"I am not bound to win, but I'm bound to be true. I'm not bound to succeed, but I'm bound to live up to what light I have."Obama spoke of Representative Betsy Markey who, in spite of the opposition of the largest newspaper in her district, announced that she would support reform. And the next day the paper ran an editorial saying that they had looked at the proposed legislation, and now they were actually glad that Rep. Markey was supporting it.
Obama: "I am convinced that when you go out there and you are standing tall and you are saying I believe that this is the right thing to do for my constituents and the right thing to do for America, that ultimately the truth will out."His message was:
I know this is a tough vote. I've talked to many of you individually. And I have to say that if you honestly believe in your heart of hearts, in your conscience, that this is not an improvement over the status quo; . . . if you think that somehow it's okay that we have millions of hardworking Americans who can't get health care and that it's all right, it's acceptable, in the wealthiest nation on Earth that there are children with chronic illnesses that can't get the care that they need -- if you think that the system is working for ordinary Americans rather than the insurance companies, then you should vote no on this bill. . . .It was a powerful speech, some say it's his most emotional yet. It could be persuasive for those few remaining holdouts.
But if you agree that the system is not working for ordinary families, if you've heard the same stories that I've heard everywhere, all across the country, then help us fix this system. Don't do it for me. Don't do it for Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid. Do it for all those people out there who are struggling. . . .
We'll know in less than 24 hours now.
Ralph
What a cliff hanger! I can't even read about it. And the Mental Health Parity Law goes into effect June 1st...
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