Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Obama: "This is what change looks like."

Nobody needs me to provide a news service. But this is genuinely historic. From Christina Bellantoni at TPM:
With much fanfare, dozens of pens and members of Congress beaming at his side, President Obama signed a sweeping health care reform bill this morning. "Today after almost a century of trying; today after a year of debate; today after all the votes have been tallied health, insurance reform becomes" the law of the land in America, Obama said in the White House East Room.
The next step is for the Senate to pass the "reconciliation" measure with its various fixes, corrections, and adjustments. Assuming that works out OK, this health care reform package will be complete.

As Obama said in his speech on Sunday night, after the House vote:
So this isn't radical reform. But it is major reform. This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system. But it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what change looks like.
(Or, to quote Joe Biden: "This is a big fucking deal.")

--Jeff Weintraub