[Cerek]

Originally Posted by SpiritWarrior Hehe, well now we know for sure IW is back . Didn't read the full length of the above wall of text but, regardless of Rush and co. wanting him to fail, that is very different than him actually failing. It's almost like they decided if they think it enough then it will become true. Stupid really. I think he's been absolutely stellar, personally. It is such a pleasure to watch a president who can actually talk for one. Secondly, he can address an audience, take live questions from supporters and critics alike, and answer them thoughtfully. That, in itself is such a refreshing change from the blubbering we got so used to seeing in the past. I only wish the idiots that are screaming dumbass things like "keep the goverment out of my medicare" (lawl) would stfu for a minute and let him help them. They act like they're so terrified about entities deciding who gets care and who doesn't, that they forget someone already does that, and screws them bigtime for it. These are known as Health Insurance Companies and they have much blood on their hands. This is the very reason it's in dire need of a revamp. A part of me wishes we could take the people who (for reasons that are beyond me) actually want to hold on to the current broken system, and seperate them into their own state. I mean, why help people who don't want to be helped? Don't let them drag the rest of us down with them, just because they are clueless and protest about something of which they have no idea. Let 'em keep their shoddy system and let it continue to leech their money, and deny their claims and treatment, refuse to pay for their surgeries and politely point them to the small print during their medical emergencies. Meanwhile, the rest of us can join the ranks of the developed world and actually enact a comprehensive healthcare system - the USA are the only ones who don't have one yet, you know.

Just a couple of points I think deserve to be clarified here.

Obama may be a moderately better speaker than Bush was, but he isn't that much better. When he doesn't have a teleprompter or scripted speech to follow, he has a far more difficult time. Not saying that's a horrible thing, just pointing out that the polish comes of his speech very quickly when he is in a live and unrehearsed setting.

Almost all of his "live" appearances have been in front of a hand-picked audience with pre-screened questions. His "town hall" meeting on ABC several months ago was nothing more than a scripted infomercial. Even the reporters at the press conferences are encouraged to send their questions to the Press Secretary ahead of time. This is done under the guise of letting Obama "know what issues concern you and your viewers/readers", but of course what it really accomplishes is giving his writers time to script an answer for the question.

I'm not suggesting he is the first POTUS to do this. I'm sure this has been practiced for several years in fact. I'm just pointing out the man isn't as polished when he is put in front of a real audience (ie, NOT hand picked) and has no idea what questions he will be asked.

Now, as for the health care system itself. While it definitely needs work, it does not necessarily need a complete overhaul. I have an old pickup truck and the brakes went out on it last time I used it. That means I need to get the brakes fixed, but it does not mean I need to rebuild the entire truck.

There is propoganda in the form of "horror stories" on both sides of the health care issue. For every example you list of someone being dropped or denied payment under the US system, I can name someone who has suffered excessively or died under the Euro system. And these are first-hand accounts. I had lunch with some of former classmates earlier this week. One of them has family in several European countries and she named incident after incident (in different countries) where they had suffered due to lack of proper health care.

I am personally one of the "statistics" supporters like to quote when discussing the eeeeevil insurance companies. I have a chronic illness that has caused 7 major surgeries (to date), life-altering consequences and massive medical bills. My last stay in the hospital was for 6 weeks. When I got home, I had bills from about 15 different doctors, services and facilities. My hospital bill ALONE was over $250,000. I've had multiple surgeries under 3 different insurance carriers over the years. I have NEVER been "dropped" from coverage NOR had claims denied for the services I recieved. Now, to be honost, I did lose my manager position at a small hospital immediately after returning to work from my second surgery. I have no doubt I was fired because of the effect my two surgeries had on the insurance, but it wasn't the insurance carrier that dropped me. That decision was made by the hospital administrator.

That still leaves 5 major surgeries under two other carriers and I've had no problem with my claims being paid for any of those. During my last stay, I went to the local hospital and was then transferred to a much larger hospital in Atlanta. My bill at the local hospital (6k+) was paid in full, because my deductible had long since been met when that bill was submitted. I never paid a penny on the $250k bill from the other hospital either. One reason was a grievance we pursued due to severe negligence on the part of their nurses (which very nearly cost my life). The hospital "investigated" the matter and managed to produce "proper documentation" that the nurses had performed their jobs properly. I refused to send them any money and they quit sending bills after the second month.