Obama is Staking his Presidency on Health Care Reform and Taking Full Responsibility

[berni_mccoy]

Obama On Health Care Bill: "I Own It"

President Barack Obama says he'll be held responsible for any problems once a health care overhaul becomes law, so he has every reason to get it right.

"I have no interest in having a bill get passed that fails. That doesn't work," he told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview to air Sunday night.

Heading to a rally Saturday in Minneapolis, the president used his weekly radio and Internet address to focus on government figures showing that nearly half of all Americans live without health insurance in a 10-year period. He said the situation will worsen without the changes he wants and that losing coverage can happen to anyone.

"I intend to be president for a while and once this bill passes, I own it. And if people look and say, You know what? This hasn't reduced my costs. My premiums are still going up 25 percent, insurance companies are still jerking me around. I'm the one who's going to be held responsible. So I have every incentive to get this right," he said in an excerpt of the CBS interview released Saturday.

In other words: Public Option OR BETTER.

And BTW, when was the last time we had a President who was this bold and self-accountable?

[leftstreet]

1. That's insurance reform, not healthcare reform n/t

[berni_mccoy]

2. Reforming Health Care starts with reforming Health Insurance.

But it's not the only part.