Gobama!!

[Anonymous]

He said he would do it and he did it. Wahoo!! He did it, he really did it!! Yipee! I can get health insurance once again. Yahoo!! Nancy and Harry, well, they helped, but HE did it.

[Anonymous]

God bless him. He said he would and he did. Now my mother can get health care insurance. Now I can stop listening to women trade tips about how to have a safe home birth not because they are into natural birthing but because they can't afford to have a baby in the hospital. Now my 4 year old nephew can get his diabetes meds covered.

[Anonymous]

I think he's surpassed Bill Clinton as the greatest politician in our history. He pulled this thing out of a hat, basically. I applaud and applaud him. And thank him from the bottom of my heart.

You doubters will thank him too one day, only you won't notice it because your insurance WON'T be canceled because you get sick. And your pre-existing conditions won't prevent you from getting health insurance when your DH decides to go out on his own and start his own business.

It's a great day in America!

[Anonymous]

Do you think his ratings will bump up because of this? I think what he did was the right thing, but I'm don't think a large part of America agrees with me.

[Anonymous]

He did do the right thing by laying everything on the line. It was a really risky thing to do. I was skeptical, but now I am glad that this is overwith earlier in his term. Hopefully as time passes things will soften up - but at least everyone is on notice that he will fight for what he believes in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think his ratings will bump up because of this? I think what he did was the right thing, but I'm don't think a large part of America agrees with me.

I think it might eventually. I was really surprised on Sunday night when Diane Sawyer broke into the show I was watching to announce that the bill had passed. She then listed what it would do: keep people from being kicked off their insurance because they're too sick; prevent companies from putting a lifetime cap on benefits; make it so people with pre-existing conditions could find insurance, etc. And I thought, wow, that's great stuff! Who couldn't like that? And I realized then that there had been so much dickering over the fine points of the bill (and the media as Howard Kurtz noted in the WaPo had maybe gotten mired in them as well) and obsession with some of the crazy conspiracy theories (death panels, puhlease!) that I lost sight of the fact that this bill would actually give me and my family a higher level of security as well as my unemployed friends and my brother who works as a contract worker and has to get his own health insurance despite a lot of pretty bad pre-existing conditions.

I know I had lost sight of what the bill would mean to the average American, so I think it's possible that some of those folks who were whipped into a frenzy by the Tea Party activists and others may end up taking advantage of these benefits and change their minds eventually. But who knows? We'll see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think his ratings will bump up because of this? I think what he did was the right thing, but I'm don't think a large part of America agrees with me.

DH and I were discussing this last night. People admire strength and gravitate to it-- even when they don't necessarily agree with the policy-- so I really expect Obama to gain from this, especially among moderates/independents/those without a strong opposition to this bill. And, I think by making the battle so tough, the Republicans have ensured that Obama gains even more political capital from this victory.

This was a total game changer.

[Anonymous]

I hope it was a game changer.

I am still dumbfounded by the anger and hate that is still with us though. Watching James Clyburn discuss the hateful messages he receved by fax today made my stomach turn. And watching the video of John Lewis having racial epithets yelled at him, sent me over the edge.

I am happy that this passed, but nervous about the climate in this country.

[Anonymous]

I'm so happy to read this thread (and some of the others on here). After reading so many of my "Facebook friends" status updates lately, I was beginning to think I was the only one who supported this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think his ratings will bump up because of this? I think what he did was the right thing, but I'm don't think a large part of America agrees with me.

DH and I were discussing this last night. People admire strength and gravitate to it-- even when they don't necessarily agree with the policy-- so I really expect Obama to gain from this, especially among moderates/independents/those without a strong opposition to this bill. And, I think by making the battle so tough, the Republicans have ensured that Obama gains even more political capital from this victory.

This was a total game changer.

As an independent who supported Obama, I was really disappointed in him. I was beginning to believe he had no backbone or leadership abilities and I had been bamboozeled (don't think that is the correct spelling btw). Anyway, I am back on board. Therefore, I agree with your DH. He showed strength. I like that in a man. Oh, and a president.

[Anonymous]

Who knows in what way it will be a game changer. On another message board I read (with more conservatives on it than this one), someone started a thread about this saying she was sick to her stomach right now. Literally nauseous. She worries for her future, her children's future, what lies ahead for the country. So many people agreed with her too. She and others who agree are looking forward to this fall's elections and 2012 to clean house.

There are more people out there who think like that than you may realize But I think once everything calms down and the fear starts to die down and rational people realize nothing too bad will happen (aside from the obvious growing pains...) most people won't want to clean house.

[Anonymous]

Well the lady who was literally sick for her stomach can now take solace in the fact that she's now going to be eligible for health care for her stomach problems . . . because otherwise, years down the road, if she developed stomach cancer a savvy insurance review unit could locate her post and declare her stomach pains "preexisting."

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Who knows in what way it will be a game changer. On another message board I read (with more conservatives on it than this one), someone started a thread about this saying she was sick to her stomach right now. Literally nauseous. She worries for her future, her children's future, what lies ahead for the country. So many people agreed with her too. She and others who agree are looking forward to this fall's elections and 2012 to clean house.

Does this woman even know what's in the bill? The media has done a real disservice by spending so much time covering mythical hype (death panels, etc.) and process. Very little has actually been reported about the actual contents of the law. I think that once people realize that they don't have to march Grannie off to the death panel and get in line for the "government plan", they will feel a little better. For the vast majority of people, not much is going to noticeably change. For a not insignificant number, reform is going to be a great benefit. And, for a smaller number, it's going to mean slightly higher taxes. I don't see why anyone in any of those categories would fear for their children's futures.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who knows in what way it will be a game changer. On another message board I read (with more conservatives on it than this one), someone started a thread about this saying she was sick to her stomach right now. Literally nauseous. She worries for her future, her children's future, what lies ahead for the country. So many people agreed with her too. She and others who agree are looking forward to this fall's elections and 2012 to clean house.

Does this woman even know what's in the bill? The media has done a real disservice by spending so much time covering mythical hype (death panels, etc.) and process. Very little has actually been reported about the actual contents of the law. I think that once people realize that they don't have to march Grannie off to the death panel and get in line for the "government plan", they will feel a little better. For the vast majority of people, not much is going to noticeably change. For a not insignificant number, reform is going to be a great benefit. And, for a smaller number, it's going to mean slightly higher taxes. I don't see why anyone in any of those categories would fear for their children's futures.

Agree, so I was amazed how quickly the tenor of the coverage changed Sunday evening as the bill passed. All of sudden, the preface of news coverage was something along the lines of, "Congress passed health care reform legislation tonight, which will do the following great things for the American people: X, Y, Z." I think many people who've trusted public opinion polls during the past year will be surprised by how much the public comes to view HCR positively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think his ratings will bump up because of this? I think what he did was the right thing, but I'm don't think a large part of America agrees with me.

DH and I were discussing this last night. People admire strength and gravitate to it-- even when they don't necessarily agree with the policy-- so I really expect Obama to gain from this, especially among moderates/independents/those without a strong opposition to this bill. And, I think by making the battle so tough, the Republicans have ensured that Obama gains even more political capital from this victory.

This was a total game changer.

As an independent who supported Obama, I was really disappointed in him. I was beginning to believe he had no backbone or leadership abilities and I had been bamboozeled (don't think that is the correct spelling btw). Anyway, I am back on board. Therefore, I agree with your DH. He showed strength. I like that in a man. Oh, and a president.

Hurray! (But the opinion above was mine, not DH's. I like to think that I'm the one who's more politically astute!)