the president of the united states. >> when he comes to office, a few democrats say fix welfare first. but bill clinton and hillary clinton really wanted to do healthcare first. you can say that the search for healthcare reform was the great democratic holy grail. >> for 60 years this country has tried to reform healthcare. president roosevelt tried. president truman tried. president nixon to tried. president carter tried. every time the special interests were powerful enough to defeat them, but not this time. >> it was a masterful performance. and i think the president has re-engaged the congress and the american public on the issue of healthcare and probably will have some success with it. >> if we do not guarantee health insurance to every american, then we have failed all americans. >> hillary clinton was given enormous responsibility by her husband to do this very hard thing, to reform healthcare. >> in a hostile political environment, you don't come up with something this complicated and do it in public. but the process always requires political input. they didn't do it right. and as a result, congress got very defensive. >> clearly, the president is asking you to trust the government more than you trust your doctor and yourselves. >> protesters have been trailing the president around the country, and today he started debating them.