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Obama Promises to "Reach Out" to GOP, Praises George Bush

specklebang said:
Yes, but the President can't run every department by himself. His job is to see that the right people are "hired" who in turn hire the "right people". There are certain fundamentals that I hold the Executive liable for and some that I just have to accept aren't going to be perfect.

Look at Fast & Furious. Do you know the ATFE had nobody in charge at the time? I do hold Obama and Holder liable for that. But I don't think Obama ordered or even knew about this incredibly stupid decision.
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There was a time in this country when responsibility floated to the top. That it doesn't any longer is a part of the problem.
 
mak2 said:
I dont think anything Obama does could unite the nation. The Republicans are too uncompromising, as a party they cannot compromise on anything.
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He had the opportunity after the election and had he gone for a FDR style nationwide infrastructure rebuild the hardline repubs would have had their thunder stolen. Would have meant more debt initially, but also jobs and a shiny new infrastructure allowing us to repay that debt. Instead we got the Obamacare nightmare, more debt and no way to repay it.
 
I won't deny that Obama is a blamer and has difficulty accepting responsibility.

Still, no President has ever had a watch where nothing went wrong.


Arbo said:
There was a time in this country when responsibility floated to the top. That it doesn't any longer is a part of the problem.
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Kal'Stang said:
I'm curious...just where exactly did Obama compromise with Republicans/Conservatives on in Obamacare?
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He did not. They didn't even consider any ideas put forth by the (R)'s.
 
specklebang said:
Quite the contrary. His legislation, like Bush's legislation, is very protective of "Big Pharma". That's why we pay these utterly ridiculous prices for medication that yoi can buy in other countries for a fraction of the US price and yet Medicare can not negotiate prices.
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Maybe those countries need to pay up. Pharma does need to be a healthy sector in order to encourage R&D into the field. I think the solution is to allow Americans to import drugs from other countries. That would lead to US suppliers would be buying up all of their lower cost drugs to resell at a higher price in the US. That means their prices would need to go up to counter the short fall and our prices would go down as a result of increased competition.
 
rcart76 said:
I don't get it !!!!! :doh

He gave Bush and republican's some nice remarks and yet you still criticize the guy????

What did he say that bother you? Hell if anyone should be bothered is democrats like myself.
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He's blamed all his failures on Bush for 4+ years now

You think just because he reads a few lines from a speech that says a "few nice things about him" that all of sudden we're going to forget the malicious and dishonest way Regressives have treated Bush for more than a decade?

Not going to happen

madman said:
Like i have said previously, if Obama discovered the cure for cancer, he'd be criticized.
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If Obama was caught eating babies and having sex with corpses you'd blame it on Bush and the GOP
 
Actually, I agree with you and one of my disappointments was that the USG has prohibited this to support the ludicrous pricing we have now.

Do you know that Plavix sells for $5 a pill? A common heart medication that Doctors tend to prescribe not realizing it isn't on the formulary. You can (illegally) buy Indian made copies through Canadian "pharmacies" for about $1. But why should you have to choose between breaking the law and taking affordable medication?

I do recognize the costs of R&D. It costs almost nothing to make a medication, all of it is R&D, packaging, record keeping and advertising. But how about some balance in this? Some of these medications are frivilous but some are essential. Sure, you can be an informed consumer and in some cases generics can be found that allow you to buy affordably. But the Doctors don't care, they get free samples of, say, Ambien and they write a script and you pay $6 because you don't know that Zolpiden is exactly the same thing and is under $1. So some people are subsidizing other people out of ignorance. If foreign companies could openly market their products, you'd see Ambien at $1, not $6. It's not a good system and I resent that Bush and Obama have knowingly supported this.






ReformCollege said:
Maybe those countries need to pay up. Pharma does need to be a healthy sector in order to encourage R&D into the field. I think the solution is to allow Americans to import drugs from other countries. That would lead to US suppliers would be buying up all of their lower cost drugs to resell at a higher price in the US. That means their prices would need to go up to counter the short fall and our prices would go down as a result of increased competition.
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specklebang said:
Actually, I agree with you and one of my disappointments was that the USG has prohibited this to support the ludicrous pricing we have now.

Do you know that Plavix sells for $5 a pill? A common heart medication that Doctors tend to prescribe not realizing it isn't on the formulary. You can (illegally) buy Indian made copies through Canadian "pharmacies" for about $1. But why should you have to choose between breaking the law and taking affordable medication?

I do recognize the costs of R&D. It costs almost nothing to make a medication, all of it is R&D, packaging, record keeping and advertising. But how about some balance in this? Some of these medications are frivilous but some are essential. Sure, you can be an informed consumer and in some cases generics can be found that allow you to buy affordably. But the Doctors don't care, they get free samples of, say, Ambien and they write a script and you pay $6 because you don't know that Zolpiden is exactly the same thing and is under $1. So some people are subsidizing other people out of ignorance. If foreign companies could openly market their products, you'd see Ambien at $1, not $6. It's not a good system and I resent that Bush and Obama have knowingly supported this.
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Generic Plavix is now available and has been for about a year or so...
 
My view of Obama would skyrocket if he truly reaches out to the GOP and becomes less of a partisan and more of a reasonable moderate.
 
Thanks. I had my heart surgery in 2011 and that was not the case then. So, I suppose anecdotal evidence has failed in this case. 40¢ each for clopidogrel - very good. Maybe I'll start taking them again although I'm reluctant because I have 3 cats and even the slightest scratch bleeds like your throat was cut.


AlabamaPaul said:
Generic Plavix is now available and has been for about a year or so...
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specklebang said:
Thanks. I had my heart surgery in 2011 and that was not the case then. So, I suppose anecdotal evidence has failed in this case. 40¢ each for clopidogrel - very good. Maybe I'll start taking them again although I'm reluctant because I have 3 cats and even the slightest scratch bleeds like your throat was cut.
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That's more of an age issue, and I understand...
 
I listened to the speeches live today on my way down the road coming home, and I thought as the three highly political, and partisan Presidents, Carter, Clinton, and Obama, that they were measured, and managed overall to keep in the spirit of the opening of the library...I didn't hear anything too awful.
 
specklebang said:
Actually, I agree with you and one of my disappointments was that the USG has prohibited this to support the ludicrous pricing we have now.

Do you know that Plavix sells for $5 a pill? A common heart medication that Doctors tend to prescribe not realizing it isn't on the formulary. You can (illegally) buy Indian made copies through Canadian "pharmacies" for about $1. But why should you have to choose between breaking the law and taking affordable medication?

I do recognize the costs of R&D. It costs almost nothing to make a medication, all of it is R&D, packaging, record keeping and advertising. But how about some balance in this? Some of these medications are frivilous but some are essential. Sure, you can be an informed consumer and in some cases generics can be found that allow you to buy affordably. But the Doctors don't care, they get free samples of, say, Ambien and they write a script and you pay $6 because you don't know that Zolpiden is exactly the same thing and is under $1. So some people are subsidizing other people out of ignorance. If foreign companies could openly market their products, you'd see Ambien at $1, not $6. It's not a good system and I resent that Bush and Obama have knowingly supported this.
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Everytime I have gotten a prescription, my pharmacy always checks to see if a generic is available at a lower price. My doctors usually write me generics anyways.

But anyways, I agree that the costs shouldn't be so high for us compared to other countries. If it is being sold so cheap there, US suppliers should be able to buy up their supply at a low cost for resale. That'll force their markets to meet us somewhere in the middle on pricing. We will see how much cheaper their healthcare is then.
 
mak2 said:
IF he did do that it would just be because he hated cancer drug companies.
madman said:
Like i have said previously, if Obama discovered the cure for cancer, he'd be criticized.
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He'd claim the cure for cancer was his but really it was mostly done on Bush's watch.
 
specklebang said:
Actually, I agree with you and one of my disappointments was that the USG has prohibited this to support the ludicrous pricing we have now.

Do you know that Plavix sells for $5 a pill? A common heart medication that Doctors tend to prescribe not realizing it isn't on the formulary. You can (illegally) buy Indian made copies through Canadian "pharmacies" for about $1. But why should you have to choose between breaking the law and taking affordable medication?

I do recognize the costs of R&D. It costs almost nothing to make a medication, all of it is R&D, packaging, record keeping and advertising. But how about some balance in this? Some of these medications are frivilous but some are essential. Sure, you can be an informed consumer and in some cases generics can be found that allow you to buy affordably. But the Doctors don't care, they get free samples of, say, Ambien and they write a script and you pay $6 because you don't know that Zolpiden is exactly the same thing and is under $1. So some people are subsidizing other people out of ignorance. If foreign companies could openly market their products, you'd see Ambien at $1, not $6. It's not a good system and I resent that Bush and Obama have knowingly supported this.
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How much do you think R&D costs? How long do you think a drug company has their patent on the drug to make a return? How much R&D do you think is spent on other drugs that are never approved or make it to market?

Also, online pharmacies and many Canadian pharmacies are not regulated. The most counterfeited drug is Viagra. The thing is, and online "pharmacy" may sell it for $2 a pill, but you have no idea if you are actually getting the drug, if you are getting the full quantity of what is advertised, or if the drug is being made safely. They aren't regulated by the FDA and they don't adhere to those guidelines.

Many physicians don't care about drug costs, many are ignorant of pharmacology and prescribe according to what a sales rep may say (and again, others are not ignorant and make evidence based judgements and weigh in pharmacoeconomics).

Also, if a physician wrote for brand name Ambien the pharmacy can substitute for the generic in most states so long as the physician or patient don't request brand name only. I don't support allowing us to buy drugs internationally from places not regulated by the FDA. Many foreign companies piggyback off of US research that we pay for here while they make the drug in a foreign country with decreased R&D costs. The company has to makeup their costs in the US market, not the international market.
 
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rcart76 said:
I don't get it !!!!! :doh

He gave Bush and republican's some nice remarks and yet you still criticize the guy????

What did he say that bother you? Hell if anyone should be bothered is democrats like myself.
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All good stuff, we just don't trust him.
 
I don't know the answer to your questions. But I do know that they recover those costs by selling those drugs to Americans at the highest price and selling them for much less overseas. So, as an American, forgive me if I'm unsympathetic.

If the Dr. writes Ambien and you don't know any better, your pharmacy will sell you the Ambien. If you complain, then you'll wait until they call your Dr. which may take 1 minute or 3 days depending on your Dr. If you think I'm wrong, let me ask you "how do they sell ANY Ambien when Zolpidem is the IDENTICAL formula?"

As for Viagra, Cialis Et Al, the Indian products are the same chemical compounds. And they do exactly the same thing. Anecdotal research, I know. But I have both.....and they do the same thing. Is it possible to get fake drugs or bad drugs buying overseas? Yes, it is possible. Is it possible your American pharmacist will screw up and give you the wrong (even deadly) drug? Sure. It happens. Life is a gamble.

digsbe said:
How much do you think R&D costs? How long do you think a drug company has their patent on the drug to make a return? How much R&D do you think is spent on other drugs that are never approved or make it to market?

Also, online pharmacies and many Canadian pharmacies are not regulated. The most counterfeited drug is Viagra. The thing is, and online "pharmacy" may sell it for $2 a pill, but you have no idea if you are actually getting the drug, if you are getting the full quantity of what is advertised, or if the drug is being made safely. They aren't regulated by the FDA and they don't adhere to those guidelines.

Many physicians don't care about drug costs, many are ignorant of pharmacology and prescribe according to what a sales rep may say (and again, others are not ignorant and make evidence based judgements and weigh in pharmacoeconomics).

Also, if a physician wrote for brand name Ambien the pharmacy can substitute for the generic in most states so long as the physician or patient don't request brand name only. I don't support allowing us to buy drugs internationally from places not regulated by the FDA. Many foreign companies piggyback off of US research that we pay for here while they make the drug in a foreign country with decreased R&D costs.
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rcart76 said:
I don't get it !!!!! :doh

He gave Bush and republican's some nice remarks and yet you still criticize the guy????

What did he say that bother you? Hell if anyone should be bothered is democrats like myself.
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LOL.....they can't help it.
 
MaggieD said:
President Obama did not compromise one little bit on Obamacare. You may have been expecting a single-payer system, but that was never his goal. We have a 10,000-plus-page document prewritten to prove that. The debt ceiling stuff? You mean sequestration? The one he offered and now blames Republicans for? I don't know what that was, but I sure don't consider that a compromise. I would consider compromise cutting some budgets.

We just have two different sets of eyes, Your Star.
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Wrong. Obama had pushed for a public option. The Republicans wouldn't even consider it, so Obama gave in and adopted the REPUBLICAN health insurance mandate which was the cornerstone of the Republican plan....and they STILL rejected it.

Hell...even when Obama nominated Hagel...a REPUBLICAN....the republican party voted no. That is the reason that they are known as the PARTY OF NO.
 
MaggieD said:
President Obama did not compromise one little bit on Obamacare. You may have been expecting a single-payer system, but that was never his goal. We have a 10,000-plus-page document prewritten to prove that. The debt ceiling stuff? You mean sequestration? The one he offered and now blames Republicans for? I don't know what that was, but I sure don't consider that a compromise. I would consider compromise cutting some budgets.

We just have two different sets of eyes, Your Star.
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LOL...as for the sequestration...you obviously have a short memory. The only way that Obama could get the Republicans, namely the tea baggers to not throw the country into default and raise the debt ceiling was to agree to the sequestration. You can thank the Republicans for the effects we are feeling now. THAT is the Republican idea of compromise...and look at where it is taking us.
 
wbcoleman said:
Obama Tells Democratic Backers He Will Continue Reaching Out to GOP - NYTimes.com

DALLAS — President Obama vowed Wednesday night to continue trying to work with Republican lawmakers even if doing so irritates some of his Democratic supporters who think he is “a sap.”

Straddling the line between governance and politics, Mr. Obama told wealthy contributors at a Democratic fund-raiser here that their party was not the only one that cared about the troubles of the country, and he renewed his commitment to bipartisanship despite the divisions in Washington.

......

The fund-raiser was held the night before the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum here, which Mr. Obama will attend. In keeping with the spirit of that event, he offered praise for Mr. Bush to an audience of Texas Democrats who have long opposed him. “Whatever our political differences, President Bush loves this country and loves its people and shares that same concern,” he said.

About 60 donors paid between $10,000 and $32,400 to attend the dinner at the home of Naomi Aberly, a Democratic bundler, and her husband, Laurence Lebowitz, a hedge fund investor. The 12,000-square-foot home, which resembles a concert hall, was valued at $10.9 million and ranked as the 41st most expensive in the Dallas area by the local D Magazine. It is about a mile from Mr. Bush’s home.
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Awesome. We can expect him to cave even more to the GOP and keep throwing his base and the left under the bus even more often now.
 
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