The Obama presser on Tom Daschle and health care was promising. The first big signal concerned scheduling. "The time has come – this year, in this new Administration – to modernize our health care system for the twenty-first century; to reduce costs for families and businesses; and to finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every American." Key words: "This year." Obviously, he doesn't mean in 2008. But that does suggest a year one commitment, which syncs with Obama's previous statement that he'd like to send a bill to Congress by March or April. Given the financial emergency, that might prove optimistic. But Obama made a point during the presser of arguing that the two are connected. "This has to be interwoven into our economic recovery program," he said "This can't be put off because we're in an emergency. This is the emergency!" But won't it be too expensive? On this question, Obama's answer was positively Orszagian. "Some ask how, at this economic moment, can we afford the challenge of reforming our economic system. I ask a different question. How can we afford not to?" That's not only good rhetoric. It's empirically accurate. "If we are to overcome our economic challenges," Obama continued, "we must finally overcome our health care challenges." Obama went on to introduce Tom Daschle as "the original no drama guy." High praise. He also introduced Jeanne Lambrew's appointment as Daschle's deputy. Lambrew is an incredibly talented and knowledgeable health wonk, and her involvement should cheer liberals. Unlike during the campaign, when Obama's health care team seemed heavy on relatively cautious academics, Lambrew has long White House and executive branch experience, and comes to health care as a crusade as much as a topic of study. As Jon Cohn says, the importance of her presence "goes beyond the fact that she happens to know a heck of a lot about health care. She, too, has a strong commitment to what you might call the 'social justice' side of the debate." For more from Lambrew, check out her congressional testimony from late October, where she argued that "the short-run economic crisis has health policy causes and effects—and arguably the most serious long-run economic challenge is our broken health care system." That was almost exactly the message Obama delivered today. And it's the message that will be heard in the White House, and translated into a political strategy by Tom Daschle.
