Approval Rating on Obama’s Health Care Already Falling – Do you think Town Hall Debate will Help him regain the Popularity?
Fresh off his summit trip to meet with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, President Barack Obama is bracing for what could be a very lively town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Tuesday night.
On Monday, while attending his first official North American summit Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper to discuss issues facing all three nations, including the economy, the Mexican drug wars and the possible re-emergence of swine flu.
But during the three hours the three heads of state spent with the press Obama was still bombarded with questions about the future of his health reforms.
Concerns and controversy about Obama’s health reform plans are growing all over the country; at town hall meetings, online and on radio chat shows. Obama’s popularity rating has fallen and he is engaged in the first real fight of his Presidential career, a fact that comes as no surprise to many political pundits.
Republicans say that the disturbances that have hit town hall meetings on the issue all over the country are the result of the publics overall dissatisfaction with the President’s reforms. Some Democrats however claim that such events are being orchestrated by Republican politicians to disrupt proper discussions from taking place. Nancy Pelosi wrote on Monday that such disruptions were “un-American.”
For his part Obama has avoided those kinds of accusations and has tried to keep his public remarks controlled and conciliatory. “We are having a vigorous debate in the United States, and I think that’s a healthy thing,” he said, repeating that thought three times. But, he said, ” the dynamic will change once the recess ends and the all the lawmakers and the debate return to Washington.”
“I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that’s being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge. And we’re going to get this passed,” he said.
The audience he faces on Tuesday evening will be primarily made up of people who already have health insurance through their employers. He is expected to address concerns that his plans would adversely effect those who already have insurance in place.
Thus far the town hall meetings that President Obama has participated in have been relatively civil and supportive affairs, but he and his aides are preparing for the fact that this time it may not be such smooth sailing.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
THIS HEALTH CARE BILL IS GARBAGE. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SHOULD FIGHT IT TOOTH AND NAIL. I WORK IN HEALTH CARE AND WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TOG ET CARE BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE AND THE WAIT IS TOO LONG TO GET WHAT THEY NEED. WE HAVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS COMING IN GETTING OPEN HEART SURGERY FOR FREE, SPENDING DAYS & DAYS IN SICU OR OHR BEING SELF PAY, KNOWING THE HOSPITAL WILL NEVER SEE A DIME. HEALTH CARE REFORM SHOULD COME IN THE FORM OF RAISING CAPS ON MEDICAID PER STATE, DROPPING ALL SPECIAL MEDICAL COVERAGE THAT CONGRESS GETS FOR FREE AND MAKE THEM PAY FOR THEIR OWN. STOP RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR ALL OF CONGRESS AND LET THEM HAVE TO WORK AT A JOB FOR 20 TO 30 YEARS LIKE THE AVERAGE AMERICAN DOES BEFORE THEY GET RETIREMENT. STOP BUYING PRIVATE PLANES FOR NACEY PELOSI AND MAKE HER TRAVEL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AND PAY HER OWN WAY. IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THE BIG WIGS ARE GETTING ALL THE HIGH DOLLAR STUFF FOR FREE AND WE GET THE CRAP. THEY CAN SET UP THERE AND SAY DO THIS OR DO THAT BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT WILL NEVER AFFECT THEM. I SAY IT IS TIME TO PUT A STOP TO THE FREEBIES THAT CONGRESS ENJOYS AND HAND IT DOWN TO THE LITTLE MAN. WHY DO WE NEED SO MANY CONGRESSMEN AND WOMEN WITH THEIR DOZENS OF STAFF ANYWAY, WHY CAN’T WE CUT BACK ON THEM SINCE THEIR SO HOT & HEAVY TO CUT EVERYTHING OUT FOR US. tHEY EVEN WANT TO GIVE OUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS TO ILLEGALS AS WELL AS ALL OUR JOBS.