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CATO HEALTH CARE EXPERTS will be live-blogging Obama?s speech. Plus, Republicans will unveil thei?

By Glenn Reynolds

CATO HEALTH CARE EXPERTS will be live-blogging Obama’s speech.

Plus, Republicans will unveil their bill — in Obama’s presence. Tired of being ignored, I guess.

Also, more liveblogging at United Liberty.

And Peter Suderman predicts more of the same.

UPDATE: Most importantly, Stephen Green is drunkblogging!

I just noticed that Obama looks a lot older all of a sudden.

And from the Cato commenters: “If we spend more than other countries, and aren’t any healthier, why does the president want us to spend another $2 trillion?”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Conclusion at Cato: “Strikingly political/partisan rather than statesmanlike speech. Obama chose to pressure Republicans to support his plan rather than attempt to persuade them to do so. He risks a another wave of (effective) opposition from conservative talk radio & cable TV.”

I see that Michael Graham liveblogged it too, with his son.

Dan Riehl emails: “I figured out his strategy. He’s going to put the country to sleep so they can pass the bill without us knowing it.”

And Prof. Jacobson calls it the Have your cake and eat it too speech.

Stephen Green: “Self-reliance! Love of freedom! Skepticism of government! And socialized medicine! Sing it with me now: One of these things is not like the other?”

Ali Eteraz notes subconscious Marx-ism.

Ann Althouse: “I can’t believe anyone is watching.”

My question: Is America ready to believe that a politician from Chicago will eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse?

MORE: A wrapup from Megan McArdle: “In the end, I think this speech satisfied no one. There’s a little information for the wonks, but not nearly enough. There’s a little stirring rhetoric for the non-wonks, but again, not nearly enough. Journalists seem to have liked it. But if journalists were any reliable key to the sentiment of the American people, we’d already have national healthcare, and national second homes in Maine.” And profitable newspapers everywhere!

And Larry Sabato tweets: “That was a tough, partisan speech. All pretense of bipartisanship is gone on both sides.”

Meanwhile, Keith Hennessey figures the score. “Nowhere in the speech does he promise universal health insurance, or universal health care.”

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on September 09, 2009 (boomark / email).