The president stopped at Arcadia university this morning to make the case for encacting health care reform legislation now after 100 years of delay, and to encourage us to contact our lawmakers and stand up for health care reform in our daily interactions with friends, relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances.

Here's the full speech and below that, what it looked like from within the very supportive crowd. (Video by yours truly!) Listen for the surge in the cheering when he finally takes the stage. It was literally deafening. I'd prefer not to think that it was because we were finally going to hear him speak after having stood on a packed gym floor for over two hours. :^)

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Thanks to everyone for a great turnout today! Than ks especially to Roy and Jane Roberts, who put on a great event.

UPDATE THURS, FEB 25, 9:55 AM
Meeting canceled due to expected two feet of snow.

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Meaningful reform will require courage

By Valerie Arkoosh

Doctors can empathize with the president and Congress right now. Treating a relentless disease can be enormously frustrating, and sometimes we may feel tempted to give up and walk away. But just as doctors stay with their patients, Congress and the president must stay with their patient, the American public, by keeping their commitment to strong health-care reform.

Although the political world went topsy-turvy last week, the Massachusetts vote did not change a single thing for American patients. Close to 50 million remain uninsured, those with preexisting conditions still go uncovered, and many face delays and denials of care.

Over the past week, a number of prescriptions have been offered for the reform effort. Besides abandoning it entirely - which would be wrong for the reasons mentioned above - they include passage of only the least contentious reforms, in a compromise with Republicans; and House approval of the existing Senate bill, for which the support has been almost entirely Democratic.

Passing only the most popular parts of the bills would only create new problems. For example, if Congress requires insurance companies to cover all preexisting conditions but does not require that everyone purchase insurance, the commonsense response for most Americans would be to wait until they get sick to buy insurance. It would be like requiring car insurers to sell coverage at accident scenes; insurance premiums would skyrocket, and the insurance system would fail.

And if Congress does require everyone to purchase insurance, there must be provisions for those who can't afford it - pointing again to the need for a comprehensive bill.

The only sensible way forward is House approval of the Senate bill. The Senate and House bills have much in common: Both would eliminate the worst insurance-company abuses, create consumer-friendly insurance markets, help people afford insurance, change the way doctors and hospitals are paid to reward high-quality care, increase the number of primary-care doctors, and encourage preventative care.

The two bills differ in some important ways, including how we pay for reform and how much help low-income Americans will get. But these differences can be reconciled later through a process known as budget reconciliation, or in the three to four years before the legislation is fully implemented.

Despite all the talk during the past week of watered-down health-care reform, Americans will have to take a big step forward if they want to substantially improve the fairness and security of the system. It's up to the president and Congress to lead us in taking that step. Baby steps won't work.

At this critical moment, the president and Congress must not abandon the American people who elected them to solve this problem. They should move to pass the Senate bill and fix our failing health-care system.

Solving real problems, like curing tough diseases, is hard. Like doctors who muster the courage to prescribe a difficult but necessary treatment, our leaders must have the courage to put patients ahead of politics.

From The Charter & The Bylaws of the Democratic Party of the United States, as amended by the Democratic National Committee, February 3, 2007:

Section 17. Democratic Party Credo.

We Democrats are the oldest political party in America and the youngest in spirit. We will remain so, because we enjoy the challenge of government.

Time and again, for almost two centuries, the Democratic Party has made government work -- to build and defend a nation, to encourage commerce, to educate our children, to promote equal opportunity, to advance science and industry, to support the arts and humanities, to restore the land, to develop and conserve our human and natural resources, to preserve and enhance our built environment, to relieve poverty, to explore space. We have reached difficult and vital goals.

We recognize that the capacity of government is limited but we regard democratic government as a force for good and a source of hope.

At the heart of our party lies a fundamental conviction, that Americans must not only be free, but they must live in a fair society.

We believe it is the responsibility of government to help us achieve this fair society.

• A society where the elderly and the disabled can lead lives of dignity and where Social Security remains an unshakable commitment;
• A society where all people can find jobs in a growing full-employment economy;
• A society where all workers are guaranteed without question the legal right to join unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively for decent wages and conditions of employment;
• A society where taxes are clearly based on ability to pay;
• A society where the equal rights of women are guaranteed in the Constitution;
• A society where the civil rights of minorities are fully secured and where no one is denied the opportunity for a better life;
• A society where both public and private discrimination based upon race, sex, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, economic status, philosophical persuasion or physical disability are condemned and where our government moves aggressively to end such discrimination through lawful means;
• A society where we recognize that the strengthening of the family and the protection of children are essential to the health of the nation;
• A society where a sound education, proper nutrition, quality medical care, affordable housing, safe streets and a healthy environment are possible for every citizen;
• A society where the livelihoods of our family farmers are as stable as the values they instill in the American character;
• A society where a strong national defense is a common effort, where promoting human rights is a basic value of our foreign policy, and where we ensure that future by ending the nuclear arms race.

This is our purpose and our promise.