Buckwheat Says His Health Care Expansion Plan is Better Than Hitlary's

http://www.newsmax.com/politics/obama_health_care/2007/11/24/51880.html

Obama Touts Health Care Expansion Plan

Saturday, November 24, 2007

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- Democrat Barack Obama, seeking to distance from his

leading rivals, touted his health care expansion package as doing more to

cut costs and deal with root problems facing consumers "than any other

proposal in this race."

Obama's two main rivals the Democratic presidential nomination _ New York

senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards _

have offered universal health care plans, while his stops short of mandating

everyone have health insurance. Obama routinely describes his rivals' plans

as similar in thrust, but he began sharpening those differences as he opened

his latest campaign swing Saturday.

"Cost is the number one reason that 47 million Americans do not have health

insurance and thousands more are edging toward bankruptcy every day," Obama

told a town hall-style meeting of about 350 people at a Council Bluffs high

school. "That is wrong, and it's why my plan does more to cut the cost of

health insurance than any other proposal in this race."

Obama sought to distance requirements in his rivals' plans that consumers to

buy health insurance, saying that thinking is misplaced.

"What I have said repeatedly is that the reason people don't have health

insurance is not because they don't want it, it's because they can't afford

it," said Obama.

While Obama conceded plans for the leading rivals are similar, he said the

insurance mandate is a key difference.

While rival Clinton has built a substantial lead in national surveys of the

Democratic field, the race in Iowa between Obama, Clinton and Edwards is

extremely tight heading into the state's leadoff precinct caucuses, the

traditional opening test of the presidential nominating season.

The stakes are very high for Obama and Edwards because Clinton has forged a

significant lead in most of the early voting states, and a win in Iowa would

give her momentum that would be difficult to derail. Faced with that, Obama

has been sharpening his differences with Clinton.

The Illinois senator drew a distinction with Clinton on how he would go

about pushing a universal health care plan. He routinely gives the New York

senator credit for trying to overhaul health care as first lady, but says it

failed largely because she was too secretive.

"What I am convinced of is if we actually hope to pass universal health care

this time around we have to bring Republicans and Democrats together," said

Obama. "We have to have an open and transparent process so that the American

people participate in the debate and see exactly what we're doing."

Obama and Clinton opened their campaign day Saturday with events in the

heavily Republican western portion of the state, Obama in Council Bluffs and

Clinton in Sioux City. Both were swinging through a long list of small-town

stops, and Obama argued that time is getting short for activists who are

notoriously slow in making up their minds to reach a decision.

"It's getting nippy, it's starting to get close and some of you are starting

to make up your mind," said Obama.