Doctors from all 50 states come to support reform.
White House Photo, Lawrence Jackson, 10/5/09
Love the lab coats.
Adds just the right touch of staging, don’t it?
I actually first heard about this from a 6 year old I was driving to work, yesterday afternoon, after picking him up from his school along with his sister (I teach gymnastics, and they both take classes). He asked me why the president was with doctors (he must have seen this on tv at school, or something). I had no idea what he was referring to, but said it probably had to do with healthcare reform (as opposed to President Obama being in need of medical attention).
President Obama recruited a group of doctors today to help make a final push of health care through Congress.
“The reason these doctors are here is because they have seen firsthand what’s broken about our health care system,” Obama said, referring to his guests from all 50 states who converged on the White House Rose Garden.
All the doctors wore white lab coats. (“You look very spiffy in your coats,” the president told the crowd.)
The coats were supplied by Doctors for America, a group that backs what it calls “meaningful health care reform.” Other organizations who attended event included the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association, and the American College of Physicians.
“Any elected official who has said they have not heard from a doctor in their state who supports health care reform was proven wrong today,” said Dr. Mandy Krauthamer, executive director of Doctors for America.
Of course, Republicans have doctors who oppose Obama’s health care ideas. House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said, “members of the medical community — who deal with red tape day in and day out — rightly recognize that the Democrats’ government takeover would weaken the doctor-patient relationship that is so critical to making the right health care decisions.”
During his eight-minute speech, Obama referred to the various proposals pending in the House and Senate, both directly and indirectly.
Standing directly behind the president were physicians from Arkansas, Maine, Florida and Nebraska. All of those are states with key senators in the health care political battle: Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine, moderate Democrats Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
Obama noted that Congress has spent the better part of a year debating health care, and now is the time to start making some final decisions.
“At this point,” Obama said., “we’ve heard all the arguments on both sides of the aisle. We have listened to every charge and every counter-charge, from the crazy claims about death panels to misleading warnings about a government takeover of our health care system.”
Obama urged the doctors to speak out on behalf of a new health care system.
“You are the people who know this system best,” he said.
So what percentage of doctors actually support Obamacare?
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.