The Root's contributing editor David Swerdlick writes at the New York Daily News that, in his DNC speech, Bill Clinton both sold the Affordable Care Act and "made a case for himself as the political master craftsman."
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The lesson from night two of the Democratic National Convention — and of the last four years — is that if you want health care reform passed, call President Obama. If you want it explained, call ex-President Bill Clinton.
One guy's good at the endgame. The other's a genius at talking to the American people.
He did it ugly, but when Obama told Congress that he was "determined to be the last" President to try passing health reform, he made good. He took half a loaf, and he took Mitt Romney's individual mandate nationwide.
But "bending the cost curve" — the pitch Obama tried — never grabbed folks like Clinton arguing "millions of seniors are receiving preventative care" and "insurance companies will have millions of new customers" with costs under four percent "for the first time in 50 years," and asking "are we better off because President Obama fought for health care reform?"— before answering — "You bet we are."
Whether you're a fan of the law or you aren't (I'm not), he made it sound pretty good.
And whether you see it, like CNN's Margaret Hoover, as "a wonderful ability to cherry-pick facts," or a gift for the "meta message," as described by former speechwriter Don Baer, after last night, it seems fair to say that if Obama could've explained Obamacare like Clinton, voters might have been more open to it, those 26 state attorneys general might not have challenged it, and it might even have won a few GOP votes in Congress
Read David Swerdlick's entire piece at the New York Daily News.
The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.
David Swerdlick is an associate editor at The Root. Follow him on Twitter.
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