• Listen to this segment

Addressing a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama laid out his case for health care reform in the strongest terms yet. As expected, he did not push hard on requiring a public option, but he did strike back passionately at the falsehoods perpetuated by some conservatives and Republicans over the summer. Obama spelled out that under his proposal all Americans would be required to buy basic health insurance, potentially from an insurance exchange. He also made it clear that he would not sign any bill that increased the federal deficit. At one point in an unprecedented breach of etiquette, when clarifying that the health bill would not cover undocumented immigrants, Obama was heckled by Republican Joe Wilson who yelled out, “you lie.” As Congress returns to the business of lawmaking, it remains to be seen if a healthcare reform bill will pass both houses before the end of the year. Various House committees have passed their versions of bills but the sticking point remains the Senate, where without the vote of Edward Kennedy, the Democrats do not have a super-majority. In last night’s address, Obama closed his speech by paying tribute to the late Senator from Massachusetts. A CNN poll showed that Obama gained 14% support for his plan among those Americans who tuned in.

GUEST: Dave Lindorff, award-winning investigative reporter and author of the blog, ThisCantBeHappening.net, regular columnist for CounterPunch, author of The Case for Impeachment

Read Dave Lindorff’s article here: http://www.alternet.org/politics/142463/my_fellow_americans_–_the_speech_obama_should_give_on_health_care/