How can Obama regain momentum on health care debate?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The White House may have dropped the ball on the health care debate. For a candidate who ran a campaign that was so tight and on-message - President Obama has been taking some heat for how he's handling this one.
The administration has recently come under attack from both the right and the left on health care. Conservatives have gone after the so-called death panels... along with the potential for rationing care under the president's plan.
Liberals are also fired-up - once it appeared the administration might be backing away from the public option. They tell their supporters it's not real reform unless there's a public option.
With both sides engaged - Pres. Obama is now trying to rally his grassroots supporters... asking them to "knock on doors, talk to neighbors, spread the facts" on health care.
The president is also pushing back against critics with tougher words, calling some of their accusations ludicrous. He describes the idea of a death panel as "an extraordinary lie."
Mr. Obama says the plan doesn't provide insurance to illegal aliens and it doesn't represent a government take over of health care.
Some wonder why the president didn't motivate his network of 13-million activists sooner. After all, it certainly worked for him in the election.
Here’s my question to you: What does President Obama have to do to regain momentum on the health care debate?
Best way to put the brakes on bad driving?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Bad drivers, beware... USA Today reports that several states are trying to cut down on bad drivers by going after so-called super speeders, lane hogs and drivers with multiple moving violations.
Turns out aggressive drivers may kill more people than drunk drivers... With a recent AAA study finding that things like speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, etc. were a factor in 56-percent of all crashes.
So states are cracking down...
In Florida, the worst drivers will have to go back to driving school. A driver who is found at fault in three-crashes over three-years will have to pass a driver's ed course and a road test - just like a beginning driver.
In Georgia, super speeders will be fined an extra $200. This applies to all drivers going faster than 75 mph on two-lane roads - or faster than 85 mph on any road. The new fine is expected to generate $23 million a year - sounds like an idea a lot of states could use to raise some much-needed cash.
In Kansas, the new Right Lane Law makes it illegal to drive in the far left lane, unless you're passing or turning left.
Also - Other states have launched campaigns against aggressive driving trying to reduce road rage; and officers have been targeting drunken drivers, speeders and those not wearing seat belts.
Here’s my question to you: What's the best way to put the brakes on bad driving?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Democrats go it alone on health care?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama and the Democrats may end up going it alone when it comes to health care reform. Democrats say they now see little chance of getting Republican support - and point to lawmakers like Senator Charles Grassley, who they say aren't serious about striking a deal.
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is negotiating bipartisan health care legislation.
The administration says it had hoped to get bipartisan backing - but it's looking less likely. Instead, they would have to get moderate and conservative Democrats on board.
Party leaders in the Senate may wind up using a tactic where they only need 51-votes to pass a health care bill... instead of 60. One Republican warns if the Democrats go this route - it would be "like a declaration of war."
Going it alone has pros and cons for the Democrats... It could mean crafting the bill they really want. For example, the public option, which the White House appeared to be abandoning this week, would likely be back on the table.
However, pushing legislation through without Republican support could also be risky, as the GOP might call it a power play and say they were merely opposing a bill that the public disliked. One recent poll shows nearly 60-percent of registered voters oppose passing a health care bill without bipartisan support.
But the White House doesn't seem too worried... one official tells CNN "If we have to push it through this way, no one is going to remember how messy it was... a win is a win."
Here’s my question to you: When it comes to health care reform, should the Democrats just go it alone?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why hasn't stimulus package produced more jobs?
(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Six months since the Obama administration pushed through the massive $787 billion economic stimulus package. So where are the jobs?
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor says he doesn't think the program is working as well as it was advertised, and says no one should be highlighting the benefits of the plan.
Cantor points out that when this thing was passed - the administration predicted it would keep unemployment lower than 8.5-percent. The jobless rate in July was 9.4-percent.
The White House has pushed back against critics of the stimulus bill - saying it's working as planned - by easing but not erasing the impact of the recession.
They say it will take a "very, very long time" to fill what they call a "very, very deep hole." That's fine… but where are the jobs?
Most economists agree the recession would have been worse without the stimulus... although they don't agree on how much it has helped.
Meanwhile - a new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows most Americans think the stimulus package has cost too much money and isn't doing enough to end the recession.
57-percent of those polled say it is having no impact on the economy or making it worse. 60-percent doubt the plan will help the economy in the future... and only 18-percent say it has done anything to help their personal situation. Not exactly rave reviews.
Here’s my question to you: Why hasn't the stimulus package produced more of a recovery in the jobs market?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Pres. Obama tough enough for the job?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
"Could Hillary Clinton have been right about Barack Obama?"
That's a quote from a Politico piece titled "Does Obama have the guts?" In it, Roger Simon reminds us how during the campaign, Clinton warned voters that Obama gave great speeches, but lacked the strength, toughness and will to get the job done.
Well, Americans will now get to see how President Obama governs when it comes to a divisive issue like health care reform. Even though there are many critics, will he push through on the public option - which is probably the best way to compete with the insurance industry?
And it's not just about health care... Some suggest the president is beginning to appear weak and wishy-washy on a range of issues - from gays in the military to immigration reform to apologizing to foreign countries, etc.
At times, the president appears to be ineffective at even leading his own party - as the Democrats wander around like a gaggle of unruly children. Mr. Obama ought to call a meeting of the Democratic leadership and tell them, "Look, I am the boss. If you don't like that idea, there are ways I can make your life miserable... especially when it comes time for re-election."
After all, there is something to be said for declaring: "I am the decider." President Bush may not have been our smartest president, but he made an effort to communicate that he was running the country.
President Obama is many things, including articulate, smart, polite, a gentleman... but can he govern when the going gets tough?
Here’s my question to you: Is President Obama tough enough for the job?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
People legally carrying guns permitted near president?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
In the Situation Room yesterday, we showed you video of a man in Phoenix, Arizona carrying an assault rifle to a protest outside President Obama's speech. Police say he was just one of about a dozen demonstrators carrying weapons.
A man is shown legally carrying a rifle at a protest against President Obama on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona.
In Arizona, anyone allowed to have a gun can carry it in public as long as it's visible. And the man - who had the semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder - said he was doing so because it's legal and he thinks others should do it more often. Just what we need… people wandering around with assault rifles slung over their shoulders at events where the President of the United States is present.
This is the second time in as many weeks that weapons have been seen near presidential events. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire last week, a protester had a gun strapped to his thigh.
Gun rights advocates say they're exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest - but critics say this is a disaster waiting to happen.
They insist people shouldn't be allowed to bring guns to an event where the president is - that it only distracts Secret Service and law enforcement who should be focused on protecting the president.
Secret Service has acknowledged the events in Arizona and New Hampshire... but says it's not aware of any others.
When asked if these individuals carrying weapons jeopardized the president's safety, they say "of course not," adding these people would have never gotten close enough to the president.
Here’s my question to you: Should people who are allowed to carry guns be permitted near the president?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How should health care reform deal with illegal aliens?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
When it comes to the health care debate - many Americans are fired up about what reform could mean for illegal aliens. One Blue Dog Democratic congressman says the issue comes up at every town hall meeting he holds.
Many constituents at Congressman Allen Boyd's events have been opposed to the idea that illegals would get any benefits under the new bill. Boyd insists that won't happen. He quotes directly from the House Bill:
"No federal payment for undocumented aliens; nothing in this subtitle shall allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States."
But here's the problem: The way the system works now, illegal aliens - who often don't have health insurance and don't pay taxes - can go to a hospital emergency room and get treated for free... and nothing that's in this bill would change that.
Supporters of the president's plan mostly dismiss the impact of illegal aliens on our health care system... while critics argue that illegals are part of the reason costs are so high.
Since hospitals don't collect immigration figures... it's unclear how much people who are in this country illegally add to health care costs - but it's probably a pretty significant chunk of change.
Consider this: There are about 46-million people without health insurance in the U.S. Of those, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there are about six-million uninsured adults who are illegal; and 700,000 uninsured children.
Here’s my question to you: How should health care reform address the issue of illegal aliens?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Which concerns you more: health care or economy?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The percentage of Americans who say economic concerns are the nation's top problem is decreasing... while the number worried about health care is on the rise.
A new Gallup poll shows 60-percent of those surveyed cite an economic issue - like unemployment, the deficit or the economy in general - as the nation's most serious concern. That's down from 69-percent last month. The current mood is the same as what it was in September of last year - before the bankruptcies and bailouts started.
And - as the debate over health care rages on, 25-percent of Americans now say that is the country's most important problem... that number is up from 16-percent just a month ago.
Gallup says this spike in interest is similar to what it recorded when President Clinton had tried health care reform in the early 90s.
Meanwhile - Although polls suggest more Americans think the economy is improving, many experts are saying: "Not so fast... "
Economists warn that the recovery will be weak compared to periods that followed other recessions. In fact, investors' fears over consumer spending and a decline in consumer confidence sent the markets down by the largest amount in six weeks today.
And, as our lawmakers in Washington try to figure out how to pay for a health care overhaul with a potential $1 trillion price tag - it's worth pointing out that the two issues of health care and the economy are very much intertwined.
Here’s my question to you: Which concerns you more: health care or the economy?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Pres. Obama willing to retreat on health care?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
There are growing signs that President Obama may be willing to drop one of the key parts of his health care reform plan. If it happens, chalk up a big victory for the Republicans and the insurance companies.
After weeks of criticism against a proposed government-run insurance plan - and the increasingly rowdy town hall meetings - the president now says the public option for coverage is just a sliver of the overall proposal. But it's a big sliver - especially politically.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has gone further - saying a direct government role in the reformed system is "not the essential element." Sebelius says "what's important is choice and competition." One option that may replace the idea of the government running health care is nonprofit health cooperatives that would compete with the private sector.
If the president decides to drop the "public option" it has the potential to both help and hurt him in the ongoing debate. Mr. Obama would take away some of the steam from the Republicans' cries of "a government takeover" of health care. It also leaves room for compromise and potentially getting some Republicans on board.
But, the president risks alienating liberals. Already some top Democrats, like former party chairman Howard Dean, are saying that any health care reform plan must include the public option. One Democratic congressman insists leaving private insurance companies in charge of controlling health care costs is "like making a pyromaniac the fire chief."
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean If President Obama is willing to retreat on health care?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Govt. employees forced time off without pay to save $?
(PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Olson/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The city of Chicago is mostly closed for business today... as a way to save money.
Most city employees are off without pay. Emergency services like the police and fire department aren't affected; but city hall, public libraries, garbage pickup, health clinics and other city offices are closed.
Chicago is facing an estimated budget shortfall of about $250 million to $300 million for 2009... so as part of the budget, the city included three reduced-service days. The other two are the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
The city anticipates these reduced service days will save more than $8 million.
But city workers are losing more than just the pay for these three-days. They've also been asked to take six furlough days and six unpaid holidays this year.
Mayor Richard Daley says every dollar the city saves from these measures "helps to save jobs, and in the long-term, maintain services for Chicagoans." He thanked city employees for making the sacrifice and being "part of the solution" to the budget challenges. The employees weren't given any choice.
But some city workers say they don't mind taking the unpaid days if it means holding on to their jobs in the long-run.
Here’s my question to you: Should government employees be forced to take time off without pay as a way of saving money?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
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