[The Telegraph, U.K.]
Le Figaro, France
Health Care: Obama's 'Moment of Truth'
"Barack
Obama must take care. On this issue, his first term will turn. If he loses this
battle, his political authority will never be the same."
EDITORIAL By Pierre Rousselin
Translated By Molly
Smith
July 24, 2009
France - Le Figaro - Original Article
(French)
Extending medical insurance
to cover all Americans, 47 million of whom are currently denied it, constitutes
a flagship project that will set the tone for the Obama years. It was one of the
biggest promises of his campaign. Domestically, it would be the principal achievement
of his first term.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
If he wants to succeed, the
president cannot wait. Six months after his arrival at the White House, he
promised that there would be a vote on the reform before the Congressional recess
this summer, beginning of August. He's under pressure because the political
calendar in Congress is very tight, where the launch window for major reform is closing
fast. By the autumn, representatives will be focusing on their re-elections in
the following year. As for the president, his honeymoon is now at an end.
The economic crisis hasn't
helped. It took until now to address the pressing matters and to pass the plan.
Health reform had to wait. And now the deficit has widened to such an extent
that there is no longer any room to maneuver.
Barack Obama is still very popular
- the man himself is more popular than his policies - and his party greatly
dominates both houses of Congress, but the adoption of these reforms is far
from assured.
During his press conference
on Wednesday evening, Barack Obama was on the defensive, unable to clearly
explain how the reform would be financed without adding an additional debt to
the public coffers.
The cohesion of the Democratic
Party is being sorely tested. For the left, taxing the rich is the obvious formula
for very progressive reform. This is the solution supported by House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi. But there is a very important faction of the president’s party - that
of the fiscally-conservative Democrats. They don't want to hear about taxing
high incomes. In Congress, the two sides are tearing each other apart, and Barack
Obama has been slow to decide when to impose his views on his own troops.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The Republicans have yet to
recover from their presidential election defeat, but they know that this is an
opportunity to obtain their revenge. The same strategy worked at the start of
Bill Clinton’s term, when they managed to undermine healthcare reforms proposed
by Hillary.
If they manage to trip up the
president now on such a symbolic issue, the campaign for the mid-term elections
will be very wide open.
Barack Obama must take care. On
this issue, his first term will turn. If he loses this battle, his political
authority will never be the same.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US July 25, 2:09pm]
