Causecast

Causecast will be watching and responding live to the president’s speech on health care reform. In one of the grandest public health debates in our lifetime, Causecast believes that significant reform is imperative, though we may see differently on how to achieve that end.

The speech will be brought to you live through WhiteHouse.gov and streaming below. Watch, think and comment below!

Wherever the discussion goes, Causecast will be following it.

Speech Liveblog
All times below Pacific:

CLAIRE: Too bad presidents aren’t like bands…even if you keep clapping, you won’t get an encore. (6:05 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Well, that’s it. We don’t have televisions here in the office so I will not be watching MSNBC or CNN or FOX after this. Taken as it was, a powerful speech. I’m not sure I believe it’ll make much difference in the long run. There’s still so much skepticism out there, but we’ll see. (6:04 p.m.)

CLAIRE: “We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.” Man, his speechwriter knows how to rile a crowd…I’m inspired. (6:03 p.m.)

ERICA: Caring about others is not partisan, part of the American character…I wish. (6:01 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Obama mentioning a letter he received from Ted Kennedy on “the great, unfinished business” of health care reform. Republicans will not like this at all.
CLAIRE: Calling upon Teddy Kennedy’s last push for health reform, is that a low blow? Just saying. Emotional, yes. Exploitive? Not sure.
ERICA: See i’m okay with it…but good point. The crying wife (or whomever) is a good touch too. (5:58 p.m.)

ERICA: “If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out.” HOLLERRR (5:56 p.m.) She’s excitable.

CLAIRE: Asking insurance companies to pay a fee for their top policies, to encourage greater value for services. Will be tough to make happen, but a huge step in the right direction. (5:54 p.m.)

JONATHAN: The one thing he’s not saying that I wish he would is to talk about “personal responsibility” which conservatives love to hear. Why not tell just people not to eat the KFC Double Down sandwich? That would save us billions in unwanted health care costs! (5:53 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Obama vows to protect Medicare and charges the same people who voted against reform in the past of spreading the current falsehoods. (5:51 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Part III: How to pay for the plan. This is what most people are afraid of the most. He pledges not to sign a bill that will add money to the deficit. And a nice little jab at Bush at the end about the cost of the Iraq war. (5:48 p.m.)

OBAMA: “I will make sure that no government bureaucrat and no insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need.” (5:46 p.m.)

CLAIRE: First auto insurance, now public colleges. Very good ways to help us wrap our heads around it. (5:44 p.m.)

CLAIRE: Federal Conscience laws? No abortions or illegal immigrants? Well the first seems discriminatory, and the second seems, well…unconscientious. (5:40 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Someone just shouted out “you lie!” when Obama said that the bill will not provide health coverage to illegal immigrants. The non-partisan FactCheck.org backs this up. (5:39 p.m.) UPDATE: It was indeed “You Lie,” apparently said by Congressman Joe Wilson from South Carolina’s 2nd district. Oh, there you go again, Joe. There’s already a petition asking you to apologize.

ERICA: “Significant details to be ironed out” got a laugh. Don’t think he was going for that. (5:37 p.m.)

JONATHAN: The White House stream froze for me, so I’m just listening to the speech but staring at Obama frozen in this Muppet-like position. I like that he’s comparing the health coverage requirement to auto insurance. Nobody complains about that requirement! (5:36 p.m.)

CLAIRE: My concern at this point is just that I still haven’t heard the “how.” (5:34 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Here’s the point in the speech where Obama tries to debunk all of the misinformation. There’s still that small percentage of the country who will never believe it, no matter who says it or what the evidence is. Just the way it has to get done, I’m afraid. (5:31 p.m.)

ERICA: Nothing in the plan will make you change if you like your insurance coverage. So why does this scare people? (5:31 p.m.)

TAMMY: Just a random comment but damn he is a great speaker… (5:30 p.m.)

CLAIRE: Obama’s got my head nodding so much I look like a bobblehead. Why throw out some of the pieces we know work? Instead, we need to build upon them and evolve. (5:28 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Obama is going to get criticized for saying there are “merits” to the Canadian system. Don’t expect that “socialist” nonsense to go away. (5:26 p.m.)

CLAIRE: Small businesses and their employees suffer more as health insurance grows 3 times faster than wages. So much for Main Street. (5:25 p.m.)

CLAIRE: 14,000 Americans each day lose their coverage, those who have made the responsible and expensive decision to get insurance in the first place. (5:22 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Buying health insurance yourself is three times more expensive than getting it through an employer, says Obama. Factcheck.org, you on it? (5:21 p.m.)

ERICA: Obama says he’s not the first president to call for health care reform, but he’s determined to be the last. That’s a big thing to say. He’s feisty. (5:20 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Starting by talking about the economic crisis. “I will not let up until those Americans who seek jobs can find them.” He’s crediting his administrations actions with “pulling our economy back from the brink.” (5:18 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Watching the White House stream, so I can’t tell if there is a wing of the chamber not clapping, but I’m sure I’ll read about it later. Finally about to get started with the speech. (5:15 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Alright. The President is on his way in. This should be another few minutes until he gets to the front. All applause and smiles for the moment. (5:11 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Seriously, why don’t they do all this mingling before 5:00? Obama always has to be fashionably late. Too cool for school, that guy. (5:10 p.m.)

ERICA/JONATHAN: This takes forever. (5:07 p.m.)

JONATHAN: Now we’ve got Michelle Obama coming in, wearing some sort of pink suit (not sure how to describe it. She’s sitting next to people who will undoubtedly be mentioned in the speech (5:02 p.m.)

JONATHAN: We’re listening to a long list of representatives who will apparently be escorting the president into the chamber. I’m always surprised how formal this always is. (4:59 p.m.)