Obama willing to be a one-term president if that's what it takes to pass health care, energy reform

[jefferson_dem]

Obama Willing to Stake Presidency on Health Care Reform

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) claims that President Obama told him "he's willing to be a one-term president if that's what it takes to get health care and energy reform," reports Radio Iowa.

Said Boswell: "The president (said), 'I'm not going to kick the can down the road.' And he said that and I said, 'Well, that's something I'm kind of used to from southern Iowa, you know. I know about kicking the can down the road.' And he said, 'No, if it makes me a one-term president, I'm going to, we're going to take it on because the country is in need of us taking this on.' I respected that very much."

AUDIO at LINK - http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/08/13/obama_willing_to_stake_presidency_on_health_care_reform.html?utm_campaign=pwire&utm_medium=pwire.us-twitter&utm_source=direct-pwire.us&utm_content=site-basic

[Clio the Leo]

1. And the simple fact that he's saying this means.....

1. he knows it will pass and

2. he'll be able to cite this accomplishment as a reason why he should be re-elected in 2012.

;)

[BlooInBloo]

6. Heh.

[Cha]

2. I know he cares about the country and the people..

this really isn't about him. I just spent the day at Hyde Park, NY..learning more about FDR and Eleanor and they were the same.

[DJ13]

3. Big Ed talked about a one Obama term on todays MSNBC show

He wasnt talking about it being from a resolve to get the right reform, it was actually in the context of Obama caving in to the conservatives and signing a weak health care bill.

[BattyDem]

30. That's what scares me.

He may end up being a one-term President simply because he's giving away too much. I know there's no final bill, so I'm trying to stay optimistic. At the very least, he should insist on a STRONG public option that's open to anyone who wants to participate. Without that, the "reform" will be nothing more than a gift to the insurance companies ... and we'll end up with another GOP hack in the WH. :-(

However, knowing that he's willing to be a one-term President to get HCR passed puts my mind at ease a bit. I don't believe he would sacrifice a second term for a bad bill. :-)

[Kdillard]

4. I just care about it actually working and getting people the care

they need. Seriously California is going to leave hundreds of thousands of Children without Healthcare. I am glad he is not willing to see this get kicked down the road.

[BlooInBloo]

5. I'm with you, Mr. Obama.

(though 1 term isn't gonna happen)

[Hawaii Hiker]

7. If he's a one term president, some possible alternatives are frightening

Could imagine saying President Romney, or President Huckabee on 1/20/13??..

:scared: :banghead:

[mth44sc]

8. Well

We can have health care and prevent any possibility of Obama being a one termer. That is OUR job.

[Thrill]

9. If true he wouldn't be willing to sign a weak healthcare bill

We'll see when this thing gets to Conference

[Cant trust em]

10. I'm still curious to see what comes out of the senate.

it will tell us a lot about who we have there.

[Uzybone]

11. I agree

It wont be a weak bill.


It is also a shot to the media and political prognosticators/spinners. He isn't worried about the "polls'

[joshcryer]

35. Ding ding.

If he really felt this way he wouldn't be politically posturing.

[mkultra]

41. any progress is progress

If they can at least stop insurers from dropping people when they get sick and denying coverage for existing conditions, that would be a benefit to many.

[babylonsister]

12. Does anyone know who Mike Lux is? ...Here's a quote...

He worked for Obama for awhile recently. Here's a quote from him, fwiw.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=8582624

snip//

One of the fascinating dynamics to this battle is the extent to which Obama himself seems to be resisting some of his advisers' desire to give up on the public option. As far as I can tell from their public comments and what I hear behind the scenes, people like Rahm Emanuel, Jim Messina, and Nancy-Ann Min DeParle are ready to call it a day and throw in the towel on the public option. The conventional wisdom is that only progressives in the House have kept that from happening so far, but that eventually they will cave. But listening to Obama talk about the public option, and watching him pull back Rahm repeatedly from publicly caving on it, I have grown more and more convinced that inside the White House, it is Obama himself who keeps pushing back against aides ready to throw in the towel on the issue. I think he will continue to fight hard for the public option until the moment that he is convinced there is no hope - and hopefully that moment will never come.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

13. Obama will be a one-term president if we Democrats sit around and do nothing to fight

Which is pretty much what is happening. Whenever the Nazi GOPers begin to organize, we Democrats cower and do nothing.

[Arkana]

22. And as our Reps are shouted down at townhalls,

the President soldiers on at his own, patiently explains the answers to the same goddamn questions over and over and we bitch that "HE'S NOT DOING ENOUGH!!!!!!"

[unblock]

14. all this talk about "one-term presidency" 6 months in is quite silly, mostly repug fantasy

certainly it's far too early to predict 2012, but best bet is that the single biggest factor will be the state of the economy, which almost surely will be in decent shape three years from now. any incumbent president has strong re-election prospects given an economy that's not in recession. granted there are plenty of other factors, but failure to pass ANY signature bill would at worst be just ONE of lichtman's 13 keys to the presidency.

no presidency fails solely on the basis of not passing any major legislation.

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Complete bullshit, but it's a good statement

Nobody is willing to be a one-term president. And quite frankly I can't blame them. None of the Presidents that history looks upon fondly were defeated for re-election.

It's a catch 22 really. You could cement your legacy by doing something bold in exchange for losing re-election. On the other hand history doesn't let you have a legacy if you lose re-election.

[Arkana]

23. Wrong. James Polk, 1845-1849.

[Hippo_Tron]

32. He didn't run for a second term

Therefore it was not possible for him to lose re-election.

[Arkana]

42. No, but the point was that he was willing to be a one-termer.

I think if you wanted an archetype of the efficient Presidency, you'd have to look at Polk. He made promises, and kept all of them, and then left office when he'd completed his tasks.

We need more like him--you know, except without all the racism.

[StevieM]

36. What about Lyndon Johnson? (eom)

[Hippo_Tron]

37. Again, not defeated for re-election he opted not to run in 1968

[StevieM]

38. But he had started to run, and was in the race through New Hampshire. Let's suppose he

stood for re-election and lost. I still think that he would have been guaranteed a certain place in history due to his establishment of Medicare and Medicaid and his pushing through the Civil Rights and Voting Rights legislation.

BTW, speaking of LBJ, can you imagine how good shape this country would be in right now if we had indexed minimum wage to inflation 40 years ago, so it stayed where it was (in real dollars) back in 1968 when Johnson's administration was concluding?

[TheKentuckian]

16. Very unlikely is my guess. Obama has two termer written all over him.

[Clio the Leo]

17. I'll say it again......

.... seven years from now, we'll have our own "birthers" desperately trying to find a loop hole in the Constitution that will allow him to run for a third term.

[babylonsister]

18. Your stalwartness

is adorable. Thanks. :hug:

[Clio the Leo]

19. But I'm a realist.

Despite the drop in the JOB approval rating, his PERSONAL approval rating remains solid. It's actually HIGHER than it was before the election. And, ultimately, that is how people vote.

Unless the GOP can go to Kenya and get their OWN Obama in the next three years .... heck, TWO years ...... the only real threat I see is a third party threat AND Obama screwing up.

And Obama doesn't screw up.

(except when he does, and then he fixes it.)

Throw in things like the way he may have single handedly removed FL as a swing state because of the Sotomayor pick ...... and the inevitable becomes all the more clear.

Toward the end of the election, I tried to psyche myself out ..... I'd pretend I was a McCain supporter and try to think of SOME way that the President would lose the election ...... so I try to look at things from both sides. But the farther we get out of this recession the greater his odds of being re-elected become.

[babylonsister]

20. You just impressed me again.

I thought I was a realist, but do see the pitfalls he has to maneuver. I should have more faith.

Were you here for the primaries? I don't think so, and that's too damned bad! We could have used you! It was brutal. It's brutal now, but wow.

This is a different kind. We've won, so what the hell?!

[Clio the Leo]

21. lol, no I wasn't ..........

...... and I'm glad ...... I like Hillary too much ...... I had enough battling MYSELF over who was the better choice, I dont think I could have handled everyone here ha ha.

Just an aside .... I am a HUGE fan of the TV show Big Brother ...... in addition to the show that comes on CBS, you can watch the contestants 24/7 in the house they're "Locked" up in.

The other night, they played that game called "Table Topics" where you have cards with questions on them and you go around asking each other things like "if you had to do one thing over again" or "if you could be any living person who would you be" etc.

Half way through the game, they made a rule "ok, we CANNOT say Barack Obama anymore, we've used him too much already." By the time they were done, they'd mentioned "Barack Obama" (several times) "Michelle Obama" "Obama's kids" and "Obama's car" as answers to various questions. Even those who didn't like him politically, admire and respect him as a person.

Granted, a bunch of 20 something Hollywood types dont represent the entire voting pool, but the man is impacting our society in a way unlike anyone in recent memory. I'd dare say even more positively than Reagan (but that may be where my own bias is coming in.)

Long story short. The GOP is screwed.

[babylonsister]

26. Bwhaha!

Because Big Bro says so! :spray:

Is that show live? Obama is into the youth culture? Well, they voted for him, but I didn't know it was continuing. Good news if so.

And I do think it's so. The m$m and cable are screwing everyone with their coverage of the b.s. when the facts would work better for everyone. Who are they serving?

[Clio the Leo]

28. lol, you should have heard one of the girls........

(she's 24) saying that she WISHED she was Barack Obama's daughter "because then I'd just go to the mall and point at stuff and folks would have to give me anything I want!"

And I thought "and then you'd get home with that stuff and your mama and daddy would make you march back to the store, return it, apologize, and then go work in the soup kitchen!" lol

lol, but yeah, The President has about a 95% approval rating among the reality TV crowd ha ha.

[Parker CA]

24. Well said, Clio. I agree, with everything you've said in this thread! Big thumbs up from me! ;)

[Clio the Leo]

25. Thanky Spanky. ;-) NT

[Clio the Leo]

27. And one more thing......

... believe it or not, the lower approval ratings are essentially a positive thing. Given how heated the debate is and how easy it is to misinform the public the matter is so complex it's a wonder his approval isn't even LOWER.

And consider that a fair amount of those who are unhappy are PROGRESSIVES ..... who are gonna vote for him in '12 anyway. 8 points, 6 points, whatever .... it's nothing.

And the pro-Obama coalition is about to fuel TENS Of MILLIONS of dollars into the ad campaign.

If this were anyone else, his approval #s would be TANKING. ....... But anyone else wouldn't be able to get this done. ;)

[grantcart]

34. I think that the two term thingie only applies to Presidents born in North America.

[Clio the Leo]

40. lol yay!!!!!! You found our loophole!!! NT

[ruggerson]

29. Smart line from an ambitious politician

None of this matters.

If the economy is humming in 2012, he gets reelected easily.

If it isn't, he won't.

Thus it always has been, thus it always will be.

My bet is that the economy will be doing fine in 2012 and he can run a Reagan-like "morning in America" campaign.

[HopeOverFear]

31. "I'd rather be a good president for 4 years than a mediocre president for 8 years" - Barack Obama

yep.

[quakerboy]

33. Its ironic

If he puts the muscle behind passing these things, and shows the American people he is pushing for them, he will be a two termer, no doubts. And If he sits back and waits for stuff to happen, that's whats likely to truncate his time in office.

I hope this means we will see some iron fist rather than the velvet glove thats been in evidence.

[pyoom]

39. That's a man. nt

[OwnedByFerrets]

43. Then why not do it right.

[OneBlueSky]

44. if that's the case, he might just as well declare corporations the problem . . .

and removing them from the healthcare equation the solution . . . because that, in fact, is the truth of the matter . . .