Remember

Why we don't heckle the President

John Feehrey worked in Congress in the 1990's for House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL)

When I worked in the House of Representatives in the mid-'90s, Congressional Republicans grew enamored of the idea of replicating the tradition of "Question Time" that was popular in the British House of Commons.

I thought of that episode in congressional history when I heard the immortal words of Joe Wilson, who impolitely called the president a liar Thursday evening.

When he blurted out what many other Republicans probably were thinking, he crossed an invisible but firm line of decorum on the House floor. Under House rules, you are prohibited from casting aspersions on the motivations of your colleagues.

Some may question why we treat the office of the president with such respect, when sometimes our presidents in the their personal or professional lives perhaps weren't worthy of that respect.

I guess it is because the office of the president is one of the unifying symbols of our country, and we place our best hopes and worst fears in the lap of the occupant, hoping that whoever resides in the Oval Office will resist partisan temptation and do the best for all of our citizens, regardless of party or philosophy.

We treat the office of president with the utmost respect because we hope that the president will return the favor.

Misunderestimated

"I swear man. Every time. Like, every single time. They pile on they write him off and then he does his thing and gives a great speech that hits the points just about right. They said he was throwing the public option overboard, then he put 7 paragraphs of it in the speech. They said he was going to give his liberal base the cold shoulder, then he smacked the GOP around. They said he wasn’t emotional enough, then talked about Ted Kennedy, average Americans and the moral urgency of health care reform. Damn you Barack Obama for bringing honor back to the presidency." - Oliver Willis

Republicans won't applaud fiscal responsibility

Did you notice during the speech that when Obama talked about fiscal responsibility, the Democrats rose to applaud and the GOP sat on their hands?

Really? You can't even be bipartisan on fiscal responsibility?

They'd oppose Obama if they were on fire and he was putting them out.

"You lie"

Congressman Joe Wilson heckled the President during his speech, as if a Joint Session of Congress was just another lunatic town hall.

Shameful.

And shameless.

During an appearance on CNN after Obama's speech, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wilson's outburst was "totally disrespectful -- [there's] no place for it in that setting or any other and he should apologize immediately."

Robert Reich explains the public option in 70 seconds

Even Beck ought to be able to understand this.

"I Am Not The First President To Take Up This Cause, But I Am Determined To Be The Last"

Preview excerpts from tonight's speech:

The president will say that his plan will meet three goals: "It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don't. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. It's a plan that asks everyone to take responsibility for meeting this challenge - not just government and insurance companies, but employers and individuals. And it's a plan that incorporates ideas from Senators and Congressmen; from Democrats and Republicans - and yes, from some of my opponents in both the primary and general election."

After presenting the plan, Obama will say, "I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now."

Tonight's the Night

"I, out of an effort to give Congress the ability to do their thing and not step on their toes, probably left too much ambiguity out there, which allowed then opponents of reform to come in and to fill up the airwaves with a lot of nonsense," Obama told ABC's Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America." - Barack Obama

Max Baucus says he's moving on, with or without the GOP.

Meanwhile, because Baucus is a two-face, Gibbs calls Max a dick, in so many words and wonders whether he's moving on without his special interests and their checkbooks

"[W]e’ve seen what we’ve read in the paper, but I do not believe that we’ve seen paper on the plan... I was told that — that K Street had a copy of the Baucus plan, meaning, not surprisingly, the special interests have gotten a copy of the plan that I understand was given to committee members today." - Robert Gibbs

But the plan Baucus floated has no public option and penalties for not buying in. In essence, no competition to bring down prices but a mandate to buy it anyway.

Just as auto coverage is now mandatory, so would a requirement that all Americans get health insurance. Penalties for failing to get insurance would start at $750 a year for individuals and $1,500 for families. Households making more than three times the federal poverty level — about $66,000 for a family of four — would face the maximum fines. For families, it would be $3,800, and for individuals, $950. - AP

BTW - Baucus' plan was authored by Liz Fowler, current Baucus staffer and former VP for Public Policy and External Affairs at private insurance giant Wellpoint, parent company of Blue Cross. While she was at Wellpoint, she was intimately involved in recission, cancelling policies because people got sick. Oh, it was also a violation of state law.

Gus Porter: American Legend

No Nazi socialist health care for him....

Starring the great Thomas Haden Church