Obama Health Care Speech

Last night was Obama's speech about health care reform. I did not watch it, but I did read the text here. And here is a link to the GOP response.

It seems like the speech went over well, and I think in general he made all the right points. The only thing that stands out is the claim that we will pay for it with savings and if we cannot, the law will force the government to find the savings somewhere else. Seems to me like he is kicking the can down the road, since I find it unlikely that the savings will pay for the new costs. Although maybe it is smart politics - pass the reform now, then later make the hard choices about cutting programs or increasing taxes.

The Republican responses seem to be all over the map. Their call to start over with a new bill is absurd. Bill Kristol's thinks that this shouldn't be a priority right now - another ridiculous statement. But their concerns over the cost are accurate. We'll just have to see what resonates. In general it seems many want to just kill it, but I think enough want something to happen, which will allow a good bill to pass.

Anyway, for your information, here is the Times' version of fact-checking.