Framing the Debate
September 1, 2009 - by
Supporters of health-care reform better hope President Obama’s vacation gave him time to come up with some brilliant strategy. Because he’s losing control of the debate.
The vaunted Obama message machine from the campaign is grinding its gears. They have not come up with a winning way to frame the debate.
I thought about their challenge last week when I watched the clips of Ted Kennedy thundering that “health care should be a fundamental right for all, not a privilege for the few.”
Is that the winning message?
The Obama team seems to think the key is talking about “health insurance reform.”
Nobody talks about “cutting health care costs for families.”
How about: “The Government should provide coverage for anyone who can’t afford or can’t get private health insurance”?
If I was at the White House, I would be deep into a Manhattan Project of polling and focus groups to test those alternatives – or find a better one.
But, then, President Obama apparently was able to get in several rounds of golf last week. I don’t know about him, but I’m always a lot smarter after I play golf.
Framing the Debate
September 1, 2009/
Supporters of health-care reform better hope President Obama’s vacation gave him time to come up with some brilliant strategy. Because he’s losing control of the debate.
The vaunted Obama message machine from the campaign is grinding its gears. They have not come up with a winning way to frame the debate.
I thought about their challenge last week when I watched the clips of Ted Kennedy thundering that “health care should be a fundamental right for all, not a privilege for the few.”
Is that the winning message?
The Obama team seems to think the key is talking about “health insurance reform.”
Nobody talks about “cutting health care costs for families.”
How about: “The Government should provide coverage for anyone who can’t afford or can’t get private health insurance”?
If I was at the White House, I would be deep into a Manhattan Project of polling and focus groups to test those alternatives – or find a better one.
But, then, President Obama apparently was able to get in several rounds of golf last week. I don’t know about him, but I’m always a lot smarter after I play golf.