C-Span I...John Kerry talking about Obama on NOW...(est)....

Just started...I think.. NO...it's the Q&A....the end of it.. It's about Iraq Deployment and al Quaeda! and Kerry's Endorsement of Obama...with WHY Kerry has endorsed him...and why...

It goes on...then Q&A...I posted what I got of it...

Before we can get comprehensive Health Care...we will be Mandated to go through "Wellness Training Programs"

How would this work? What does this mean?

been through fittness programs or something...and that this was important for our health care coverage to get people to deal with their own health and fitness.

I do not know the details and may be you should ask that to the Obama campaign. But the general idea seems good. I would prefer to be able to get some prevention BEFORE I am sick rather than after. But my insurance would not pay.

eating at the Fast Food Restaurants if you're going to order the BIGGEST MAC BURGER...

He didn't elaborate on the program...but said "Mandated Fitness." Now...the question is "Mandated" how?
and he seemed to tied it into doing the "mandated fitness" as a pre-requiste to full insurance coverage..to cut the costs of the program.

I wondered if this meant that you would have to sign up for this program, complete it..before you could get a national health care program. I wondered who would fund this...and who would decide the criteria as to how you qualified as "fit or Non-fit." :shrug: First I'd heard of this...that it was Obama's health care program.

There was a bill in the last Congress that tried to address the problems of the cost of small businesses getting affordable health care coverage for their employees. One of the big points between the Democratic and Republican outlooks was mandates, but maybe not in the way you are thinking. Some states, such as Massachusetts have a baseline minimum of what should be coveered that includes things like mammograms for women as a preventive health care measure. Sen. Enzi, R-Wyoming, argued that any federal program should not include the idea that health insurance coverage include these things. He said on the Senate floor that, in Wyoming, people give each other gift certificates to get mammograms for Mother's Day and such and that was all that was needed.

This does come down to the idea of what is a baseline coverage on health insurance. If mammograms, for example, are part of mandated minimum coverage, does an early detection of cancer end up saving lives and money for the group being insured? These are not little questions, they go to the heart of how we can afford coverage and what direction coverage should take. Wellness care can include some routines things that, left uncovered, can lead to much more expensive care later on. The mandates at this level are not silly, they are a key to saving enough money to get to universal coverage.

Kerry says if folks "slap Obama around" there will be a backlash and folks will come around in Congress to work with President Obama.

What is Kerry saying..."slap Obama around?" :shrug:

was told that "Americans will see through it" so I thought it wouldn't be what it came out to be.

:wtf:

in this Obama Rally?

I had some problems with what he seemed to be saying...and so did the audience behind him in the views.

I don't want anyone trashing me...about this. If you didn't see it...then you don't know what I'm talking about...If you DID SEE IT..please post your "differing views" of it.

I'm kind of disappointed in Kerry. His heart didn't seem in it and his "Mandating Fitness for Americans" was worrysome...plus that he says he got "bad Campaign Advice" and that's why he didn't go after the Swift Boaters" ...because he thought "they'd just go away?"

I was here on DU when we did everything to try to help Kerry against the Swift Boat Attackers. We actually had one of Kerry's "internet advisors" (PeteNYC) who was a poster who knew EVERYONE WAS URGING Kerry to TRASH THE "Swift Boaters" with Info! We had campaigns here on DU exposing the whole RW CABAL who was Promoting the Swift Boat Trashing.

Kerry says now...his "Campaign Advisors" told him it would just go away? Didn't he listen to Pete Daou?

Ayyyy. Whatever...I wish I hadn't tuned it in..

...later tonight. I watched it all. Here's what I heard:

1. As to his heart being not in it, that's not true. He did seem tired, probably due to just flying to Texas from Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

2. He was discussing health care and ways to get people covered. Resistent insurers, might work with a new administration if the federal government took over coverage for catastrophic illness (costly) in exchange for the health insurer helping to educate people about wellness. I doubt anyone would mandate fitness.

3. Kerry took complete responsibility for what happened in his 2004 campaign with the swiftboating. He said he took advice (and he was responsible for that) that said they had done enough by answering every time. What he said they didn't do was put enough money behind the rebuttal...money equal to that spent by SBVT to attack him. He said that lesson has been learned and Obama learned it, too. It will not happen again. He took complete responsibility for the decision made after advice was given.

your view.

Senator kerry has been a tireless supporter of Senator Obama and to say his heart was not in it is just wrong. The evidence of his efforts proves otherwise.
As for the Swift Boat Comments, he was told as the presidential candidate that he should take the higher road and allow others to defend his service to this country. The campaign had taken on the Swift slim in April of 04 and thought they had taken care of them. They came back, well funded in August to try and do more harm. His advisers thought they could take care of this along with the VP candidate who was suppose to be the attack dog so that Senator Kerry could stay above all of this nastiness. John Kerry has taken full responsibility for what transpired in 2004. NO ONE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE DEVASTATED THAN HIM AT THE RESULTS OF THAT ELECTION.

and him answering them. they weren't all people firmly in the Obama camp either.

but the reviews were mostly positive from what i read when he did the event. and what i saw was great.

...although the sound/lighting semed to be a problem. It amazes me that he has the energy to do this after just flying in from Turkey.

It's amazing he made it back. I assumed it was taped previously.

and flew straight from Turkey to Texas to campaign for Obama. Kerry is a terrific surrogate for Obama. It was a helicopter that had to be brought down in the mountains of Afghanistan by the Pakistan border.

In fact, his very presence there tells you how much his heart is in this. That week must have been physically, emotionally and mentally draining. In addition to the scare of emergency helicopter landing in the remote mountains of Northern Afghanistan (it had to be remote if it took 2 - 3 hours to reach them.), this was an extremely tough trip:

- They oversaw elections in a country that is likely the biggest powder keg in the region. Then they met with the President whose party lost badly. Very delicate situation.
- In Afghanistan they went to some of the forward bases to see what was happening in this deteriorating situation. Every story of the emergency landing makes it clearer that we could have lost 3 Senators.
- In Turkey, they had to deal with the fact that they are attacking in Iraq - just what we needed.

They returned late on Friday - and he was in Texas for at least 2 events. He made some very could cases for Obama verbally - but the most significant one was captured in this headline in the local paper - he vouched for Obama's character. Over time, many Democrats have come to see that they can trust Kerry's integrity - that he says that Obama is a good guy means something.

...in Afghanistan with Biden and Hagel...flew to Turkey on Friday...and on to Texas for Obama on Saturday. Most people would have rescheduled...but Kerry is amazing.