this is the story of the epic battle to pass obamacare. so help me god. congratulations, mr. president. it began just days into obama s presidency. it was a big bet that he could do something that seven presidents couldn t in the middle of an economic yes, yes, it was a huge bet. a bet many wanted to place somewhere else. he had half a dozen big domestic policy goals that were fighting for attention. the president of the united states! first, obama took his case to the very people he knew would try to kill it. let there be no doubt, healthcare reform cannot wait. it must not wait, and it will not wait another year. when we were discussing healthcare he said, what are we supposed to do, put our approval rating on the shelf and admire it for eight years or supposed to draw down on it to try to get
the target, barack obama. why don t i have freedom? because we elected somebody that wants to take our freedom. enraged by bail-outs, now the right went ballistic over healthcare. why don t they take the healthcare being forced down our throat? the president was undeterred. i m not the first president to take up this cause, but i am determined to be the last. we used a lot of political capital on healthcare, and the reason is simple. we re the only advanced nation on earth that didn t make sure that every person had affordable healthcare. when you consider that presidents have been trying since teddy roosevelt to get healthcare passed, f.d.r. was hoping to do it, j.f.k. no matter how hard the road, what history will record is that obama got it done. but that achievement that seven presidents attempted, once thought impossible, is now at risk. it is over for obamacare.
and there were others obama needed on his side, the special interests, insurance companies, big pharma, the doctor s associations. karen represents america s health insurance companies. we understand we have to earn a seat at the table. he wanted the very groups that killed healthcare reform in the past inside the room now. in march 2009, he brought them all to the white house. we kept every one of those but one at the table. all of the groups here need to stay involved. they all made demand. obama made deals. none of these groups are doing this out of the goodness of their heart. they re negotiating, they want the best deal possible. he compromised on the thing that was most sacred to him, the individual mandate that every citizen buy healthcare. the idealistic candidate had become a steely-eyed practicing ma tis. obama pushed lawmakers to pass a bill and fast. and you get the impression they re trying to jam something through congress. which is clearly design fo
it had been assumed ted kennedy s seat would go to a democrat. it was, after all, massachusetts. but suddenly a republican named scott brown was surging. i thank the people of massachusetts for electing me. that was the death knoll for healthcare because he was the 60th vote. a year of his presidency was gone, political capital spent and barack obama was staring at a likely defeat. there are people who think if obama had been more of a schmoozer, that maybe people like you were too partisan, somehow he needed to reach out. we re one golf game away from singing kumbaya. give me a break. desperate, obama changed gears. first, he apologized to the country. i take my share of the blame for not explaining more clearly to the american people. then he barn stormed for the
president joe biden summed up the moment. and a big bet that paid off. thank you, everybody. please have a seat. of course, the republicans vowed to keep fighting. we are resolved to have this law go away, and we re going to do everything we can to stop it. the fight against obamacare has gone on ever since, and there is no question that the program has real problems, from broken promises if you like your healthcare plan, you keep your healthcare plan. to soaring premiums. obamacare premiums will rise an average of 22% next year. but 20 million people who were uninsured now have healthcare. can it survive? i think that president obama should apologize for obamacare. but for now, the foundational idea that every american has the right to basic healthcare stands as barack obama s signature achievement. the big question is at the