奥巴马在国会关于医疗改革的演讲

"Madame Speaker."

"The President of the United States."

A blast of charisma, the personal touch from the president determined to sell a plan, he says, it’s vital for the country. It's certainly vital for his political authority. Encouragement from the First Lady and he launched into the hard sell of a proposal that wilted in the summer heat.

"Out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned. Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care."

The president said 30 million Americans were uninsured, and many with cover were still one illness away from bankruptcy. The Obama plan would mean all Americans would have to take out healthcare insurance. There'll be new rules to stop insurance companies ending cover when people became seriously ill. And perhaps most controversially, the government could run its own not-for-profit insurance scheme, to put pressure on the big companies to bring down costs. But his attempt to counter what he called scare stories and tall tales ran into a storm of its own.

"The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." 

"You lie", called out the congressman. Look at the shock on their faces. Commentators formulated the Republican congressman behaved as if he was in the British House of Commons. The leaders of his own party told him to apologize.

"I'm very grateful, uh, that the White House, in talking with them, they indicated that they appreciated the call and that we needed to have a civil discussion."

"You are listening to the Curtis Sliwa Show."

That's difficult when the media generate such heat.

"Well, it’s the government. They don't really care if they lose money. It’s not their money. It’s your money."

In New York, one conservative talk radio host, a founding member of Guardian Angels, says his callers are against the plan.

"With health care, they want to be able to have their own doctors, their own healthcare providers. They don't think they can have that with the social system."

Around 3,000 miles away in L.A. and the show to the accommodation for senior citizens, they liked what they heard.

"As seniors, we have very good care. But I'd like it for everybody, the younger generation, too."

The president's message has been beamed out from here to all over the States, a message of urgency and momentum, exactly what he is good at. But does he have the talent for the sort of horse trading, ego massaging you have to do to get a bill through this place? We'll see.

Glossary [only for reference]

 Madame Speaker: referring to Nancy Pelosi who is the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

 charisma [uncountable]: a natural ability to attract and interest other people and make them admire you

personal touch: an original or special quality, or something that is done for every single person in a group in order to make them feel special

sell [intransitive and transitive]: to try to make someone accept a new idea or plan, or to become accepted

launch into [phrasal verb]: to suddenly start doing something

hard sell [singular]: American English if an idea is a hard sell, it is difficult to get people to accept

wilt: to lose strength, vigor, assurance

blizzard [countable]: a sudden large amount of something unpleasant or annoying that you must deal with

 bicker [intransitive]: to argue, especially about something very unimportant

take out: to make a financial or legal arrangement with a bank, company, law court etc

cover [uncountable]: the protection insurance gives you, so that it pays you money if you are injured, something is stolen etc

not-for-profit [only before noun]: non-profit

bring down [phrasal verb]: to reduce something to a lower level

scare story [countable]:a report, especially in a newspaper, that makes a situation seem more serious or worrying than it really is

tall tale:a story that is so unlikely that it is difficult to believe

call out [phrasal verb]: to say something loudly

formulate: to express in precise form; state definitely or systematically

Curtis Sliwa: an American anti-crime activist, founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, and a conservative radio talk show host.

heat: strong pressure on someone

Guardian Angels: a non-profit, international, volunteer organization of unarmed citizen crime patrollers.

caller [countable]: someone making a telephone call

accommodation [uncountable]: a place for someone to stay, live, or work:

beam out [phrasal verb]: to send a radio or television signal through the air, especially to somewhere very distant

horse-trading [uncountable]: when the people, especially business people or politicians, who are involved in a discussion try hard to gain an advantage for their own side - used to show disapprova
ego massaging: to try to make someone feel that they are important, attractive, intelligent etc