McCain Misses Kennedy, Calls for Fresh Start on Health Care
EmailMcCain misses Ted Kennedy.
“No person in that institution is indispensable, but Ted Kennedy comes as close to being indispensable as any individual I've ever known in the Senate because he had a unique way of sitting down with the parties at a table and making the right concessions, which really are the essence of successful negotiations. So it's huge that he's absent, not only because of my personal affection for him, but because I think the health care reform might be in a very different place today.”
McCain urged the President to begin his own bipartisan negotiations under one condition – drop the public option.
“I think he'd have to abandon the public option and that I think is what a lot of Americans now are concerned about.”
To read the full transcript click HERE.
-George Stephanopoulos
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McCain is such a disapointment, first he lost my vote by picking that airhead Palin to be his VP in order to get the female vote and now he gives credit to Kennedy who has single handedly screwed this country up. Does McCain live in a cave. Hey buddy didn’t notice that the first healthcare bill by Kennedy called for 1.6 trillion in spending a figure that would certainly bankrupt the country. Is this what you mean about putting America first?
I used to admire you but like many of my friends we now understand why you graduated last in your class. Time for you to retire before you damage this great country. In one year you have gone from hero to zero.
Posted by: Jim | August 23, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am
What?
Posted by: Huh | August 23, 2009, 11:01 am 11:01 am
Starting over on Health Care is just political talk to putting off the problem until after the election. Either you believe health reform is urgently needed or you don’t. If it is, then work together to fix it. Simple. I am so tied up ideology getting in the way of fixing a problem….Stop posturing….The problem I see is that only one party believes HealthCare reform is needed and are debating amongst themselves the best approach while the other party sits on the sidelines and takes potshots..
Posted by: indy_voter | August 23, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am
It’s the typical problem. Republicans don’t care because they have enough money for their healthcare and because all they think about is trashing the other side to get back into office. There’s no feeling of responsibility anymore.
Posted by: X mAN | August 23, 2009, 1:33 pm 1:33 pm
John McCain is, was, and always will be a hero. As for “airhead”, check the man in the mirror.
Posted by: sgiemt | August 23, 2009, 1:42 pm 1:42 pm
Posted by: Jim| Aug 23, 2009 10:30:49 AM
************************** And your answer
is to let the insurance companies keep screwing
you with lame excuses for not paying you but paying
the stockholders (no questions asked) !?! LOL Looks
like it is YOU are the one who wants this country to
fail !
Posted by: spacerook1 | August 23, 2009, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm
Being a hero doesn’t automatically make you intelligent. Sarah Palin is really stupid.
Posted by: Carl the Truth Williams | August 23, 2009, 2:53 pm 2:53 pm
Dropping public option (which congress enjoys) means a free ride for the private insurance companies, who make 200-300% profit each year. What happens to those who have no insurance and under-insured? When they go to ER who pays for their care? Uncle Sam/tax payers, which results in the increased Gov. expenditure. In the absence of public option, who is going to control the increasing cost of healthcare and drugs? Right now, the doctors, hospitals and the pharmaceutical companies gets paid even if the treatments do not benefit the patient. It’s free money, why not suck up? What is wrong with GOP and the press? It is shame.
Defending Palin goes to show the brain of McCain. This is the same fellow who proclaimed that the economy is in sound shape last year when there was financial institution meltdown. Thank God he was defeated last November. Poor George of ABC has no better alternative to invite, except the dead brain.
Posted by: Vikram Patel | August 23, 2009, 5:36 pm 5:36 pm
I guest it is McCain turn to critizie the President Health Care Plan. Look if the Republicans was really seriouse about Health Care Reform the would have did while they were in office for 8 years. President Obama needs to move on with out any Republicans becasue they all just want to start over other wise canceled the whole idea. Start over is other word for CANCEL!
Posted by: gl | August 23, 2009, 9:48 pm 9:48 pm
McCain urged the President to begin his own bipartisan negotiations under one condition – drop the public option.
McCain you lost and we didn’t vote for your opinion! I am so so sick of these Republicans that want the President to start over and do this and that when we all know the Republicans just don’t want no type of Health Care Reform!
Posted by: gl | August 23, 2009, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
People need to begin keeping their eyes on the ball.
Posted by: Lynn Damiano | August 23, 2009, 11:27 pm 11:27 pm
Drop the public option. That’s exactly what the health insurer’s want, and then they would gladly support a reform plan that hands them 47 million more customers who would be required to purchase a health care plan, mandated by the government, and many of whom would be in the lower income brackets and subsidized by the taxpayers. All your tax money would then be split between IRS and the big insurance companies. A lower cost public option and the big insurance companies would have to compete for that business and lower rates. Also to scotch the bs about employers dropping company plans, do you really think that insurers are going to sit back and watch as many employees flee their company plan for the public option. Hell no they won’t. As soon as masses of employees start to opt for the public option plans, the prices for private plans would start to come down. Why would Aetna, Wellpoint, Cigna, Blue Cross, and all the other 1300 private plans want to sit on their asses while customers flee by the droves. Use your head folks. A public option is the best way to force private insurers who have continued to rape you and your employer as well, if you have a company plan, to become more competitive. Some of that premium money that previously has been used to shore up stockholder’s portfolio’s and CEO’s salaries, would be used to offer you better benefits.
Posted by: devilkev | August 24, 2009, 1:59 am 1:59 am
For one thing, the public option plan is way too controversial to pass. Even if it did, it would come back to haunt those who passed it at the slightest problem.
More importantly, as long as the government does not have to make a profit – we will constantly be subsidizing the real costs of health care with a public plan. The is no possible way to compete with the US government, unless the government has a mandate to make a profit. That won’t happen.
So the private insurers will simply take their profits to date, and close up shop. Anyone with any sense in business would not try to compete. Their stockholders would just invest in something else in another industry. They are not stupid.
So the US government will have 300 million people to cover and be subsidizing things left and right. Costs will spiral out of control If not care will have to be rationed. Neither scenario is a good one.
I just don’t see how anyone could possibly believe that its worth investing money in an insurance company to compete with the US government – when the government is not forced to make a profit to do so. I’d rather buy a “toxic asset!” So yes, the private insurance industry will fold.
After that the government will buckle under the financial stress of carrying the health care costs of so many people. Taxes will HAVE to go way up (on everyone!) to even make a dent in it. If taxes go up, they need to go toward paying off the debt, not paying for health care costs.
People can do all the accounting for this for years to come, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it isn’t financially sustainable. In fact the whole United States isn’t financially sustainable at the rate we spend money and miscalculate real costs and projections.
Posted by: Jon F | August 24, 2009, 3:59 am 3:59 am
Pres. Obama should just pass insurance reform with an exchange and an individual mandate with “small pay or play” fees that would fund small business tax credits for setting up health insurance for employees.
Leave the Public Option, Medicaid expansion, Medicare cuts and massive subsidies for another time.
Posted by: Trisha | August 24, 2009, 5:15 am 5:15 am
Insurance companies are already rationing..it will only get worse!
Logically, if everyone paid in taxes for a public plan what were currently paying for private insurance we’d actually have a drop in taxes. And my experience with the private system we now have doesn’t indicate any efficency or cost contaiment except by their rationing
Posted by: Ralph | August 24, 2009, 6:55 am 6:55 am
This is ridiculous. Do we have a “public grocery store” option to keep our grocery stores honest? Of course not. What’s to keep the “public option” insurance honest? Nothing. I already know that my 401K will always outperform social security in providing returns. I trust the market to keep things honest. I don’t trust the government to stay honest. John McCain’s statements are always the ones that urk me the most because he will bend over backwards even to this country’s detriment to make compromises that come back to haunt him and us. I respect him for his sacrifices, but I certainly don’t want him to be my voice.
Posted by: Gina | August 24, 2009, 10:31 am 10:31 am
Please pass the public option so we can take Congress back in 2010. Thank you.
Posted by: GOP | August 24, 2009, 8:13 pm 8:13 pm
I use to be a big fan of Mc Cain but since he picked S.Palin I lost respect for him. It seemed he would rather win than have a qualified person as V.P. He picked her because she was a female and not for qualifications which she has none. Now he calls for bi-partisianship. I say how bi-partisianship is it to receive a call from Tom Price the night they are bringing Kennedy into the library. He was enlisting my support to attend a meeting to defeat Obama’s health care bill. This is really sad…could not even wait for him to be burried. That is one of the reasons I left that party after 23 years. Backstabbing is not for me. They are not the party of the people but the people for their party only. They had 8 years to form a health care bill and did nothing…so now they bash Obama for his efforts. We need a bill or we will go broke and that is evident…do they care? No…they just want to defeat Obama. The bill is the method.
Posted by: talmag | August 28, 2009, 12:00 pm 12:00 pm
McCain has gone from a respectable Senator to a complete party panderer. All of this boo hoo about missing Kennedy is a pile of rubbish. He speaks as if Ted Kennedy’s death was a surprise. Everyone saw this coming. If McCain and his colleagues were serious, they should have started thinking about this on the day after Obama got elected. Now he says all we need to get things going is to remove the public option, the one thing which Ted Kennedy felt was absolutely necessary. Spare us the boo hoo John. Acknowledge the fact that your party will do anything it can to stop meaningful health care reform. Consider this, before we can get back civility in the discourse, we need honesty. Without honesty, civility appears feigned. Once honesty is there, civility will likely follow. After all, we’re all Americans.
Posted by: FoodProfessor | August 28, 2009, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
If ever George has Liz Cheney on his Sunday program “This Week” again, I will turn him off! I don’t think I need to say more.
Posted by: Phyl | August 30, 2009, 10:58 am 10:58 am
mccain or mcbush is just another neo-con that seems to believe that the american people are worthless peasants. deserving of no rights or social programs and that big business should have all the rights under the sun, to conduct business with no regulations at all!!yet if mccain saw another oppurtunity for a multi billion dollar war he,d be all over it like a vampire on blood!well mr.mcbush i certainly am glad that you have 8 houses or more and tax payer sponsored healthcare!!never mind all the personal bankruptcies filed due to medical care costs,just ignore that like a good republican.just ignore the fact that people have lost their jobs and with them their health insurance.you just ignore that like a good republican.just like you and other republicans ignored the needs of the troops you claim you support, by voting against new G.I.bills concurrent with 21st century economic needs.yes and you voted several times against new G.I. bills didn,t you!!??yes once again the greed of the robber barons that you staunchly support trumps the need for reforms that a large and possibly growing majority truly need.but you just ignore that like a good republican!if unemployment continues to grow do you concede that it IS possible that the number of uninsured will grow mr.mccain???!!never mind the question mr.mccain you just be a good republican and ignore that!!
Posted by: demonskull7 | September 6, 2009, 3:38 am 3:38 am