherlands - Click for
larger version]
El Pais, Spain
The 'Weight' of
Obama's 'Word'
"An extraordinary election campaign and an extraordinary president don't
necessarily make an extraordinary presidency.
That requires extraordinary results. Concrete reform of the health system would
serve as the ultimate proof of the 'weight of his word.'"
By Lluís Bassets
Translated By
Halszka Czarnocka
September 10, 2009
Spain - El Pais - Original Article (Spanish)
Confronting difficulty we
reach for the word: political weapon of democracy par excellence. The word may
serve to mask, entertain or lie, particularly when it emerges from a single voice
that allows for no response. But it can also serve other uses, such as explaining,
arguing and convincing - which can only occur when exposed to the open scrutiny
and oversight of citizens in a parliamentary democracy or, as we like to call
it now, a deliberative one. It's the word as dialogue and democratic
conversation in conjunction with the right to vote to which our leaders have a
special responsibility, commensurate with the range and power of the leader's
voice.
Every time Barack Obama has found
himself in a tight spot, he has reached for the word. It happened during his
election campaign and he did it again yesterday with a speech devoted to health
care reform, for which he chose a solemn and unique formula to address both
houses of Congress in special session - a format that
U.S. presidents are obliged to engage in just once a year,
for the State of the Union address.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The occasion surely merited
it: at stake is perhaps the most important of all the issues he ran on,
at least in terms of domestic policy - and one that will leave the heaviest
imprint on his presidency. The 100-day grace period is long over and polls show
a dizzying drop in the president’s popularity. And on top of all this, his
reform has become a rallying cry for the Republican opposition, badly hurt and
disoriented since its defeat at the polls. In all walks of life, the reform has
awakened the most conservative and individualistic reflexes of
U.S. people, who on principle don’t trust their government
and prefer to deal on their own with health issues and money. Obama isn't only attempting
to achieve the improbable feat of building a health system that doesn't leave
nearly 50 million U.S.
citizens without care; he also wants to do so while reducing skyrocketing
long-term costs. Further complicating the task is that rather that engendering support,
the proposal is contributing to suspicion - with the complexity of the propsed solutions
contributing to a lack of comprehension. Long-cherished libertarian instincts have
led to a quietist
conclusion: perhaps we should stay as we are.
Obama has made obvious
mistakes in the presentation of his reform. He's given too much leeway to
Congress and has sought a bipartisan consensus. His lack of decisiveness and determination
were exploited by the extreme right, permitting a
remobilization of agitators who with incredible ease, resorted to falsity and
lies. The media, particularly the ultraconservative, have been filled with
whoppers, such as that the reform would promote abortion and euthanasia, and that death
panels would decide whether the elderly or handicapped are entitled to continue
living. The "appetizer" for the speech was a campaign during which
conservatives disputed the right of the president of the
United States to address the country’s schoolchildren and encourage
them to apply themselves to their studies.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
Obama’s Health Care 'Coup'
Der Tagesspiegel, Germany:
Americans Demand 'Freedom' to Pay More for Less
Le Figaro, France:
Health Care: Obama's 'Moment of Truth'
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria:
Health Care Knocks Obama Off of His Cloud
The Independent, U.K.:
The Brutal Truth About American Health Care
Daily Mail, U.K.:
U.S. Debate on Health
Care 'Fit Only for Children's Ward'
Obama’s ascent to the White
House represents an extraordinary moment in recent U.S.
history, as was his inauguration and first months
before reaching today's crossroads. But an extraordinary election campaign and
an extraordinary president don't necessarily make an extraordinary presidency. That requires extraordinary
results. In many cases, the only achievable goal is simply the reasonable
management of a problem rather than its miraculous solution. Problems don't disappear but are transformed, and what a leader must do is keep them under control and implement strategies to resolve them. One such strategy relates
to a politician’s power to persuade and even bewitch in order to maintain the
attention and commitment of citizens to the effort to effect change. But
undoubtedly, there is another element - the requirement of tangible results,
even if modest.
“My problem,” Obama told Ted
Kennedy before announcing his presidential campaign “is a lack of gravitas.” Gravitas is a Latin
virtue that has to do with a sense of duty and dignity that relates to
credibility. The words of those who possess this virtue have weight, embody
commitment and produce results. Obama has already achieved these in abundance,
beginning with his shaping of public opinion during the campaign and ending
with his trips abroad and his forays into international politics and human
rights. But now he must realize a far more concrete reform - that of the health
system, which would serve as the ultimate proof of the impact of his speeches, i.e.:
the weight of his word.
CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US September 13, 1:59am]
