The speech ended. "Let's get to work," the President said. The attendees -- a mixture of congressmen, advocates, stakeholders, and analysts -- filed down the long hall to their breakout sessions. Another reporter turned to me. "What did you think of the speech?" He asked. "Pretty banal, right?"And maybe it was. We've heard Obama say that "our goal will be to enact comprehensive health care reform by the end of this year." We've heard him say that "the greatest threat to America’s fiscal health is not Social Security, though that is a significant challenge; and it is not the investments we’ve made to rescue our economy; it is the skyrocketing cost of health care." This was not the first time that he's argued that "the same soaring costs that are straining our families’ budgets are sinking our businesses and eating up our government’s budget too." He has previously signaled that "the status quo is the one option not on the table." There was nothing new here.But this is the banality of progress. It is no longer a scoop to report that Obama plans to pass health reform by the end of 2009. There is no surprise when he emphasizes the fiscal necessity of change or the moral urgency of reform. Today's summit, so far, has provided for few easy headlines. It is just another step on the road to a bill. It's the process. That may be banal, yes. But when the President of the United States pushing forward on health reform becomes banal, then that, in itself, is news.The President's full remarks follow the fold. THE BANALITY OF PROGRESS.
The speech ended. "Let's get to work," the President said. The attendees -- a mixture of congressmen, advocates, stakeholders, and analysts -- filed down the long hall to their breakout sessions. Another reporter turned to me. "What did you think of the speech?" He asked. "Pretty banal, right?"And maybe it was. We've heard Obama say that "our goal will be to enact comprehensive health care reform by the end of this year." We've heard him say that "the greatest threat to America’s fiscal health is not Social Security, though that is a significant challenge; and it is not the investments we’ve made to rescue our economy; it is the skyrocketing cost of health care." This was not the first time that he's argued that "the same soaring costs that are straining our families’ budgets are sinking our businesses and eating up our government’s budget too." He has previously signaled that "the status quo is the one option not on the table." There was nothing new here.But this is the banality of progress. It is no longer a scoop to report that Obama plans to pass health reform by the end of 2009. There is no surprise when he emphasizes the fiscal necessity of change or the moral urgency of reform. Today's summit, so far, has provided for few easy headlines. It is just another step on the road to a bill. It's the process. That may be banal, yes. But when the President of the United States pushing forward on health reform becomes banal, then that, in itself, is news.The President's full remarks follow the fold. 
