{"id":672,"date":"2012-09-06T08:57:29","date_gmt":"2012-09-06T13:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/?p=672"},"modified":"2013-02-09T14:23:20","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T19:23:20","slug":"stirring-but-informative-clinton-nomination-speech-for-barack-obama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/2012\/09\/stirring-but-informative-clinton-nomination-speech-for-barack-obama\/","title":{"rendered":"Stirring but informative Clinton nomination speech for Barack Obama"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I highly recommend to you the YouTube link to Bill Clinton&#8217;s 49 minute Nominating Speech for Barack Obama.<br \/>\nOf particular use to health economists are his comments on the implications of the Romney-Ryan discussion of Medicare and Medicaid, I recommend that you watch the segment from 28:10 to 36:10.<br \/>\n<a title=\"Clinton Nominating Speech at DNC 2012\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JeqNmaawCVw\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JeqNmaawCVw <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Watch 28:10 to 36:10 to understand the health care discussion and why this issue is so important.<br \/>\nIf you prefer text, you can read his speech as transcribed in the NYTimes.<br \/>\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/svc\/oembed\/html\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2012%2F09%2F05%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftranscript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html#?secret=42MA0kGYai\" data-secret=\"42MA0kGYai\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" title=\"Transcript of Bill Clinton\u2019s Speech to the Democratic National Convention\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The prepared text is linked here.<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2012\/09\/05\/bill-clinton-speech-text-_n_1850531.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012<\/p>\n<p>The health discussion text from the speech follows. Note that his actual speech deviated from the prepared text in a few key places. Hence I am using the transcript.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Now, that  brings me to health care. (Cheers, applause.) And the Republicans call  it, derisively, \u201cObamacare.\u201d They say it\u2019s a government takeover, a  disaster, and that if we\u2019ll just elect them, they\u2019ll repeal it. Well,  are they right?<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 80th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[AMNAMN]\">\u00b6<\/a> AUDIENCE MEMBERS: No!<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 81st paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[PCLPCL]\">\u00b6<\/a> PRESIDENT CLINTON: Let\u2019s take a look at what\u2019s actually happened so far.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 82nd paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[FiaAtg]\">\u00b6<\/a> First, individuals and businesses have already gotten more than a  billion dollars in refunds from insurance companies because the new law  requires 80 (percent) to 85 percent of your premium to go to your health  care, not profits or promotion. (Cheers, applause.) And the gains are  even greater than that because a bunch of insurance companies have  applied to lower their rates to comply with the requirement.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 83rd paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[SmtSmt]\">\u00b6<\/a> Second, more than 3 million young people between 19 and 25 are insured  for the first time because their parents\u2019 policies can cover them.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 84th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[CaCa]\">\u00b6<\/a> (Cheers, applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 85th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[MosAyp]\">\u00b6<\/a> Millions of seniors are receiving preventive care, all the way from  breast cancer screenings to tests for heart problems and scores of other  things. And younger people are getting them, too.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 86th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[FstCa]\">\u00b6<\/a> Fourth, soon the insurance companies \u2014 not the government, the insurance  companies \u2014 will have millions of new customers, many of them  middle-class people with pre-existing conditions who never could get  insurance before. (Cheers, applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 87th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[NflCa]\">\u00b6<\/a> Now, finally, listen to this. For the last two years \u2014 after going up at  three times the rate of inflation for a decade, for the last two years  health care costs have been under 4 percent in both years for the first  time in 50 years. (Cheers, applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 88th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[SlmYbw]\">\u00b6<\/a> So let me ask you something. Are we better off because President Obama  fought for health care reform? (Cheers, applause.) You bet we are.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 89th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[NtwA]\">\u00b6<\/a> Now, there were two other attacks on the president in Tampa I think  deserve an answer. First, both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan  attacked the president for allegedly robbing Medicare of $716 billion.  That\u2019s the same attack they leveled against the Congress in 2010, and  they got a lot of votes on it. But it\u2019s not true. (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 90th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[LhwWtp]\">\u00b6<\/a> Look, here\u2019s what really happened. You be the judge. Here\u2019s what really  happened. There were no cuts to benefits at all. None. What the  president did was to save money by taking the recommendations of a  commission of professionals to cut unwarranted subsidies to providers  and insurance companies that were not making people healthier and were  not necessary to get the providers to provide the service.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 91st paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[AioCa]\">\u00b6<\/a> And instead of raiding Medicare, he used the savings to close the  doughnut hole in the Medicare drug program \u2014 (cheers, applause) \u2014 and \u2014  you all got to listen carefully to this; this is really important \u2014 and  to add eight years to the life of the Medicare trust fund so it is  solvent till 2024. (Cheers, applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 92nd paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[ScsLca]\">\u00b6<\/a> So \u2014 (chuckles) \u2014 so President Obama and the Democrats didn\u2019t weaken  Medicare; they strengthened Medicare. Now, when Congressman Ryan looked  into that TV camera and attacked President Obama\u2019s Medicare savings as,  quote, the biggest, coldest power play, I didn\u2019t know whether to laugh  or cry \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 because that $716 billion is exactly, to the  dollar, the same amount of Medicare savings that he has in his own  budget. (Cheers, applause.) You got to get one thing \u2014 it takes some  brass to attack a guy for doing what you did. (Laughter, cheers,  applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 93rd paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[SisSis]\">\u00b6<\/a> So \u2014 (inaudible) \u2014 (sustained cheers, applause) \u2014 now, you\u2019re having a  good time, but this is getting serious, and I want you to listen.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 94th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[LIib]\">\u00b6<\/a> (Laughter.) It\u2019s important, because a lot of people believe this stuff.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 95th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[NalLb]\">\u00b6<\/a> Now, at least on this issue, on this one issue, Governor Romney has been  consistent. (Laughter.) He attacked President Obama too, but he  actually wants to repeal those savings and give the money back to the  insurance company. (Laughter, boos.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 96th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[HwtB]\">\u00b6<\/a> He wants to go back to the old system, which means we\u2019ll reopen the  doughnut hole and force seniors to pay more for drugs, and we\u2019ll reduce  the life of the Medicare trust fund by eight full years. (Boos.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 97th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[SihA]\">\u00b6<\/a> So if he\u2019s elected, and if he does what he promised to do, Medicare will  now grow (sic\/go) broke in 2016. (Boos.) Think about that. That means,  after all, we won\u2019t have to wait until their voucher program kicks in  2023 \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 to see the end of Medicare as we know it.  (Applause.) They\u2019re going to do it to us sooner than we thought.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 98th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[NftTaw]\">\u00b6<\/a> Now, folks, this is serious, because it gets worse. (Laughter.) And you  won\u2019t be laughing when I finish telling you this. They also want to  block-grant Medicaid, and cut it by a third over the coming 10 years.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 99th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[AMNAMN]\">\u00b6<\/a> AUDIENCE MEMBER: No!<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 100th paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[PCOLof]\">\u00b6<\/a> PRESIDENT CLINTON: Of course, that\u2019s going to really hurt a lot of poor  kids. But that\u2019s not all. Lot of folks don\u2019t know it, but nearly  two-thirds of Medicaid is spent on nursing home care for Medicare  seniors \u2014 (applause) \u2014 who are eligible for Medicaid.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 101st paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[CaAhl]\">\u00b6<\/a> (Cheers, applause.) It\u2019s going to end Medicare as we know it. And a lot  of that money is also spent to help people with disabilities, including \u2014  (cheers, applause) \u2014 a lot of middle-class families whose kids have  Down\u2019s syndrome or autism or other severe conditions. (Applause.) And  honestly, let\u2019s think about it, if that happens, I don\u2019t know what those  families are going to do.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Link to 102nd paragraph\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/09\/05\/us\/politics\/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all#p[SIkLl]\">\u00b6<\/a> So I know what I\u2019m going to do. I\u2019m going to do everything I can to see that it doesn\u2019t happen. We can\u2019t let it happen. (Cheers, applause.) We can\u2019t. (Cheers, applause.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I highly recommend to you the YouTube link to Bill Clinton&#8217;s 49 minute Nominating Speech for Barack Obama. Of particular use to health economists are his comments on the implications of the Romney-Ryan discussion of Medicare and Medicaid, I recommend that you watch the segment from 28:10 to 36:10. http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JeqNmaawCVw Watch 28:10 to 36:10 to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/2012\/09\/stirring-but-informative-clinton-nomination-speech-for-barack-obama\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Stirring but informative Clinton nomination speech for Barack Obama<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2755,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7238,72],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2755"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1110,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672\/revisions\/1110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/ellisrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}