WASHINGTON — If President Obama is starting to sound like a broken record on health care, there may be a good reason for that.
In his latest weekly radio address, Obama didn’t just recycle many of the arguments he often makes about the need for reform — he lifted whole sections nearly word-for-word from a radio address he delivered less than three months ago.
In his address Saturday, according to the transcript posted on the White House Web site, Obama repeated almost verbatim his earlier address when talking about health-insurance companies.
“And no matter how you get your insurance, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny your coverage because of a pre-existing condition,” he said on Saturday.
“They won’t be able to drop your coverage if you get too sick, or lose your job, or change jobs. And we’ll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket.”
The passage was lifted word-for-word — with one minor grammatical change — from the radio address he gave July 25, according to the transcripts.
Obama similarly recycled at least five major passages from the earlier address.
Even the title of Saturday’s weekly address appears lifted from the July one.
“President Obama Explains How Health Insurance Reform Will Strengthen America’s Small Businesses,” was this past week’s title.
“President Obama: Health Insurance Reform Will Strengthen Small Businesses,” was the title of the July 25 radio address.
Talking about “mom and pop stores,” Obama said Saturday:
“These small businesses are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities. They’re the small startups with big ideas, hoping to be the next Google or Apple or HP.”
In his earlier address, the president said:
“These are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities. They’re the tiny startups with big ideas, hoping to become the next Google or Apple or HP.”