President Obama in Pennsylvania: “The need is great. The opportunity is here. Let’s seize reform. It’s within our grasp.”
On the road in Glenside, Pennsylvania yesterday, President Obama called on Congress to pass reform and asked the American people to make their voices heard to help get the job done.
The Los Angeles Times reported from the President's speech in Glenside:
In an impassioned rally that evoked his campaign, President Obama left what he called the Washington "echo chamber" Monday and urged voters to knock on doors and make phone calls to embolden members of Congress to pass heathcare legislation.
Obama said that Washington pundits obsessed with analyzing the political repercussions of a yes or no vote on healthcare are distracting lawmakers from what's fundamentally at stake: If Congress fails to act, the president said, premiums will rise, insurers will deny coverage based on preexisting conditions and more people will be without insurance.
"They need to hear your voices because right now the Washington echo chamber is in full throttle," Obama told an audience of 1,800 at Arcadia University outside Philadelphia. "It is as deafening as it's ever been. And as we come to that final vote, that echo chamber is telling members of Congress, wait, think about the politics -- instead of thinking about doing the right thing."
In his speech, President Obama asked that everyone who believes that health reform is the right thing to do stand with him and fight during these final critical weeks.
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