Obama hits McCain on healthcare
With lack of regulations blamed by many for the Wall Street meltdown, Barack Obama is trying to punish Republican rival John McCain for his proposals to open Social Security and healthcare to more market competition.
Obama slammed McCain's support for private savings accounts in speeches over the weekend. And today, he launched a new TV ad on his backing for allowing families to buy health insurance plans in other states.
"We’ve seen what Bush-McCain policies have done to our economy," the announcer says, as images of failed Wall Street firms appear.
"Now John McCain wants to do the same to our health care," the announcer continues. "McCain just published an article praising Wall Street deregulation, said he’d reduce oversight of the health insurance industry, too, just 'as we have done over the last decade in banking.'
"Increasing costs and threatening coverage, a prescription for disaster," the announcer says, citing a Boston Globe editorial on Sunday criticizing McCain's healthcare plan. "John McCain, a risk we just can’t afford to take."
McCain's campaign disputes the ad, saying that his comments on the issue have been distorted.
“This is absurd," Doug Holtz-Eakin, his senior economic advisor, said in a statement. "If Barack Obama thinks that today’s financial troubles were caused by policies which allowed Americans to use an ATM anywhere in this country, then it is better that he continue to be silent about solutions to the crisis on Wall Street. That crisis arose from corruption and regulators asleep at the switch. It's also possible Senator Obama is simply a dishonest politician who will say anything to get himself elected and just isn’t ready to be President.”
At issue is an article that McCain wrote for the September/October issue of Contingencies magazine.
In it, he writes, "I would also allow individuals to choose to purchase health insurance across state lines, when they can find more affordable and attractive products elsewhere that they prefer. Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."
The real result of allowing insurance to be sold from state to state would be that insurance companies would be free to move their headquarters to states with fewer regulations in regard to the cost of premiums, rules about pre-existing conditions, coverage, etc. McCain's plan would create a disincentive for employers to provide health insurance to employees. Since 60% of Americans receive their health care through their place of employment, this too could be an absolute disaster. Because everyone needs health insurance, this is an industry that requires some government regulation. Otherwise, we would all be at the mercy of corporations looking to maximize their profits. Those among us who are sick would be at great risk, as insurance companies would not be obliged to offer coverage, nor would employers.
McCain has lost his HONOR.
He is DISHONORABLE by way of dishonesty.
When I use an ATM anywhere in this country that is not part of my bank, I pay a two to four dollar fee. I remember doing the same thing in the 90's without a fee.
Is Mccain now showing his age? Last week Mccain's response to the biggest economic meltdown were absurd confusing and made him look like he was losing it. Now he wants to start firing people for this financial mess, to do that he has to start with Bush first and to all the lobyists who is helping his campaign who actually are the same people responsible for this mess in the first place.
Mccain is NOW starting to show his AGE.
It’s astounding that 44 percent of Americans still support a party that completely failed for the whole 8 years in control. McCain made in an interview with Detroit TV station WXYZ, saying, "I've bought American literally all my life and I'm proud. But a report McCain and his wife, Cindy, own more than a dozen cars — including several foreign-made automobiles. Yeah… but Obama is still the "elitist", right? McCain is the most hypocritical, lying, sleaziest politician I've ever witnessed. I'm still dumbfounded why anyone with the least bit of intelligence would vote for him. Do the Republicans even deserve another chance after the mess that Bush made in the last 8 years which McCain supported him over 90 percent? No, of course not. What is the real answer? People just won't vote for a black man. What would you live to tell your children about the damage you’ve done to your beloved country, voted against an intelligent man just because of racism? Just imagine as an American, waking up after election day to know that McCain-Palin are your new leaders for the next 4 to 8 years. How can you ever forgive yourself for such a fatal mistake?
Did you know that McCain proposes taxing employer-provided health care benefits to pay for his programs and tax cuts for millionaires and corporations? He hopes to raise $3.2 trillion from the middle class over the next ten years this way.
How do you suppose THAT will incentivize companies to give their employees health insurance?
Whatever. I'm done with it, I've had enough, 20 months is long enough for a presidential campaign. I guess I just didn't save enough for this last leg of the race. I'm dejected, I already feel defeated by overload and overwhelm. The lying liars continue to lie as though their lives depend on it, and I'm out of breath from trying to refute (or even keep count of) the lies they've already told.
I suppose we deserve John McCain, we lazy Americans. We are too busy loading our iPods and tending our Facebook pages and, well, just plain working enough to pay the bills. Hopefully, some of us will look up before plunging over the cliff with the rest of the lemmings.
McCain is hamstrung by the same approach to healthcare that has made the United States a laughing stock. We are the only developed country that does not have national healthcare available to all of its citizens without question. Being rejected by an insurer for pre-existing conditions is the product of for-profit healthcare. Free-market, unfettered, economic principles to provide care for the sick is exactly why we have 47 million people in this country without any healthcare coverage whatsoever. We already have a working model for universal healthcare, it is called Medicare and it does work. We need to expand it to cover everyone. Instead of pouring hundreds of billions into the pockets of the Halliburtons, Lockheed Martins, and Blackwaters of this world, which we do without flinching, we need to make sure that no citizen will ever be denied the medical care they need whether or not they unemployed, whether or not they can afford health insurance, whether or not they have cancer or heart disease or asthma. It is a fundamental human right. Bare-knuckle, for-profit, free-market, bottom-line driven healthcare has failed us miserably. For-profit insurance companies care only about their shareholders, not about patients. McCain has his head stuck in the past.
Bravo, Johan! You hit the nail right on the head! It's about time that someone starts "calling it like it is". I fear that some people are "hiding" their racism/bigotry behind the lies that are spreading throughout the McCain ads. It make it easier for them to vote for McCain/Palin, without having to admit their bias. It is really a very sad statement for our Country.
No one watches the news anymore. No one reads news papers. No one will watch the debates. McCain will win the election because people will believe the lies in his campaign adds. Just like with Bush, America wont figure out that it's made a mistake till it's far too late. I know, I know, the truth hurts.
The GOP, and the moneyed elites that control it, are desperate to hold power, and all the financial and other profits that come with it. They found a great marionette -- er, candidate -- in McCain... you can practically see the strings on his arms and legs. Sad to see how McCain is saying anything, regardless of what his personal beliefs may be, simply to get elected. I agree with mtobias about dishonor and dishonesty. I say go Obama, sweep out the Republican administrators who have sucked our wallets dry with two wars and the coming socialization of the debts of the Wall Street firms. Not that Democrats are much better.... but incremental improvement is better than a continued slide into second-class nationhood. I don't want the US to become the UK of the 21st century, at least not yet.
I'm sick to death of party politics. I really don't like either candidate, but will vote for the one I believe will do the least harm. Which really won't matter because, if a Democrat wins but the House is a Republican majority or vise versa, it will be a fight to get anything done, since neither will want the other to take credit for anything that really may benefit the country or it's citizens.
I wish we could vote for a person and not a party, then maybe we would get a better selection to chose from.
first of all ,it was not the bush mccain policies that causeed the drop in the economy,it was the cliton administration. you are an idiot to believe that only john mccain is lieing.I agree that he does,but obamma has to be the greatest lieing, bulls*** artist of them all.you and I and every one else in this country are the asses being led to the slaughter..every thing in this election is about LIES.
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