Rahmbo Pledges Bipartisan Approach

As a Democrat, I couldn't be happier that the right is still mired in the kind of stuff I see in this thread.

What some of you fail to grasp is that the country's had enough divisiveness, paranoia, distortions and distractions, e.g., they'll "pass some 80% tax on white people at 3 AM." If you really believe that, you need to get out more.

240,000 more people lost their jobs last month. People want solutions not paranoid rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and talk about who's a "real American." The Republican Party has been relying on feral rhetoric rather than solutions for the past several years. Unless they shift into forward gear, they'll remain a rural, southern, and over-65 party.

I appreciate the idea of bipartisan approach to the bigger problems that America is facing now. I think only the collective action can over come the challenges; otherwise all the promised opportunities couldn't be attained. Try to ride all kind of people on the bus as much as this can help to lift up the broken economy and foreign policy. A healthy debates should be entertained not a kind of rigid party politics.

Obama is our first affirmative action President, (see what happens people when you let people have jobs they havent earned)he never would of won this if he wasn't half black, but now that he is almost president I'm happy and here is why?

The Messiah is about to part the waters and heal the planet. So who cares if we run out of Oil he is the MESIAH, he can turn water to Oil.

Also he will use his majic telaprompter to force are enimies to fall in line and become our friends.

I'm glad Obama is president, now I can be a lazy citizen and collect money from the people that actually work for it. YES Mesiah this is a great day in American history.

Kat, sorry that I mistook Flash Overide's statement for yours. Thank's for the clarification.

Great!

James Danley and "Kat is Wrong" : "The American people favor universal healthcare. There is one way of getting there. We must eliminate health insurance."

Not my words, but Mr. Flash Override's.

Foggy:
re: "The VA? Really? I'll give you the GI Bill. But the VA? Seen some of their hospitals have you?"

-actually, I have,.. my next door neighbor, an amazing sweet old guy was a VET who served WW2 in the South Pacific, needed help every now and then to get to the VA hospital....... and I would help him out.
He never spoke of his service much, but when he did, it was amazing what he went through.

Some care..... is better than NO care. Government talks a good story about taking care of the VETS....too bad their rhetoric doesn't match reality on this issue.

Health care should not be a commodity..
I don't have all the answers, maybe no one does, but, health care should be a right of all Americans.....
think about all the money that's used for the recent 'bailouts', the one that's coming for the car Cos, the money spent by both parties for campaigning and by the '527's, and on and on...

yet...... there's no money for a solid universal health care plan

Kat is Wrong @10:49 and James Danley@9:35

I was responding to someone who said universal healthcare was different from universal insurance. I simply brought up that insurance was included Canadian and European healthcare. It was a posting of semantics, nothing more and nothing less. Both of you then jumped at the opportunity to challenge healthcare outside the US. Please get a grip on the drama, gentlemen.

Bob Long wrote: "...just ask any Canadian, ANY Canadian I repeat, if they would change their system for ours."

If that is true, then why do so many Canadians cross the border and pay cash for medical care here in the US?

James,
Whether or not Canada modifies its one payer medical care system (and every system in the world has problems) just ask any Canadian, ANY Canadian I repeat, if they would change their system for ours. For that matter, ask any person in the world if they would prefer our system. Of course, they would say no. This is because they understand that a society is only as healthy as the least are healthy. We, of course, don't really have a system at all. Beyond that others in the Western world itself whose systems provide on average better health care to most of their citizens for less cost would tell you that at least everyone in their societies can get basic coverage. A society has to take responsibility for its health. Period. Call that socialism or whatever you want to call it, but it is a basic responsibility that we have forfeited by believing in the credo that the free market is God. Medicine in the modern world does not work in the free market. We do not live in the nineteenth century. Medical care in a society our size has to be a joint effort to be effective. It requires a decision that is made by the people who get sick-in other words the whole society itself.

Kat,
The countries of the EU each have there own individual plans. Germany is different from France. Yes, there is health insurance for all, but in Germany for instance, they still use private insurance companies to administer the benefits. And not everybody gets the general health insurance plan from the State. It's means tested and after a certain income level, you must purchase private insurance. But, you must still contribute a portion to the general insurance fund plus taxes plus social security. It ends up being quite a lot of money deducted form your monthly salary. There are no free lunches, even in Europe.

I saw a lady being interviewed after the election, she said "now I do not have to worry about going to the doctor, my kids being educated properly, and filling my tank up with gas." I wonder what she will say four years from now? I hope all of her problems will be solved but I have a feeling it will be more dependent on her decisions and not the government.

Kat, so you really want a health care system like that one they have in Canada? I hope you are healthy and never need a doctor!!

Are you aware that the founder of the Canadian health care system, Claude Castonguay, recently stated: "We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice." And he is now urging for the legalization of private health insurance. That's because Canada's health care system is broken. There is a report that several towns are starting to follow Norwalk, Ontario's lead in holding lotteries where the prize is an appointment with the local doctor.

Things are so bad that the Canadian Parliament passed a low that requires that the emergency rooms see their patients within four hours. The catch is the clock doesn't start running until you are actually in the waiting room. So frequently there are ambulances with patients waiting outside for hours. That means these ambulances are out of service for hours and unable to respond to new emergency calls.

wow ax,
you should just pack up and leave if that's how you feel. No need for that kind of attitude here!

It appears that there are a lot of people in favor of a socialist Government… well I'm having a great life without big Daddy Government bottle feeding me... just get your sticky fingers out of my wallet……..Anybody ever read the Redbook by Mao Se Tung….. socialism here we come…..

Hey, the GOP needs to remember - - there was an ELECTION - and they LOST. SO_O_O_O, they don't get to pick President Obama's staff for him.

The American people favor universal healthcare. There is only one way of getting there. We must eliminate the health insurance industry . . .

Canada's system is based on both compulsory taxation and health insurance, like countries in the European Union. Most of us will be relieved with more affordable and accessible healthcare, whatever it's called.

pefros, now we are getting somewhere. Both sides suck. I think we have historically bad govt in this country. I wish Obama nothing but the best but I don't know how we get real and meaningful change when we are ate up with special interests in Washington. And a whole bunch of em think that Obama owes them. Oh and we are beyond broke.

Jake, thanks for including the video -- an interesting interview. Clearly, we can all look forward to an aggressive, vigorous Administration dedicated to leading the way to changes to rebuild the nation.

That is one of the daunting tasks of the Obama/Biden administration - to attempt to repair the general lack of trust of politicians by the public, and a lack of trust in American political processes.

It's a big task, but one of Obama's long-held messages - the next years will begin to tell the tale.