Etcetera
“I’m looking forward to a constructive debate with plans that need to
be measured against this test: Does it bring down costs for all
Americans as well as for the federal government, which spends a huge
amount on health care? Does it provide adequate protection against
abuses by the insurance industry? Does it make coverage affordable and
available to the tens of millions of working Americans who don't have it
right now? And does it help us get on a path of fiscal sustainability?”
—President Barack Obama, at a Feb. 9
news conference in which he restated his goals for healthcare reform.
“After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens
is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has
waned. For some time, I have had a growing conviction that Congress is
not operating as it should. There is too much partisanship and not
enough progress—too much narrow ideology and not enough practical
problem-solving. Even at a time of enormous challenge, the peoples’
business is not being done.” —Sen. Evan
Bayh (D-Ind.), announcing he would not run for reelection later this
year. Some speculate the decision helps to open the door for Republicans
to win control of the Senate after the November elections.