President Obama's Townhall On ABC - How Did He Do? Did He Support A Public Option?

I have read many of the threads today threatening not to vote for President Obama due to the healthcare reform issue. I watched the townhall, and it sure seemed like that he strongly supports a public option, but it seems that many folks interpret his remarks differently.

Personally, I really can't think of anything he could have done in that townhall differently, except to pull a Bush/Cheney, and say that Congress should adopt a certain plan, or he would veto it. Of course, I never did vote for Bush/Cheney, and think that they were the worst Presidential combo ever.

I personally appreciate President Obama's efforts to make his case directly to people, and I thought he was pretty effective, and extremely knowledgeable even with Gibson and Sawyer reciting GOP talking points.

But, I wonder what everyone else thinks, because it seems from the new threads, that many people interpreted President Obama's remarks very differently.

In any event, he is definitely a strong supporter of the Public Option and didn't say it was optional. He said there would be a lot of sacrifices and there are changes that may make people uncomfortable and the public option may take some new considerations but the main framework of a public option given to people is out there and there is no if, ands, or buts about it. He was very clear.

As for private insurance he basically lambasted them. I think he did well, however he was also under siege by a lot of right wing talking points and stupidity. I didn't find anything enlightening on his end, mainly because he sounded repetitive and that's due to the fact all the questions were in the same framework and just reworded. So there was nothing original or even debatable. It would have been better if ABC didn't gather Republicans or feed them questions---because it sounded contrived a lot of the time. In any event, it would have been better with a mixed crowd. And I mean one that is made up of many people off the street and more approachable. What I saw in that mix were basically paid to regurgitate the same shit over and over again.

Like Gibson asking, "How are we going to manage when 46 million people are covered?" I felt like asking, "So you'd prefer them to die Gibson, is what you're really saying..."


Edited for spelling.

'interpret him differently'.

There are many here who would interpret him differently if he said nothing at all.

more clearer that he supported a government option along the lines of Medicare and Medicaid. Maybe many didn't stay up to watch the rest of it.

of what we're up against. And we do have to consider there is a full-blown industry, inefficient and malignant, which will prevent change, as much as it knows it needs to change.

Obama, we, can't dictate to them, or forget they're there, money and lobbyists beside the point.

.... that few people actually watched. (DU'ers I mean)

I could only compare it to our other "Heads Up! Live!!!" threads, but there wasn't nearly as much discussion in it as there usually is.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8494725

(and I fully understand that a person could have watched w/out posting in that thread)