In case you missed it among all the idiotic "reporters" Blago-blabbing in today's press conference, President-elect Obama made specific point-blank promises to establish genuine universal, affordable health care in this country in the next year.
"The time has come -- this year, in this new Administration -- to modernize our health care system for the twenty-first century; to reduce costs for families and businesses; and to finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every American."
And:
"Some may ask how, at this moment of economic challenge, we can afford to invest in reforming our health care system. Well, I ask a different question -- I ask how we can afford not to....If we want to overcome our economic challenges, we must also finally address our health care challenge."
And in case you've forgotten how to interpret discussion of the American health care catastrophe in simple English, this is not Clintonian double-talk about "managed care," nor is it Smirky/Darth pious lies about the power of the market. It's not a whiny Clinton excuse about an uncooperative Congress. It's not a trillion-dollar giveaway to insurance companies masquerading as a prescription benefit.
This is something we haven't see in this country in 56 years. Since Harry Truman left office, in fact:
A liberal Democratic president offering in straightforward language a difficult, expensive but essential solution to a clear-and-present danger to the General Welfare.
We are so used to a deep-space vacuum of leadership in Washington, each demonstration of that quality by Barack Obama makes it more, not less, difficult to believe we really did elect him.
Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ...
