It has taken more than fourteen months for Obama to vindicate as president the leadership potential that we saw on the campaign trail; fourteen months to give up on the fantasy of bipartisanship; fourteen months to start truly inspiring ordinary people as he did as a candidate. But in the springtime of March 2010, we have seen a president who evidently has learned how to lead, who relishes winning, and who is primed to become a more effective progressive. For that we should be grateful. It should whet his appetite as a fighter -- and ours.
I have been working for Democratic and progressive causes for 29 years, and I don't think I've ever been prouder than today. When David Obey swung that gavel, it made a joyful noise unto the Lord.
I voted yes on Sunday's health care reform bill. It's an historic first step. Historic. But we're not done. The framework for a comprehensive health care system is in place. Now we must finish the job.
All of this -- hatred, churlishness, pique, resentment, snarling, incivility -- has become the face of a political party which once reflected the sunny optimism of Ronald Reagan.
As stability has returned to Sierra Leone, we have tried to put the country on a path from aid dependency to a dynamic self-sustaining economy. It's time for investors to make their move.
Republican rhetoric feeds into an extensive and well-funded network of right wing groups that stand ready to push anti-mandate ballot initiatives that will go into overdrive upon passage of the health care bill.
For let us not forget: for a president overwhelmingly elected just a year ago, with a super majority in both the House and Senate, the health care reform legislation has been a bizarrely difficult fight.
Paul Volcker is still pressing hard for the Senate to adopt some version of both "Volcker Rules." It's an uphill struggle, so expect a firm yet polite diplomatic offensive from his side.
Make no mistake, this isn't an argument between thoughtful people with opposing viewpoints. This is a fight between good and evil.
I love this country. I love this President. And I love my brothers.
Let's shift administration of domestic programs as much as possible to local communities, what Thomas Jefferson called elementary republics.
The irony of Stupak's efforts to hold the legislation hostage is that his proposals are unlikely to effect a single pregnancy , while the health care bill he tried to derail, by enhancing contraceptive access, could prevent dramatically more.
After more than a year the Democrats have finally passed health care reform legislation. Here is a round-up of HuffPost blogger reactions from commentators who have followed it from the start.
Health care reform is a lot like higher education policy: politicians seem to only talk about access and rarely do they address affordability and quality.
Does more regulation stop human urges like the excess at Lehman Brothers? You can try, as D.C. is trying now. But in the end, the only person who can stop ambition turning into something insidious is you.
We urge all of you to take a stand and not only demand more strict regulation by the FDA but also find safer and environmentally conscious alternatives to bottled water.
Please, my Republican friends, if you can, take a quiet moment away from your AM radio and cable news network this morning and be happy for your country. We're doing better. And we're doing it for you, too.
Consumers need a strong, independent agency that does not have inherent conflict within its core mission statement.
The passage of Obama's health care reform bill is the biggest thing Congress has done in decades, and has enormous political significance for the future.
Is this the change we have been looking for? Only partly. Insurers and other big corporations remain far too powerful, and we will have to keep working hard to improve health care policy in America.
Obama has been bombarded day-in-day-out for months, his reputation skewered from both the left and the right of the spectrum. With tonight's vote, the momentum shifts. Chapter Two of his presidency can now begin.
Palin -- whose duplicitous allegation of "death panels" helped establish the rancorous tone of the national debate over health-care reform -- has consistently shown her capacity for deceit throughout the debate.
Now that this major victory has been won in Congress today, I realize that what I really had at the start of Obama's term was not hope, but optimism. Optimism is a luxury for those who can afford to lose. Hope inspires endurance.
