September 10, 2009 – President Obama made an impassioned speech last night to fix the nation’s widely criticized health care system. Attempting to invoke the same spirit that created Social Security and Medicare, the President has come under attack from people of all political persuasions who condemn his health plan as a step towards socialism.

Emotions ran high in Congress last night, particularly when Obama invoked the memory of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who dreamed of creating a health plan that would cover every American. The President’s hour-long speech was interrupted with sporadic cheers from Democrats, but not everyone was thrilled with his proposal to create a universal health care system. One Republican Congressman yelled out “you lie!” when Obama asserted that nothing in his plan would provide health coverage for illegal immigrants.

“There will be a hardship waiver for those individuals who still cannot afford coverage, and 95 percent of all small businesses, because of their size and narrow profit margin, would be exempt from these requirements,” Obama said. “But we cannot have large businesses and individuals who can afford coverage game the system by avoiding responsibility to themselves or their employees.

Under his proposal, health insurance would be mandated for all Americans, similar to the way that auto insurance is a requirement for most drivers. The plan would also mandate businesses to offer health care coverage to all workers or contribute to their cost of obtaining coverage. Critics of the proposal argue that universal health care would be an unfair competitor to private insurers and would lead to a government takeover of the health care industry. Obama replied that this claim is being used a scare tactic to discourage Americans from endorsing it.

“Let me be clear — it would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance,” he said. “No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up.”

Obama also defended his proposal to give consumers the option of government-run public health insurance, arguing that it would force private insurers to lower their exorbitant costs. However, the President seemed open to alternative ideas, stating that it would take the cooperation of both Democrats and Republicans to be effective. Obama made a point to embrace an idea from Senator John McCain that would insure the poor against catastrophic medical expenses and endorse medical malpractice limits.

Through the speech, Obama remained steadfast to his proposal, stating that “I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice.”

According to CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, the initial public response to the President’s speech has been positive, with two out of three Americans who watched the speech stating that they favor Obama’s health care reforms. This indicates a 14-point gain from before the speech, while 29 percent of viewers still oppose the proposals. However, these results can be misleading because the results may favor Obama simply because more Democrats tuned in to the speech.

Regardless of your political persuasion, most everyone can agree that the excitement of the President’s election has worn off. Now facing a financial crisis and a politically divided Congress, Obama is facing the toughest act of his presidency—demonstrating his authority and actually enacting change.

What do YOU think of the President’s speech?