Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Obama: Ignore Reform 'Rumors'

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 8, 2009 7:01 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Barack Obama asked Americans to put no stock in "outlandish rumors" that health care reform will "promote euthanasia, or cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care," in his weekly radio and Internet address today. "That's simply not true." Politico noted that Obama was vague about who was behind the "misleading information" but maintained that "it is important for you, the American people, to have all the facts.”

Using better-than-expected jobs numbers to press his top domestic priority, Obama argued that a health care overhaul is essential to the country's economic well-being. "The worst may be behind us," Obama proclaimed, citing yesterday's reported dip in unemployment. "But we must do more than rescue our economy from this immediate crisis; we must rebuild it stronger than before." He added: "We must lay a new foundation for future growth and prosperity, and a key pillar of a new foundation is health insurance reform."

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting on health care in a Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va., last week. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Obama has stepped up his efforts to explain his health care plans to a public polls show is getting increasingly skeptical. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama holds a town hall on health care reform at Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C last week.. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

President Obama's weekly address, focusing on health care reform and the economy. (whitehouse)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Forget Health Reform—We Can't Afford It

The economy should be Obama's top priority: Henninger

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama makes health care sound like the most pressing issue in American life, but with unemployment at 10% and the country still officially in recession, Daniel Henninger wonders why he's "draining a dwindling reservoir of presidential capital." The cost of health care may be a problem for many, but government's job of fixing wrecked markets is not nearly over—and voters agree, with 87% dissatisfied with the economy. For the Wall Street Journal columnist, "even more so now than way back in 1992: It's still the economy, stupid." More»

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(NEWSER) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when they had the chance. "Voters across America are in a bad mood, largely because of the still-grim economic situation. And when voters are feeling bad, they turn on whomever currently holds office." More»

How Presidents Win When Jobless Rate Is High

Voters care about change in unemployment rate

(NEWSER) - Will next year's election depend on "the economy, stupid"? History shows that despite high unemployment, President Obama could still reclaim the White House based on the economy's performance, the AP reports. That's because voters react to the change in unemployment, not its absolute number. What they care about: whether the unemployment rate has fallen in the two years before the presidential election. More»

Obama Plan Would Bring 1.9M Jobs: Moody's

Would grow economy 2%, says expert

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s jobs plan would put some 1.9 million people back to work and grow the economy 2%, says Moody’s chief economist. The plan could slice the unemployment rate by a percentage point, adds Mark Zandi, whose analysis comes as the president heads to Virginia to push his proposal. Obama is set to speak at the University of Richmond’s 9,000-seat arena this morning, UPI reports. More»

Book Scuttles Obama's Health Care Story

His mother had health insurance when she died, and it paid up

(NEWSER) - A recent book on President Obama’s mother undermines his oft-told story that his mother spent the final years of her life battling insurance companies over her medical bills. The book, by New York Times reporter Janny Scott, reveals that Ann Dunham actually had health insurance that readily paid her claims. She did have a dispute, but it was with her disability insurance, the Times reports. And Obama must have known that, because in one letter she turns the case over to “my son and attorney, Barack Obama.” More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website