Goodbye, Novak and Hewitt
A few words about a pair of deceased media bigwigs
Goodbye, Novak and Hewitt
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
Today I invite you to link my new freelance commentary piece, assessing the stormy career of the newly-deceased Robert Novak. I want to add several observations:
Midway through the piece, I mention that a lot of top Washingtonians leaked information to Novak just to stay on his good side. That was a nice way to put it. He actually thrived, during his print column heyday, by practicing a semi-benign form of extortion. He made it clear to people that if they didn't cooperate with him as sources, he would be apt to treat them as targets. Karl Rove once showed up at a party for Novak wearing a button that said, "I'm a source, not a target."
And in addition to my discussion of how Novak thrived as an increasingly conservative commentator in the early days of cable TV (the early '80s), I could easily have mentioned how he also served during that period as a willful transmission belt for the Reagan devotees of supply-side economics. Actually, that's an understatement; he was a virtual gatekeeper and ideological cop. As Republican strategist Roger Stone tells the story, some party leaders wanted Ronald Reagan to dump some of his supply-side tax-cut proposals prior to his autumn 1980 faceoff with President Jimmy Carter. A Reagan aide called Novak to find out how the columnist might react to such a decision, and how he might treat it in his column. Let's just say that Novak's response inspired the Reagan team to stick with the game plan. In Stone's emailed words, "Bob Novak didn't just report the news, he shaped it."
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And speaking of deceased media bigwigs, most of the commentary about Don Hewitt, the CBS legend who died yesterday at 86, has focused on his four decades as the impresario on 60 Minutes, TV's longest running show. But I'll offer something else, about his presence at a key historical moment:
Don Hewitt produced the first Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960, a television milestone. Shortly before the two candidates took the stage, Hewitt checked them out in person. He judged that Kennedy would look great on camera, having been made up with something called Max Factor Creme Puff. Then he went to see Nixon. Nixon looked terrible - wan, pasty, gray. Hewitt went to Nixon's people, and asked whether perhaps it would be wise to put some makeup on the guy. They said no. The show went on, Nixon looked terrible, and Kennedy was judged the clear winner by Americans who watched.
If only the Nixon people had listened to Hewitt, who knows, maybe history would have been different. In any case, they sought instead to make Hewitt the scapegoat, and demanded that he be removed from the future debates. CBS refused.
Years later, as David Halberstam tells the story in his book The Powers That Be, Nixon appeared on a CBS show produced by Hewitt. Nixon asked him all kinds of questions about makeup, and Hewitt told him that the best kind of makeup was a deep natural tan. "In years to come," wrote Halberstam, "Hewitt often wondered whether he was responsible for Nixon's houses in San Clemente and Key Biscayne."
Comments (59)
Tom: and before you try to hedge your way out, please note that you wrote that he was "asking the state legislature to change the way a successor is chosen FROM a special election (which could take up to 5 months) TO appointment by the governor". Don't try and say "I never said there wouldn't be a special election..." You did.— still_independent- NEPhilly: you really do read what you want to see, don't you? They didn't "debunk" the NJ Congressman - they gave it a half-true. Why? Because one study had 22,000, another study had 0. They even state that there is no consensus. As far as the $500B , I actually found a more concise article on factcheck : http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/more-senior-scare/— still_independent
- Tom's problem is that instead of doing some research (like reading a copy of Kennedy's letter) he just regurgitates the right wing whacko talking points which are never totally honest and accurate. As he and others try to get converts over to his argument - he does not realize that those sort of shortcuts wind up losing the GOP more votes than he could ever get. Tom do you think Ex Governor Palin's lies about death panels are despicable ???— ModerateMarge
- Tom - Re Ted Kennedy and his letter about succession - Why do you lie ????? He asked for 1 change and 1 change only - that an interim appointment be made between the vacancy and the special election so his state would continue to have 2 Senators. The special election would still be held. Why the animosity ???— ModerateMarge
- still, I don't think the $500 Bil cut has been debunked! Politifact couldn't debunk it & even you can't say where the $1 Tril over 10 years (and it will almost certainly be more) to do this comes from. So until the President and the dems can show me/you that, the most likely place to get that much cash is to extract 'savings/efficiencies' from Medicare. The Pres. doesn't say outright he would cut $500 Bil from Medicare, but these savings and efficiencies he is going to find there sound an awful lot like cuts to me! Unless you really believe there is $500 Bil extra being spent on Medicare that doesn't need to be, which is it? In the article Politifact is debunking a NJ congressman for saying that 22,000 people die each year because of lack of insurance!— NEPhilly
- '"Christian" Heretics: What is so curious is that in this religious country of ours the same evangelicals, conservative Roman Catholics and others who are running around saying that we have a "Christian foundation" have forgotten that one of the great contributions of Christianity (going back to the fourth century) was public nonprofit hospitals and hospices. Since when are Christians against vocation? Since when does Christianity teach that profit must trump all other considerations? -- "I'm my brother's keeper, if I get paid"? Somehow right wing evangelical Christians now seem to believe that Jesus commanded that all hospitals be run by mega corporations for profit. Somehow the right also thinks that it's normal for the state to hand over its duties to private companies for military operations, prisons, health care, public transport and all the rest. The word "infrastructure" seems to have lost its meaning along with the word "community" as something for the common good. The common space never needs to "turn a profit" because it is the lifeblood that allows private profit (every small business owner about to go under because of health care costs knows this). Our trains are 50 years behind the rest of the world's because some genius addicted to the cult of profit decided that they aren't infrastructure but just another business. In Afghanistan and Iraq, Marines were outnumbered by private contractors earning 10 times what our soldiers were earning for doing the same jobs and while making hundreds of millions of dollars for a privatized defense establishment.'— the stupid does burn
- NEPhilly: glad ytou found politifact. Now stop with the $500B in medicare cuts. And the death panels. And the bank account access. And the making of private insurance illegal. And all the other stuff they debunk. As to the number dying because of lack of insurace, where has it been mentioned (other than on politifact)? And from later in the same article, "On one key point, the Institute of Medicine and Kronick actually aren't that far apart. Kronick said he doesn't doubt that individuals' health suffers when they're uninsured ". So there's still a cost associated with the lack of insurance.— still_independent
Comment removed.- Debunking the often stated claim that preventive health services will save money in the long run, I love this website:) ***"The evidence suggests that for most preventive services, expanded utilization leads to higher, not lower, medical spending overall," CBO director Douglas Elmendorf wrote in an Aug. 7 letter to Rep. Nathan Deal, the top Republican on a congressional subcommittee involved in the debate. Elmendorf explained that, while the cost of a simple test might be cheap for each individual, the cumulative cost of many tests could be quite expensive: "But when analyzing the effects of preventive care on total spending for health care, it is important to recognize that doctors do not know beforehand which patients are going to develop costly illnesses. To avert one case of acute illness, it is usually necessary to provide preventive care to many patients, most of whom would not have suffered that illness anyway. ... Preventive care can have the largest benefits relative to costs when it is targeted at people who are most likely to suffer from a particular medical problem; however, such targeting can be difficult because preventive services are generally provided to patients who have the potential to contract a given disease but have not yet shown symptoms of having it." ...So, the consensus is that, while preventive care will almost certainly save lives, it's a stretch to say that it will save government spending on health care. *** http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/17/david-brooks/brooks-claims-preventive-care-will-cost-government/— NEPhilly
- pa, as for your poll number, I thought it was overly optimistic:) ***"76% of Americans support President Obama's public health insurance option." That number seemed high to us, especially in the light of recent polls, so we decided to check it. The statistic comes from a poll conducted June 12-15 by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal that asked, "In any health care proposal, how important do you feel it is to give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance––extremely important, quite important, not that important, or not at all important?" About 41 percent of respondents said it was extremely important, and about 35 percent said it was quite important. Add those numbers together, and you get 76 percent. But in the health care debate, June was a long time ago. Since that poll was published, rowdy town hall meetings and a barrage of criticism have made Americans more skeptical of health care reform. The public option has become less popular as well; several surveys done since that first NBC/Wall Street Journal poll indicate declining support for a public plan.*** http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/20/progressive-change-campaign-committee/groups-claim-overwhelming-support-public-option/— NEPhilly
- You see that no one is dying because they are uninsured as mentioned by people in favor of govt. healthcare reform! ***On July 30, 2009, PolitiFact rated as True a statement by Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey that "as many as 22,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have health insurance." We based that on the same study that Pascrell did....The most notable difference between the Institute of Medicine's data -- which were drawn from the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey as well as the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey -- is that Kronick adjusted it for a number of demographic and health factors, such as status as a smoker and body mass index. When he did that, "the risk of subsequent mortality is no different for uninsured respondents than for those covered by employer-sponsored group insurance." In other words, once you compare death rates in an apples-to-apples fashion -- comparing insured smokers to uninsured smokers, for instance -- the likelihood of dying evens out. This, in turn, would mean that IOM's estimate of 18,000 deaths would drop essentially to zero. In his paper, Kronick acknowledges that this is a "counterintuitive" result, possibly resulting from the safety net of public hospitals and community clinics providing "'good enough' access to care for the uninsured to keep their mortality rate similar to that of the insured."*** http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/aug/20/second-opinion-deaths-totals-uninsured/— NEPhilly
- tom: as for the mixing of politics and religion - any church that advocates any candidate for any elected office can and should lose their tax exempt status. Period. I'm not sure what the rules are for advocacy on certain issues. I think the Catholic Church would go bankrupt if advocacy of any political issue was enough to lose tax exempt status.— still_independent
- tom: "It is also unconstitutional for Henry Waxman to write to the top 52 insurance companies and ASK them for details on compensation and other practices" - emphasis is mine. I'm not sure, but I don't think ASKING someone for anything is a constitutional issue at all. And I have no idea upon what clause Congress' subpeona powers is based. I'll look into it, IF it happens. As far as the future "increases", they are currently IN the house bill. The CBO estimates that ~$250B of increases would go to providers (i.e. doctors). Again, this could change, but it is currently there. It's largely the cancelling of currently scheduled reductions.— still_independent
- Tom from Wilmington- It is amusing for Obama to try to use the clergy and religion as a basis pass the healthcare bill. I must have missed the part in the bible where it says " Thou shall find someone else to pay for ones healthcare "
- "There will be no public health care option, because the Democrats don't want one. Seriously, this makes me think about jumping ship." From Pdiddy...... Who's ship will you be jumping too? But anyway I digress. I think what you have to remember is that although you have a supermajority, there are many of these politicans who have a D in front of their name but ran as conservatives in conservative districts. I think most people think we need reform but the fear is that a government plan will make it worse. Before we do the budget busting government run solution I think we should try Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's plan first and see if that works. It won't cost anything so there is nothing to lose by trying some less expensive reforms first.
- pa, a moveon.org poll? I see why you didn't post the link, but that is what the poll says so thank you for letting me see it! I said Scooter was found guilty of a bad memory, but the special prosecutor found no law was broken in outing a CIA agent that was already outted!— NEPhilly
- yobil626- You said " I'm waiting for one of the Cons to admit that what the Bush Administration did regarding raising the threat levels as we approached the 2004 election was also terrorism?"........... Oh no not a raised threat level! I cannot imagine anything more stupid then spending billions to create the office of Homeland Security who's sole contribution seems to be color coded threat levels. So yes Yobil626 it is pretty silly. When I think of terrorism I think of what happned on 9-11 not a raised threat level. And I find it silly that MSNBC spent most of their show last night talking as if this story mattered. Sheesh.
- Mornings at the beach are one of life's still free pleasures....but how can you guys live with a 7% sales tax in New Jersey? When I went to pick up pizza (special at Blitz's for 5.99), I tried to buy three with $18. Talk about sticker shock. Living in DE for 18 years, I forget sometimes about that extra charge and how it can really add up.— tom - wilmington, de
- I am so glad the Justice department is no longer affected by politics....from the WSJ..."President Obama's Justice Department continues to stonewall inquiries about why it dropped a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party. The episode—which Bartle Bull, a former civil rights lawyer and publisher of the left-wing Village Voice, calls "the most blatant form of voter intimidation I've ever seen"—began on Election Day 2008.....The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted on Aug. 7 to send a letter to Justice expanding its own investigation and demanding more complete answers. "We believe the Department's defense of its actions thus far undermines respect for rule of law," its letter stated. It noted "the peculiar logic" of one Justice argument, that defendants' failure to show up in court was a reason for dismissing the case: "Such an argument sends a perverse message to wrongdoers—that attempts at voter suppression will be tolerated so long as the persons who engage in them are careful not to appear in court to answer the government's complaint."" Yes, so glad decision making by politics is no longer going on at the DOJ now that the adults are back in charge.— tom - wilmington, de
- still_independent...if Obamacare passes, then next year, if we reduce costs (or slow their increase), I will acknowledge it. However, if these costs are slowed due to rationing brought on by millions more insured seeking treatment from fewer available doctors, if they are slowed by cutting testing now seen as easily available and "routine", if they are cut by having 4-5 month waits for surgery and treatment, then no deal. Cost cutting by rationing is no cost cutting. They can do that now without this legislative nightmare. I am all for cutting costs, but find it unconstitutional that the government can force someone to buy health insurance, or force employers to offer it, or else face a penalty. It is also unconstitutional for Henry Waxman to write to the top 52 insurance companies and ask them for details on compensation and other practices. Where does all this authority come from?— tom - wilmington, de
- I am amazed that none of you libs have a problem with Obama enlisting the clergy into his healthcare battle. Where is the outrage for this president injecting religion into the legislative process? The man who allowed his illegal immigrant aunt to live in squalor in Boston is now saying we have a moral obligation to pass healthcare reform because we are our brother and sisters keepers. Isn't this mixing politics and religion? Where is the separation of church and state crowd? Is it legal for Obama to ask these preachers to use their pulpits to push for his legislation? Where is the outrage?— tom - wilmington, de
- still_independent...those "increases" are subject to being trimmed down or delayed as Rahm Emmanuel tries to wrest control of that process from Congress and have it done in the White House.— tom - wilmington, de
- smike, Here's the deal. You made an assertion that Obama was 'my man'. That indicates that you don't really read what I've posted and you never addressed how you 'absolutely knew' my leanings.You have completely dodged or simply changed the subject on at least a half dozen exchanges on which I've challenged you and more on the challenges of others. I have posted here for a few years ( it is addictive!) and I have consistantly questioned how the voters of Mass. could keep electing Kennedy ( and Frank, also) I think they both represent everything that's wrong with congress. I have NEVER posted anything favorable about Kennedy. CD75 is just an aggitator with no balance. At one point he/she went 0 for 22 in responding to challenges on really insane allegations on this board alone and most regulars don't even respond anymore. What is there to post about the deal 40 years ago? Kennedy should have been prosecuted and gone to jail. He's a Kennedy and he got away with it and the knuckleheads in Mass. re-elected him . I wish I knew how to change that, but I don't. Just read what's there.— JimR
- nep, here's the link: http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=5ba17aa2-f1b9-4445-a6b8-62b9d1ba8693 You conveniently neglect to mention that Scooter went to jail for obstructing justice on Plamegate. I can understand why you don't want anyone to look back. It's not a pretty picture.— PA_Dutch
- I'm waiting for one of the Cons to admit that what the Bush Administration did regarding raising the threat levels as we approached the 2004 election was also terrorism? Didn't it induce greater apprehension in your fellow citizens? Better not hold my breath waiting...— yobill626
- p-diddy: Hannity is buffoonish, but Limbaugh is always working an angle & very definitely in on the joke. Novak was the press's alter ego to Cheney --- a scary back alley fighter who looks like he stepped out of a boardroom.— yobill626
- Check out Glenn Greenwald's column at Salon.com. A very informative piece confirming everything I feared was going on behind the scenes during this healthcare debate.— p-diddy
- On another note, I can hardly express how betrayed I feel by Obama and the Democratic congress right now. There will be no public health care option, because the Democrats don't want one. Seriously, this makes me think about jumping ship.— p-diddy
- I'll miss watching Robert Novak on tv. Although I didn't agree with him on many things, I always enjoyed his spirited exchanges with Bill Press in the early days of "Crossfire", as well as his regular appearances on the "Capital Gang". He was sort of a friendly villain to me, with his "Monopoly banker" vest and chain and sarcastic grin. Novak was certainly a different breed of commentator from people like Hannity or Limbaugh, who are flat out mean and sometimes overtly racist. I would have like to have had a beer with the "Prince of Darkness." RIP— p-diddy
- Ridge has to be a LIAR!!— Talvenada
- Breaking news on MSNBC from Chris Matthews tongitht. Hold onto your pants leg please!!!!!!. ............. Are you ready?........ this is huge......... Are you sure you're ready?..................... In 2004 Tom Ridge was pressured to elevate the threat level from green to orange!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh horrors!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh no now wait I think that was blue to red....... No it was baige to off white! Yep that was it. Well anyway he was pressured 5 years ago to change the colored coded threat level!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! goodnight everyone .....sigh
- pa, i'd like the link to that poll! Plamegate is nothing but nonsense, her husband outed her time and again before Scooter Libby ever did! And a special prosecutor found nothing illegal but Scooter's faulty memory! As for Rove, it was his job to help GWB get re-elected & he didn't have enough power to pressure any department! I guess 62 million Americans were fooled into voting for GWB, please stop. It is time to look forward, not back! Haven't you heard it is a new day in Washington, with a new way of doing business...oh wait, I'm sorry I, like the President, thought the campaign was still going on:) I guess it is time to stop the class warfare & devisiveness of the campaign and start the process of actually leading the country & building a consensus on legislation this important, instead of ramming an option through under a false deadline (i.e.stimulus bill)! Thank God for the 'bluedogs' who were thinking of their own re-electon and not being 'lapdogs' for this President:)— NEPhilly
- Jim R- Ah, and you didn't vote for Obama. Right???? CD had a great post. I'd rather you comment on on the woman who was killed at Chapaquidick. But no liberal seems to have an answer for that. I guess it, tis better to change the subject. And just so you know I voted for Obama!
- Sorry, suspended! Besmirch me like Sean Hannity. Hannitize me with slime!— Talvenada
- Glenn Beck suspender for what? Calling Obama a racist with a deep-seeded hatred of white people? He reports only the facts, you decide! Or for the 20 sponsors he lost? Rush's sponsors should jump in to save this pillar of the conse 'pub community, no?— Talvenada
- smike, when you start reffing CD75, it's time to get out of the sun and grab a cold one.— JimR
- its a good thing Ridge wants to sell some books. He's finally come clean on the terror alert manipulation to benefit Bush's chances in the 2004 election. Meanwhile we're beginning to see how Karl Rove pressured the justice department to help swing the election and canned those who wouldn't play ball. Add Plamegate into the mix and Bush's reelection seems pretty tainted to me. Even more than his 2000 election. I wonder if the recent poll that shows 77 per cent of Americans support choice of a public option is related to people coming to terms with the connect between the lies they've told and the lies they're telling.— PA_Dutch
- ahiredgun- uummm, the woman died. Ted Kennedy became a US Senator. Real nice stuff
- It's a CD75 original all right. Leaving Mary Jo "to drown for very nearly 12 hours"? Wow, it must have been a world record for a drowning. CD75, it might be a good idea if you took a refresher course on how to write in an intelligent manner.— AHiredGun
Yeah, I've heard that, too.— Mr. Smith- Soylent Green, baby, Soylent Green...I can't wait for the IPO. The market will drop in 20-25 years when we start running out of old folks but Cramer sez it's a BUY, BUY, BUY.— Joe Funk
- Obama's own quote on the costs associated with the old....." I mean, the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out here." ..........Barack Obama
- "Since the media rage this summer is to celebrate 40th anniversaries (Woodstock, etc.), least we forget that July 18 was the 40th anniversary of Teddy Kennedy's Chappaquiddick incident. How ironic it is that a "man" who now pushes for universal healthcare left a woman to drown for nearly 12 hours before contacting the police, and the media celebrates him as a "Liberal Lion"." A CD75 orginal and worthy of re-posting because Kennedy is the poster child for liberal hypocrasy.
- still, I read it and agree with you up to a point:) Here it is for others to make up their own minds. It is uncomfortable to talk about and the sick are vulnerable to being manipulated, especially when the govt. wants to save money on healthcare! A slippery slope indeed! http://www.rihlp.org/pubs/Your_life_your_choices.pdf— NEPhilly
- NEPhilly : instead of reading his "interpretation" (and he's a pro-lifer, he has an obvious agenda - in his equivalent document, the default position is ALWAYS "I want lifesaving treatment", "I want nutrition",etc.), why not read the actual document? I read it, and found that Mr. Towey characterized it completely differently than I would have. ... http://www.rihlp.org/pubs/Your_life_your_choices.pdf— still_independent
- I must admit I was listening to Hannity and heard this tidbit! ***Unfortunately, under President Obama, the VA has now resuscitated "Your Life, Your Choices." Who is the primary author of this workbook? Dr. Robert Pearlman, chief of ethics evaluation for the center, a man who in 1996 advocated for physician-assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court and is known for his support of health-care rationing. "Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living." The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to "shake the blues." There is a section which provocatively asks, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as "I can no longer contribute to my family's well being," "I am a severe financial burden on my family" and that the vet's situation "causes severe emotional burden for my family." When the government can steer vulnerable individuals to conclude for themselves that life is not worth living, who needs a death panel?... If President Obama is sincere in stating that he is not trying to cut costs by pressuring the disabled to forgo critical care, one good way to show that commitment is to walk two blocks from the Oval Office and pull the plug on "Your Life, Your Choices." He should make sure in the future that VA decisions are guided by values that treat the lives of our veterans as gifts, not burdens.*** http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204683204574358590107981718.html— NEPhilly
- SHOCKING: Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says in his upcoming book that President Bush manipulated the terror-threat alert system for political gain. Ridge says that he was pressured to raise the alert level on the eve of President Bush’s reelection in 2004............ and to think that those vile liberals have had the audacity to accuse the previous administration of lying about terrorism for political purposes!!!— the stupid does burn
- still, you would agree that when repubs tried to 'slow the growth' of SS or Medicare it was called a cut, now that a dem proposes it, it is something different:) I never agreed we need to enroll tens of millions of people in govt. mandated health insurance! I agreed we need to cut health insurance rate growth, improve portability, increase competition, reform tort laws, increase regulations (govt. should regulate, not compete with), increase # of primary care doctors, offer less expensive care options (other than ER) to the poor, offer more insurance plan options such as higher deductibles, etc. I assume more people who actually want and can't afford health insurance would get it if this were enacted, but I would not mandate it! And Pres. Obama skewered Hillary and Edwards in the primary for mandating the same thing, at least they were true to themselves:)— NEPhilly
- tom: true - I was only commenting on proposed pieces of legislation, not what Obama says. I tend to stick with this, because legislation may be passed into law, whereas his rhetoric is not binding. The $500B is a little misleading, though. For example, $110B is by cutting payments to hospitals to treat uninsured patients, the logic being that those ranks would decline as health care reforms are phased in (i.e. more people had health coverage). Another $75 billion would come from "better pricing of Medicare drugs", which could be achieved by undoing some of the non-negotiating caveats pushed through with the prescription drug legislation a few years ago. I am concerned about his proposed 110 billion in reducing scheduled increases in Medicare payments, depending upon what areas they are in.— still_independent
- NEPhilly: want your article weas leaving out were RAISING Medicare payements to doctors. It's the old cut and add but only mention the cut. In any case, there's a big difference between trying to slow growth and "cutting". The Medicare budget will still be higher than it is now. Tell you what. Generally, healthcare costs have been rising at twice the rate of inflation. If next year, they "only" go up the rate of inflation, please comt back and tell me you "cut" your healthcare costs. Finally, to summarize your position: we need to enroll tens of million of people into health coverage, which will cost money, but you oppose any means of raising the money or lowering costs to offset the increase.— still_independent
- still, exactly. You can't extend coverage and cut the cost, but that is the President's stated plan! We can negotiate a reasonable cap, can't we? I went to a liberal site this time and the (...) are mine :) ***That leaves us with Obama's claim that, under the health care reform proposal, Medicare benefits will not be cut. He's right that the bill does not directly (key word) trim Medicare benefits; instead, the government is proposing ways to slow or eliminate some Medicare spending (this is the stealth cut & is what dems have been killing repubs for proposing for years) to beef up (pay for) other aspects of the plan. But experts told us it's conceivable or even likely that those financial changes could lead to reduced benefits (how can it not), particularly for people in the (Medicare) Advantage program. From that perspective, it's a stretch for Obama say that Medicare patients won't see changes in their plans as a result. We give Obama a Half True.*** http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/14/barack-obama/obama-claims-medicare-benefits-will-not-be-cut-und/— NEPhilly
- In 2004, with the possible election of John Kerry and a Republican governor in Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy asked the state legislature to change the way a successor was chosen from appointment by the governor to special election. This was of course done. Now, in 2009, with a Democrat governor in place and a super majority in all levels of the federal government, Kennedy is once again asking the state legislature to change the way a successor is chosen from a special election (which could take up to 5 months) to appointment by the governor. Now that is chutzpah.— tom - wilmington, de
- still_independent....according to cnn.com, Obama is proposing paying for half of the healthcare overhaul with $500 Billion cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. These cuts will come from reduced payments to providers, improved pricing of medicare prescription drugs, among other things. I know none of this is actually in the bill (House 3200), but it is how Obama has proposed paying for his reforms.— tom - wilmington, de
- NEPhilly: what's a "fair and reasonable" cap in the case of the very preventable death of a child?— still_independent
- NEPhilly: first of all there is no " Mandating a $500 Bil cut in Medicare". Yet another "fact" continually propagated by the right. I have no ideas how it will be paid for, which is one of my problems with it. That being said, how can you provide coverage to 40-50 million more people and not have it cost more? BTW, $1T of 10 years is not actually very much (in gov't terms). That's LESS than the costs of Bush's two tax cuts (and even the heritage foundation agrees with that one). And yes, that's including the 'increased revenues' from those tax cuts.— still_independent
- Since the media rage this summer is to celebrate 40th anniversaries (Woodstock, etc.), least we forget that July 18 was the 40th anniversary of Teddy Kennedy's Chappaquiddick incident. How ironic it is that a "man" who now pushes for universal healthcare left a woman to drown for nearly 12 hours before contacting the police, and the media celebrates him as a "Liberal Lion".— CD75
- SHOCKING: Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says in his upcoming book that President Bush manipulated the terror-threat alert system for political gain. Ridge says that he was pressured to raise the alert level on the eve of President Bush’s reelection in 2004.— the stupid does burn
- From the last blog; RIP Robert Novak, Godspeed! ***fernando, agreed that the insurance companies make too much money, but they are the ones taking the risk, like any insurance company! What do life insurance or car insurance comapnies produce? Nothing! I am for lower costs in healthcare as are most reasonable people. Portability, sign me up! Better access, yes again. A better way to provide poor people medical care other than emergency rooms, yes! Now the problem is getting there from here. 1) Lower costs-throwing a $1 Tril over 10 years at a problem is not my idea of lower costs. Mandating a $500 Bil cut in Medicare will result in lower services and less doctor's that take Medicare and will hurt seniors. The way to lower costs are free market, cross-state competition, tort reform & free market choices (buying the coverage you want, instead of a 1 size fits all plan)! 2) Portability-pass in the new law mandating the shifting of insurance responsibility away from companies and more to individuals. Companies will increase pay of people commensurate with their private coverage. Insurance companies will be mandated to let people buy insurance directly at the group price, with the choice of coverages, high deductibles, like car insurance. 3) Doctors-there are not enough primary care doc's to treat all these newly insured people. We need to waive student loans of doctors who promise to be primary physicians for at least 10 years & we need to cap lawsuit payouts at a fair and reasonable number! To think the govt. can do this is just silly in my opinion after it has proved so inept at so many things:)— NEPhilly
- By now you all know that CD75 is spending some time at the Shady Acres Rest Home. I have some exciting news. It turns out that CD is a birther. He revealed it at a group therapy meeting. The thing is though that he doesn’t believe the story about Kenya. According to CD, Obama was really born on the planet Zarcon. We’ve all been hypnotized to see him as a human, but he’s actually got 3 eyes and 2 tongues, both of them forked. Everybody told CD he’d been watching too many reruns of the X Files, but he swears it’s true. The way he sees it, the government on Zarcon is crazy for socialized medicine, and they’ve decided to spread it throughout the galaxy. That’s why they sent #3T78 (Obamas’s actual name) down here. In fact, Obama wasn’t even born; he was hatched. So when you think of it, CD’s not a birther, he’s a hatcher. He says that by next week, he’s going to produce a 100% genuine copy of Obama’s Zarconian hatching certificate. We all thought that meant Biden would become President, but it turns he’s from another planet too. So are Nancy Pelosi and a whole parcel of Democrats, which means that pretty soon Mitch McConnell is going to be President; he really was born in Kentucky.— fed up
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About this blog
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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