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Headlines! Monday, July 20

Posted by: Erin Kelly on Jul 20, 2009

President is Set to ‘Take the Baton' -The Washington Post

Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama may have no greater test of his ability to translate personal popularity into a successful legislative agenda than the upcoming two weeks. With skepticism about the president's health-care reform effort mounting on Capitol Hill -- even within his own party -- the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to dramatically increase public pressure on Congress: all Obama, all the time.

Ad Paints Insurers as Allies of Reform -Politico

For the first time since Harry and Louise helped sink health care reform in 1994, the insurance industry is back on the airwaves Monday with a seven-figure, national cable television ad campaign. 

First Lady Steps into Policy Debate on Health Care -The New York Times

She has become one of the Obama administration's most visible surrogates on health care, announcing the release of $851 million in federal financing for health clinics, calling for tougher nutritional standards in the government's school lunch program and urging Democrats to rally around the president's efforts to revamp health care.

Why Obama Likes His Odds -The Washington Post

It was not the soaring rhetoric that is Barack Obama's signature, but he recently offered the sound bite that may define his presidency: "Don't bet against us."

White House Sends Health Care Message: More Needs to be Done -The Huffington Post

The message from the Obama White House as it pertained to health care reform was repeated ad-nauseum on Sunday: The president still wants bills out of the Senate and House by the time the two chambers head off to recess. But work needs to be done, specifically on the issue of cost-containment.

The Cause of My Life by Ted Kennedy -Newsweek

In 1964, I was flying with several companions to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention when our small plane crashed and burned short of the runway. My friend and colleague in the Senate, Birch Bayh, risked his life to pull me from the wreckage. Our pilot, Edwin Zimny, and my administrative assistant, Ed Moss, didn't survive. With crushed vertebrae, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung, I spent months in New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. To prevent paralysis, I was strapped into a special bed that immobilizes a patient between two canvas slings. Nurses would regularly turn me over so my lungs didn't fill with fluid. I knew the care was expensive, but I didn't have to worry about that. I needed the care and I got it.