Health Care andTown Hall Meetings

I post this as I watch President Obama on C-SPAN, speaking live at the Portsmouth, N.H. town hall meeting, not far from where I live. I don't see anything scary about what he's saying; it's the rancor over his proposal for nationwide health care reform that frightens me.

I missed the hoo-rah taking place when he arrived at Portsmouth High School for this meeting. According to the always-looking-for-trouble media, they expected a three ring circus of the perpetually pissed off with an added element of crazy. I will be curious to see the before and after behaviour of the people waiting outside when this is finished.

President Obama rightly points out the people screaming and yelling about how to pay for nationwide helth care reform are the same ones who agreed to the nationwide Medicare prescription bill which has contributed heavily to the current deficit. That bill passed both houses of Congress during the Bush administration with the full backing of the pharmaceuticals who continue to post tremendous profits without having to compete, on a pricing level, with their neighbors to the north.

I'm relieved to see, for the most part, respectful people asking informed questions. President Obama is answering those questions in specific detail while, at the same time, reminding the audience not to succumb to scare tactics rampantly being manipulated by those in opposition.

I respect each person's right to their opinion but it should be informed. His final questioner says Obama speaks from a "bully pulpit". He then goes on to ask a reasonable question, "Why does Congress enjoy a better health care plan than the average guy?" Personally, I think he divebombed his effectiveness by prefacing the question with an insult.

I despised the Bush Administration and all they stood for. However, had I attended a town hall meeting with President Bush as speaker, I would have addressed him with respect. I respect the office whether or not I like the man. People need to remember this.

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Jon Stewart pokes fun at the polarization of the populace highlighted by the media and spurred on, most likely, by special interest groups financed by major corporations with a stake in all of this. Maybe he's right when he says people need to be reminded to "Quit makin' things up!" Sarah Palin would be the perfect person to put that across.