By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Sept. 9, 2009 – President Obama may have used his strongest language to date outlining his plan for health care reform during his address to a joint session of Congress: but was it strong enough to get a bill that delivers true reform?

“But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it,” he pronounced.

Video: Watch the President’s Full Speech

“I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.”

Those are some of the strongest words the president has used in this debate. But the stakes were high tonight and the president wanted to make sure to link the economy and the importance of reforming what he called the status-quo.

The president said his plan will deliver on three major points. He said security and those who have insurance, insurance for those who don’t and to slow the growth of health care cost.

The president called on Republicans and Democrats to work together. He told his Democratic colleagues, “I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage affordable for those without it.”

Adding the public option is “only a means to that end.” He also spoke directly to the Republicans saying, “That rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.”

“Well the time for bickering is over,” he insisted. “The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care.”

More on Health Care: Facts, Latest News and Stats

What do you think of the President’s speech?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

President Obama has stirred up a firestorm with his criticism of Cambridge Police officers who arrested a friend of his, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., in his own home.  Obama said, the police “acted stupidly” – and the comment has dominated headlines over health care reform ever since. 

I think the president gave his “opinion” and I wasn’t aware that was not allowed by the commander-in-chief.  He made every attempt to say his opinion may be biased because of his friendship with Dr. Gates – not to mention he repeated that he wasn’t there – but felt the officers could have moved on once they determined it was not a robbery in progress.

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Gates Arrest Reax

 Understanding that Gates was pissed, I bet the officer was as well. Sgt. James Crowley, the arresting police officer wasn’t letting Gates off easy.  It was his power play once he discovered who Gates was, and neither wanted to lose face.  Crowley defends his actions, and I’ll defend Gates and the president.   

This story was national news before Obama spoke out because the arrest of Gates was unnecessary and seemed a bit harsh under the circumstances. Now all of a sudden the Cambridge Police are the victims? 

 I know race is always a touchy topic, but why can’t we discuss it?  Is Obama going to have to pretend racism doesn’t exist and avoid any mention of the plight of African Americans and Latinos when race relations are up for discussion?

Obama is a constitutional lawyer, the first Black to head the Harvard Law Review and the first African-American president, and he acknowledged the progress that has been made in race relations over the years.  But if anything comes of this incident, I hope both Blacks and Whites will understand – the discussion is still front page because feelings about race are still raw emotions in this country.

 I’m not sure if having a Black president will help heal the wounds or scar those who see the “good old days” slipping away.

Full Video Coverage: Watch President Obama’s Entire Speech

More on the Story: Cop Says He Won’t Apologize for Gates’ Arrest

(NEW YORK) July 16, 2009 - Will African Americans find themselves in worse shape following health care reform?  That’s what I asked President Barack Obama during a reporters’ roundtable on Air Force One this afternoon.

I asked because the “single-payer” option isn’t on the table during the reform negotiations now underway in Congress. 

“We have a tradition of employer-based health care plans – we hope to provide a level of subsidy guaranteed to keep costs down,” he told me.  Keeping down cost will be a challange because without a single-payer option, like the federal progam Medicare, those seeking insurance will have to buy what they can afford.  Medicare insures everyone and covers up to 80 percent of the cost for at a very affordable rate for seniors and the disable.   

Obama defended the bill in its early stages in Congress, saying he wants to see a government option offered  ”side-by-side” the private insurers.  The government option would be “looking over the shoulder” of private insurers to make sure they do the right thing, he said.   

The trip on Air Force One was less than an hour, the interview with the president about 20 minutes.  I was joined by my colleagues from Ebony, Urban Radio Network, Black Enterprise, The Amsterdam News, TV One and Essence Magazine.

We were seated in the guest area of the plane rather than the traditional press area, and were able to pepper the flight crew with off-the-record questions about  The White House with wings.

After landing in New York we all made our way to the NAACP convention hotel to cover the presidents speech.

 By Pamela Gentry

Today marks President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office. Tonight, he’ll hold his third presidential news conference and give the American people the 411. The timing of his remarks comes just within days of the largest increase in consumer confidence and as falling home prices appear to have leveled off.

But the defection of Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) confirms two things: Republicans are in big trouble; and, two, this could open the door for more moderate Republicans to follow suit.  All of this is good news for Democrats.

Specter decided to follow the folks that he represented in Pennsylvania; and when he learned that 200,000 Republicans had switched parties, it was a no-brainer. In a poll last week, only 21 percent of folks in the country identified themselves as Republican. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that you can’t win an election with percentages like that.  Arlen remarked in the press conference he held after the announcement:

“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right…I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

This can’t be a shocker to the party leadership, whoever that is this week. Leadership is the other big problem with the GOP; who is leading the party? Republican National Chair Michael Steele? Former Congressman Newt Gingrich? Talk show host Rush Limbaugh? Or their elected leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell? That’s one question the Democrats can answer. And President Obama has the advantage of working with his party leadership. Even thought it’s sometimes strained, it’s a working relationship.

While the first 100 days tell us about the early days of an administration, they don’t always predict a legacy of a president. President Obama has laid out some aggressive milestones in his presidency. Since taking office the President has signed over a half dozen bills into law, a dozen or more executive orders, traveled to Canada, Mexico and Europe, and held three nationally televised news conferences.

Tonight, he’ll tell the American people first-hand how he plans to carry them out.

 By Pamela Genry, Sr. Political Correspondent

Feb. 25, 2009 — Obama addressed a joint session of Congress and delivered a message of a stronger America fueled by sacrifice, attacking long term challenges and maintaining hope and optimism.

 He told the American people that the stimulus bill was just the beginning.  “That day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is now.”  

In just a couple days Obama will be unveiling his first budget.  The president was careful to temper expectations. “My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue.  It reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited – a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession,” he said. 

While he continues to struggle with getting Republicans on board for his economic plan, he extended another olive branch to his colleagues across the aisle calling for them to “act boldly and wisely.”  

“Given these realities, everyone in this chamber – Democrats and Republicans – will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars.  And that includes me,” Obama said.

 Obama said he wants to fuel the economic recovery with jobs. Calling on Americans to understand there will be sacrifices from folks across the board, the president pledged to invest in renewable energy, healthcare and education. But many of these jobs the president said will depend on the investment we make in education.  “Three quarter of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma.  And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education,” he said. 

The speech focused on domestic policy but the president did give the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan some attention, promising he will “responsibly end” the war in Iraq.  “We will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism,” he said, receiving thunderous applause.

Watch the President’s Speech


Watch CBS Videos Online
 

By Pamela Gentry,  Senior Political Analyst

 Feb. 9, 2008 – President Obama made the case for his economic plan during his first nationally televised news conference.  He called on his critics to “set aside” differences and work with him to get the economy back on track and the American people back to work.

“It is absolutely true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life,” he said in his opening statement.

Questions were raised about his outreach to Republicans, repairing the banking system, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, but the majority of the questions centered on the economy.

Obama said he would judge the success of his economic plan if it opened credit markets and lenders were confident in the economy; housing market stabilized; job loss declined and new jobs were created.

“The recovery and reinvestment package is not the only thing we have to do. It’s one leg of the stool. We are still going to have to make sure that we are attracting private capital, get the credit markets flowing again, because that’s the lifeblood of the economy.

 What do you think of the President’s speech? Do you think he made a strong case?

July 11, 2008 – The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s comments that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) “was talking down” to Black folks has critics talking up the demise of the civil rights leader’s long-running power position in the Black community.

Newspaper and television reports asked if the civil rights leader is still relevant, influential and the dominate voice of Black America. Some went so far as to ask whether Jackson’s comments helped the Illinois senator distance himself from the man who walked side by side with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and later founded the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition – distance that would give him an advantage among White working-class voters he’s working to woo.

While it’s not really clear what it’s done for Jackson, it is clear what it has done for Obama. The 46-year-old senator already has surpassed President Bill Clinton’s popularity among Black voters and, judging from my readers’ comments, Jackson’s criticism of Obama did not sway his supporters; they were just disappointed he made them.

Take Blogger lsyss’ comments, for instance: “Reverend Jackson and other [B]lacks need to realize that Barack is a politician and not a civil rights leader. It is not his job to solve just African American problems, but America’s problems as a whole.”

…And those of Fahay, who thought the comments were part of a strategy: “Rev. Jackson is quite savvy and experienced with the media. I could be wrong, but nothing said while mic’d is for naught and he knows this. This was picked up, because he wanted it picked up!”

But the reaction to this recent slip of the tongue shows that the Black community can and will embrace “new” leadership.

“This moment only reinforces that we have to let the younger guys take the lead in politics, that they know the issues of today, that we live in a far different world than 20 years ago,” Michel Dukakis told The New York Times [WHEN????]. Dukakis and Jackson competed for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988.

Angelic777 writes in my blog, “Jesse we know it’s hard, bro, not being the chosen one to head up America; it was not your calling. Yours was to keep hope alive; Obama’s is to take us to a much needed change.”

Film producer Spike Lee, may have said it best. “I don’t think his (Jackson’s) comments help anybody; it’s just unfortunate,” Lee told The Associated Press following his participation on a panel at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles.

Lee, an Obama supporter, predicted his candidate will win in the fall. “When that happens, it will change everything. … You’ll have to measure time by `Before Obama’ and `After Obama.’ It’s an exciting time to be alive now.”

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

Posted May 30, 2008 – This could be it; after Saturday one of the Democratic candidates will be closer to nabbing the nomination.  And if the party’s leadership can prevail, they’re predicting the race between Senators Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will not drag on to the party convention in August. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted on Thursday it will be over on by next week’s end.  During a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California, Reid said, he has consulted Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif.), and they all agree.

Reid went on to say that if neither candidate has clinched the nomination after the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee decision about Michigan  and Florida; or after Puerto Rico’s primary; or following Montana’s and South Dakota’s primary, he’ll advise Senate Democrats to step-up and end the contest by taking sides as super-delegates.
But will President Bill Clinton and the former first lady bow out?  There is speculation she’s planning to take her fight to the floor of the convention.  Some of her supporters are already planning protests outside the DNC Rules Committee meeting.  

“I don’t lament this campaign taking as long as it has, but it’s time it ended,” Reid said.
A fight on the convention floor could be the death of the Democratic Party chance to take back the White House for a couple of reasons. First, new young voters attracted to the party might bolt and a prolonged battle could allow the two camps to fester, dig in and create an even bigger divide.

While the Clintons may be more popular with older voters, older voters can’t deliver party strength in the future.  The young folks Obama and Clinton have brought to the dance can’t become disillusioned or loose faith in process.  If they do, the Dems may never see the opportunity to draw them back into the fold.   

The leadership of the Democratic Party is stepping in (they hope) before it’s too late, but “too late” might already be here.  Democrats want to see if they can “unite” and “win” in November; and the only way that will happen is if they can end this primary sooner rather than later. 
Tune in later today as we talk politics on a new on-line web-cast “Today’s Voice.”   The political talk show will look at the week in politics and provide analysis.  I’ll be one of their featured guests today, so check it out at 2 p.m. EST, at www.myvoicedc.com.