2.  Vague Speech Wins Centrists

President Obama earned the praise of centrists and liberals for his health care reform speech last night, in spite of the fact that he avoided specifics on the most contentious issues. In statements issued shortly after the speech, Sens. Olympia Snowe and Ben Nelson expressed their satisfaction with it, and particularly the president's commitment not to add to the deficit. Politicians were divided over whether the speech constituted a push for the public option—Rep. Anthony Weiner said he considered it "an endorsement of the public plan," while Rep. Zack Space said he thought Obama was "not married to it." Ultimately, while the speech mobilized support around the necessity of health care reform—Jonathan Cohn called it "a pretty clear defense of government"—it did not provide clarity about how people would pay for health care or whether it can effectively control costs. This did not escape the attention of conservatives, who described the speech as a series of platitudes. "To call the two bodies together and to hear what I would call as platitudes was just odd," Sen. Bob Corker told the Hill. "I actually know less today about where they're headed than I did this weekend."

Read original story in The New Republic | Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009