Much about Obama’s health care speech was quite defensive. His voice was brimming with genuine anger when he talked about the “lies” and “misinformation” and “scare tactics” used to denounce his health care plan. “Lies, plain and simple,” he said. (It’s rare for a president to actually use the word “lies” outside a campaign.)

The majority of the speech was proddingly practical, in a dutiful debater kind of way. He did the same thing he’s done in the 28 speeches he’s already given on the subject—go point by point rebutting his critics on the questions of abortion, illegal immigrants, cost. And he comforted the main constituency opposing the plan—Americans already satisfied with their coverage—that nothing in their plan will change.

But then, at the end, came the rousing defense of liberalism I was waiting for. For a speech in which he was trying to forge a consensus this was a brave and risky move. You can say to that vast middle of Americans nervous about their own health insurance plans: “There, there, don’t worry, things will be good for you.” And just stop there. Or you can go one step further and move them to a higher plane, which is what he did:

“When fortune turns against one of us, others are willing to lend a helping hand.

This is the truth about health care reform. Its requires people to think in a communal way and recognize that a minor personal sacrifice will make things better for everyone. Compare this to what Ronald Reagan, then-candidate for governor of California, once said about Medicare:

“If this program passes, one of these years we will tell our children and our children's children what it was like in American when men were free.

Scare tactics never grow old.

Tags: health care reform, Obama, Obama health care reform speech

Obama was back in campaign form tonight—fighting back, and dead serious about it. And there were notes of his inaugural address, when he called on Americans by invoking “the character of the country” and our sense of responsibility. And the president soared, in that lovely ode to Teddy Kennedy at the end, which you’re right, Hanna, went straight for liberals’ hearts.

But on the specifics, on the substance, I heard more tacking to the center than love for the left. Obama promised that people who don’t have employer-based coverage, or Medicaid or Medicare, will be able to buy affordable coverage on an exchange. But then he finessed the public option. He nodded to its value, but he also said it was only a means to an end. He will not insist on it. He’ll leave it for another day. Maybe four years from now.

There was a lot else to like: No more denial of coverage for preexisting conditions, no more losing coverage when you need it most, no more bankruptcy for out-of-pocket medical expenses. And no more gender rating! This is the 80 percent of healthcare reform that the president argued there is basic agreement about, right?

Obama was short on specifics, however, for how he is going to pay for the expansion of coverage he outlined. He promised, “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits. Either now, or in the future.” You had to take him on faith about that tonight, though.

The White House has now released its plan for healthcare, and we can all chew over the details, and maybe they will make tonight's outline look different in the morning’s light. But for now I feel torn between the soaring and earthly moments. Obama was winning and pitch perfect in making Kennedy our poster-child for healthcare reform, by arguing that Teddy made this the cause of his life because his children got cancer and he never forgot the terror of it. Will the text of the bill he signs meet the standard Kennedy would have held it to? Kennedy was a realist. And so the answer is probably yes. But I want to push on the question some more.

Tags: defense of liberalism, healthcare reform, obama's healthcare speech to congress, Ted Kennedy

Everyone seems to agree that it was bad for South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson to yell "You lie!" at the president last night during the health care speech. Gail Collins calls it "not a good plan," New York Democrat Joseph Crowley called it "outrageous," and Rahm Emanuel said: "No president has ever been treated like that. Ever." That's when I started to get suspicious. Rahm Emanuael? The man known to fit three "fucks" in a sentence, outraged by "lie"? The president himself said his opponents "lie" not seconds before, and it's much more unusual for a president to use that word than for some back-bench congressman. Outside of that chamber the health care debate has been anything but civil, so why pretend otherwise?

Wilson has of course already apologized, saying, "my emotions got the better of me." The president wasn't available to take the call so he had to apologize to Emanuel instead, which must have hurt. My only disappointment is that this was a spontaneous outburst instead of a genuine, deliberate heckle. One of the great pleasures of seeing Obama give an official speech is that you can imagine you're in London, watching the British parliament, where spirited and sometimes nasty debate might takes place instead of the tedious "civility" that governs these phony American sessions. When I heard that outburst last night I thought, finally, we've arrived.

Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Tags: Barack Obama, health care, joe wilson, obama speech about health care

Hanna, here's why I'm not cheering on Joe Wilson, the Heckler of the Moment, with you. It's the sharpness of the insult he leveled at Obama, and the pattern that fits into. Suddenly, it is OK to insult the president by screaming about him giving a speech to school kids. It's OK to invite him to speak at commencement but deny him an honorary degree. And now it's OK for a member of Congress to yell "Lie!" at him in the middle of a speech to the joint sessions of Congress. These are all historical firsts, aren't they? Why now? I'm not sure if the answer is mostly about the ranting of talk-radio culture, or this real moment of intensified partisan divide, or a lurking discomfort, in some kitchens out there, with having an African-American president. But the timing is suspicious.

Tags: joe wilson, obama's health care reform speech

Emily, I cringed last night when I saw the clip of Joe Wilson screaming “You lie!” during Obama’s speech. I’m on the record as thinking it was silly for people to pull their kids out of class rather than listen to Obama’s back-to-school speech. But do you really think the vitriol that Obama faces is worse than what President Bush faced? Insulting the president reached national-pastime status not long after Dec. 12, 2000, when President Bush was finally declared the winner of the 2000 election. (Not that it wasn’t a growth industry during the Clinton administration.)

Bush also faced protests at commencement speeches, and he was booed during the 2005 State of the Union address. Maybe those particular incidents weren’t as heated as what Obama has faced. But look at some other examples of Bush hatred: An artist collected pubic hair from volunteers for a “Not my Bush” exhibit. Newsbusters has this photo gallery of “Kill Bush” protest signs. Is “Death to Extremist Christian Terrorist Pig-Bush” not an insult? What about when Natalie Maine of Dixie Chicks called Bush a “dumb fuck”?

I do think it’s true that conservatives are more organized protesters than before, judging from the town halls and from the high attendance at the tea parties. But I think it’s a big leap, and perhaps unfair, to link it to Obama’s race. The rise of blogs and social networking sites makes it easy to seek out like-minded individuals (and sometimes ONLY like-minded individuals), and it makes it easier to organize. And perhaps people are miffed that they just spent eight years watching “their guy” get bashed and they’re going to give as good as they got. Yes, I’m guessing that among the thousands and thousands of people who’ve attended a tea party or asked a question at a town hall, there have been some racists. But it’s not fair to suggest that people wouldn’t be speaking out if Obama were white.

Photograph of George W. Bush by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images.

Tags: Barack Obama, joe wilson, obama's health care reform speech

Amen, Emily, the “lurking discomfort, in some kitchens out there, with having an African-American president,” that you speak of is no longer lurking, and it certainly has moved out of the kitchen and into the open. And it’s getting full-throated endorsement and encouragement from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, and all the other Obama-haters out there. Glenn Beck, of all people, called President Obama a racist. As laughable as that accusation was, it was an excuse for all the real racists, including Beck and his cohort, to go on the attack against President Obama in very personal, racially coded ways. It’s no wonder that death threats against Pres. Obama are up 400 percent.

It’s interesting how the views of certain opponents of health care reform and of President Obama’s recent speech to school children mesh with those from the birther movement. No matter what he says or does, it is seen as a sinister plot by an illegitimate black president designed to take away the long-cherished rights of good, law-abiding white Americans. For proof, just listen to some of the language used and read the signs that were held at anti-Obama rallies masquerading as healthcare reform rallies.

When I wrote about this issue early this week, I was not the least bit surprised by the level of a hate-filled, racist, invective I received in response.

And Hanna, the president did not call members of Congress liars, individually by name or as a group. He said his health care proposal had been distorted and lied about by opponents, which is true. That’s very different than being heckled by a member of Congress, a former colleague, no less, shouting “You lie!” Even Bill Clinton, whom many of the right-wing bluebloods in Congress also resented because he, like Obama, didn’t have the right pedigree (rich and with politically powerful white male relatives), didn’t get shouted down during speeches to Congress—even when he did lie. And yes, Rachael, presidents are insulted all the time and in various forums, and have been booed at the State of the Union (Bush was not the only one, was he?), but I don’t recall Bush, or any other president, being called a liar while addressing Congress and the nation—even though Bush lied to the American people about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.

And Hanna, as for being disappointed that Rep. Joe Wilson’s stunt “was a spontaneous outburst instead of a genuine, deliberate heckle,” how do we know that it was even spontaneous? I’m sure he has disagreed with past presidents speaking before Congress. Why was able to contain himself then? That half-hearted apology he gave afterwards was a joke: “Last night, I heard from the leadership that they wanted me to contact the White House and state that my statements were inappropriate. I did.” So essentially he apologized because the Republican Party leadership asked him to, not because he regretted it and wanted to do the right thing.

If the civility shown during joint sessions of Congress and during the State of the Union is tedious and phony, as you say, what’s the alternative? A free-for-all of rudeness? This may be your definition of us finally "arriving" in our level of public discourse, but I personally think we have a long way to go.

There was one silver lining to Wilson’s outburst, however. It has prompted a rush of campaign donations—more than $400,000 in less than 24 hours—to his Democratic opponent. What a costly and poetic ending for putting his foot in his mouth.

Tags: Obama health care speech