Anyone remember Bill Clinton's speech given to Congress on health care 16 years ago? Here it is.

[Jennicut]

Millions of Americans are just a pink slip away from losing their health insurance and one serious illness away from losing all their savings. Millions more are locked into the jobs they have now just because they or someone in their family has once been sick and they have what is called the preexisting condition. And on any given day, over 37 million Americans, most of them working people and their little children, have no health insurance at all.

And in spite of all this, our medical bills are growing at over twice the rate of inflation, and the United States spends over a third more of its income on health care than any other nation on Earth. And the gap is growing, causing many of our companies in global competition severe disadvantage. There is no excuse for this kind of system. We know other people have done better. We know people in our own country are doing better. We have no excuse. My fellow Americans, we must fix this system, and it has to begin with congressional action.

I believe as strongly as I can say that we can reform the costliest and most wasteful system on the face of the Earth without enacting new broad-based taxes. I believe it because of the conversations I have had with thousands of health care professionals around the country, with people who are outside this city but are inside experts on the way this system works and wastes money.

The proposal that I describe tonight borrows many of the principles and ideas that have been embraced in plans introduced by both Republicans and Democrats in this Congress. For the first time in this century, leaders of both political parties have joined together around the principle of providing universal, comprehensive health care. It is a magic moment, and we must seize it.

The rest of it is at: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/9/779017/-A-Health-Care-Speech-from-September,-16-Years-Ago

One thing to remember is that Clinton's speech came at the beginning of the debate on health care in 1993, Obama's is coming after the debate. Like Clinton, Obama will be addressing a joint session of Congress. Hopefully Obama's speech is more memorable.

[ProSense]

1. "Clinton's speech came at the beginning of the debate" Interesting, especially

since his bill failed. This could make the case for Obama's speech coming at the end: try a different approach.

On the Defeat of His Own Health-Care Plan

"Almost everything anyone today writes about this stuff is wrong. It's a classic example of how in a war, the victors get to write history.

"Basically, everybody who writes about this stuff today repeats the health-insurance lobby's line from 1994. Like: "The bill was long and complicated." The bill took out four hundred more pages of federal law than it put in. They say we forced a bill on Congress — untrue. I asked Congress to write the bill, and Chairman (Dan) Rostenkowski (of the House Ways and Means Committee) demanded that Hillary send him a bill — a complete bill. He said, "I won't take it up if you don't. We don't know enough about it, the interest groups will eat us alive, we'll modify your bill, but you've gotta send us a whole bill." It was the demand of the most important committee in the House of Representatives. And yet I've read over a hundred stories saying what a terrible mistake we made, it was all our doing. We did what Congress asked us to do. We also got two bills out of two committees for the first time ever. Harry Truman tried to do this, Richard Nixon tried to do it, Lyndon Johnson didn't even try, with the biggest congressional majority in history. He didn't even try — he quit at Medicare and Medicaid, because he knew how hard it was..."

"And we now know, and I'm surer of this than anything: We just couldn't do (health-care reform) as long as Bob Dole was running for president. He's a good guy, and he's a friend of mine, and the whole time I dealt with him, the only time he was not as good as his word was on this. After Rostenkowski had asked for a bill, I personally asked Bob in the Cabinet Room if we could sit down and write a bill together and send a joint bill to the Congress. Because he was really good on health care for a Republican, cared about it, and he said, 'You know, you need to send a bill in and we need to produce a bill, so that people know there are differences between the two parties and our approaches. Then we'll get together and compromise it out.' When he said that, I think he believed it. Then he gets Bill Kristol's famous memo that says, you know, If you let Bill Clinton pass any kind of health-care bill, the Democrats will be the majority party for a generation, and you can forget about your presidential hopes. Your only option is to beat anything. Kill it off."

<...>

[Cha]

2. You know they

learn from history, PS.

Thanks for Clinton's speech, Jennicut.

[ProSense]

3. Yup, at least they learn from it

Can't say the same about the "do it our way or else" crowd.

[CKennedy16]

4. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ..................

[ProSense]

6. What the hell?

:rofl:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

8. are you on the proper board?

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Pretty damning (of Dole) -- thanks for posting that. nt

[Phx_Dem]

5. Great speech. Sadly, he got absolutely nothing for it.

This time the outcome will be different.

Making his speech at the beginning of the debate was a huge mistake in my opinion. By the time the vote comes around, the impact is lost. When people perform last in a competition, it's called the "pimp spot." And for good reason -- the last "act" you see or heaer sticks the most in your mind.

[ProSense]

7. "Making his speech at the beginning of the debate was a huge mistake in my opinion."

Yup.