VIDEO of President Obama's weekly address on health care with commentary

July 20, 2:49 AMPolitical Buzz ExaminerRyan Witt

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  President Obama steps off Marine One.  AP Photo Gerald Herbert

Below you can click to watch a summary of President Obama's weekly address on health care.  The President is making a full court press to try and get a bill signed, sealed, and delivered by the August recess.  Increasingly Democrats are beginning to hesitate and stall on pushing the proposals through.  This is likely the first real legislative test for President Obama.  If he fails to get health care through there is little hope of being able to pass climate change legislation or other major reforms.

In the first part of the address the President emphasizes the magnitude of the problem.  He points out that health care effects every American and is central to the U.S. economy.  He then points to the flaws of the current system including rapidly rising premiums, a lack of insurance security for Americans, and the rising costs of Medicaid and Medicare.  The President is clearly trying to make the case that something must be done about health care.  Since the President's proposals are the only ones seriously being considered that something will surely be his style of reform.

President Obama then goes on the attack against those who oppose reform.  He points that no matter what some will always oppose health reform in pursuit of their own interest.  The President then attempts to address the argument that reform will increase costs.  This argument has been very damaging to momentum as a recent story broke regarding the Congressional Budget Office.  The President emphasizes the cost-cutting measures in the bill and the irony that those who make the costs argument are the same ones who created the trillion dollar deficits we have today.

Finally, the President also addresses the arguments of conservatives regarding doctor choice and socialism.  President Obama assures those watching that doctor choice will be kept in the plan.  In addition the President tries to convince Americans that the government option will be one of many providers and not takeover all of health care.

To conclude his speech the President returns to what seems to be the central argument of the administration to try to push reform through.  The President stresses the costs of doing nothing would be far worse than reform that could be passed.  In the end the administration seems to be responding to Republican attacks by saying opponents simply want to keep the current system.  This is probably an effective argument as nearly all Americans agree the current system is broken.