Video Transcript:

GLORIA PENNER (Host): On Wednesday, President Obama addressed the nation on the need to overhaul the country's health care system. It was a critical speech for the president, whose campaign stressed health care reform, but in recent months, the debate has spiraled into a nasty bipartisan battle. President Obama made a calculated move to take back control of the issue. Here's an excerpt from his speech. 

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (President of the United States): We are the only advanced democracy on Earth – the only wealthy nation – that allows such hardships for millions of its people.  There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two year period, one in every three Americans goes without health care coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone. But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured. But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured. But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured.
But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem for the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, you'll lose your health insurance too.More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. It happens every day. 

PENNER: Joining me now to talk about the importance of the president's speech is John Warren, editor of San Diego Voice & Viewpoint and David Ogul, education editor for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Welcome to you both. And I'll start with you John. Did President Obama adequately make his case for why the nation needs health care reform? 

JOHN WARREN (Editor, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint): I think he did an outstanding job of making the case and I think the part of the clip that we just saw was very important because with this period of economic downturn we have people losing jobs, we have people losing health care. The figures that we get in terms of 47 million Americans being without health care. Obviously, are not current or up-to-date based on this 14,000 people a day. What we need to understand here is that the arguments that we're getting now in terms of the fight against certain provisions of health care are not coming from those who are uninsured. Those arguments are coming from the people who stand to have the world as they know it -- insurance companies, companies, people of private plans, pharmaceuticals, doctors -- their worlds will change in terms of the profitability of the health care industry. That is what this argument is all about. 

PENNER: But, David, I would think that the president needs to appeal to both ends of the spectrum, if he's going to get some bipartisan support on this. Did he say anything that might lessen the concerns of, let's say, the insurance companies? 

DAVID OGUL (Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune): Well, I think he did. He made clear that he was willing to listen to other ideas-- for the first time, really, giving some concrete ideas of what he wanted to do. He borrowed some ideas from the Republican party, including John McCain. So, you know, but he wasn't really appealing to the ideologues on the right wing. He made very clear in his speech that he's not going to go there. But he did get some movement from the center, from the Olympia Snowes and Susan Collins of the world, and he also got some movement from the left wing of his party. 

PENNER: So, moderate Republicans, the Olympia Snowes and that group and the left wing of his party. You talked about the left wing of the Democratic Party, but John, could they really be happy with the fact that single payer is off the table and the public option seems to be, if it's there, it's very mild? 

WARREN: Well, they don't consider the public option off the table. Nancy Pelosi made it very clear last week, that that had to be a factor. The president indicated that public option was there but he didn't nail himself down to what form it might take. He felt that there were certain places where people had many options in terms of insurance, then there were other places where there were no choices. And so the option would be there, but I thought he made it clear that it was there from the standpoint of making sure that every American had a choice, and an opportunity to have insurance as opposed to a mandatory entity. 

PENNER: So you think public option is still on the table? 

WARREN: I think it is in some form. 

PENNER: I think Nancy Pelosi is already saying it changed there. Because she's come out and said, "We can be flexible." 

WARREN: Well, she has to say that as Speaker of the House. And I think it's important that they're trying to have a bipartisan approach. But let us remember, it's not necessary to have a bipartisan bill. And if we don't get the Republican participation, then we will move forward as we have seen in the leadership of the House for a bill that would be Democratic. And that wouldn't be good for America. 

PENNER: But the voices in opposition, David, they were quite loud and especially when they brought forth the idea of death panels for sickly elders. Has that been laid to rest? Do you think that the president was able to say, you know, "It's a figment of their imagination." 

OGUL: The people who are saying that there are going to be death panels for sickly elders, you're never going to win those people over. They are too far off the radar, and I think that the president rightfully is writing them off. But, look, something needs to be done about health care in this country. If we keep on going the way that we are, Medicare is going to run out of money in eight years. Our GDP is going to encompass such a large percentage that will be devoted to health care that we're just going to become broke. 

PENNER: So, you raised the money issue. And that seems to be the area where people are really concerned. It's hard to believe that a $900 billion plan isn't going to add to the deficit, and yet that's what the President is saying. 

WARREN: He was very specific. He said he would not sign a bill that would add to the national debt. And I think that's important. I think what's missing here is that the deficit we have is, number one is not something that he created-- it's something that he inherited. He made the observation that the amount of money being spent on the war would more than pay for what we're talking about but he also was specific in talking about part D of the Medicare Bill in terms of making some revisions there. And those revisions would offset what was done under President Bush, which brought the pharmaceuticals in, and made all the changes in terms of drug purchases and acquisitions and the president made the observation that there's enough waste there, $150 billion dollars perhaps, to go a long ways in terms of paying for this bill, by reallocating what we're already spending.