Despite the vagueness of the final statement, Obama also was pleased with concrete results at this meeting in Pittsburgh, where he said “has created the framework to ensure sustained prosperity and balanced long-term.”

The U.S. president failed, however, make that transcendence complicit journalists attending the press conference that concluded the summit. Only one question had to do with the G-20, but actually was referring to street protests that had occurred in recent days. The rest, Iran.

Still, Obama emphasized the value of this meeting in the context of the message that he had directed on Wednesday the UN General Assembly, namely that all countries must assume their share of responsibility in achieving a prosperous future without waiting for U.S. to do it alone.

For Obama, Pittsburgh has been a good start in that direction for several reasons. First, because it has made clear that the economic recovery will occur only at the expense of Americans consume what others are exported, but will require “an effort responsible for all” to revive its own markets and why not also make room for U.S. exports.

Pittsburgh has been important, secondly, according to Obama, because it has in common the need to remain vigilant in maintaining and strengthening the rules to prevent disasters like the one suffered. “We can not again tolerate the economy boom and bankruptcy (disproportionate benefits and deep crisis) we’ve had in the past,” he said.

The G-20 is imposed

And thirdly, the U.S. president values the importance of this summit because it marks the recognition of the true balance of power in today’s global economy. This can be interpreted from their point of view, acceptance of the G-20 as a major economic forum.

Obama is a strong advocate of increasing the role that the economies of developing countries like China, India or Brazil, are currently in the bodies inherited from the postwar order, and is determined to go further in this field. “We can not,” he said yesterday, “addressing the challenges of the XXI century with twentieth century institutions.

The president wanted to leave this city in the U.S. industrial belt with an optimistic, but cautious. “We came here confident and united,” he said. With the economy in the ascending line and better controlled. But there is still some very difficult: “We must ensure that when the growth also reach the jobs.”

In an emotional and robust defense of his ideas for transforming the country, Barack Obama has appealed to the U.S. historical imperative of providing health care to all its citizens and has become quite closer to its target goal of passing a law to reform the health system. The dominant reaction to the anticipated address to the plenary of both houses of Congress was positive, and vice president, Joe Biden, predicted yesterday that the legislation will be signed before the celebrations of Thanksgiving Day in late November.

Next week, chairman of the crucial Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, will be released with or without support from the Republican opposition, the bill may become the definitive one. This is a text that, as Obama’s speech, looking for consensus in the center, ignoring the wishes of the left give the state a central role in health care and ignoring the pressures of the right to widen the field of private insurance or leaving things as they are.

The latter has been what, given the huge difficulties, has finished happening every time you tried this same battle. Is unlikely to happen this time. “I am the first president facing this cause,” Obama recalled, “but I am determined to be the last.” “Maintaining the status quo is not possible, not this time.”

Many details of the legislative process remain to be solved. The political struggle within the Democratic Party can not be terminated. Much less has been deleted rejection of the Republicans, who have not changed their position after the special meeting held Wednesday night at the Capitol. But the intervention of the president, which detailed the main aspects of its proposal and warned passionately about the urgency, has managed to reposition the debate on land which reveal a happy ending.

First, because Obama raised the discussion to the category that really has the moral responsibility of society with the 47 million Americans without health coverage and many other millions who suffer from abusive conditions of insurance companies. “We are the only advanced democracy on earth, the only rich nation that allows such treatment to millions of its citizens,” Obama recalled.

Second, the speech served to dispel some of the whoppers in the summer unleashed by the enemies of reform, the most scandalous, supported by Sarah Palin, was the council officials who should decide when to put an end to life the frail elderly, and to make clear what he thinks the president on this issue, essentially he has no intention of socialized medicine.

A majority of Americans apparently believed him. The number of people who support the reform increased from 53% to 67%, according to a poll done by CNN among those who followed the speech on television, although these figures must be tempered by the fact that there was a preponderance of Democratic voters to the screens.

The major medical association and the largest group among nurses also supported the president. A spokesman for the group of insurers stated that this plan leaves room to work with the Government. Many other commentators and pundits praised Obama’s intervention, but detected some gaps and contradictions, particularly in regard to financing the plan.

The president said it will cost 900,000 million dollars in 10 years and did not contribute a penny to the national deficit because all resources will be funded from savings generated by the correction of the waste. Despite its huge deficits, the United States devoted to health care for nearly twice that of any Western country.

That concern, the cost of the plan, was yesterday one of the main arguments of the Republicans to reject the draft White House. “The math does not add up,” said Sen. John McCain. “I’ve seen very little in this plan to help reduce costs. We can not let another trillion dollars of debt to future generations.” The second reason for Republican opposition is excessive intervention by the state. “Government is much the same product sold by another vendor,” said the leader of Senate Republicans, Mitch McConnell.

The star of the evening between the opposition was, however, the gentleman from South Carolina Joe Wilson, who, in violation of a protocol largely respected the president’s speech interrupted with shouts of “liar!”. Yesterday publicly asked forgiveness for what he termed “lack of civility.”

Despite the climate of passion that has dominated since the first day this debate and who reigned in the House on Wednesday, Obama tried to build bridges with the opposition. Endorsed two proposals put forward so far by the Republicans, including one of McCain himself, and offered to incorporate anything that might serve to improve the reform. But it seems to have assumed that you will not find much collaboration and will have to push your project with only Democratic votes. “I will be open to other ideas, but I will not waste time,” he said, “with those who have made the calculation that the best policy for them is to kill this plan.”

After this speech can speak and, in fact, Obama’s plan for health reform. These are some of its main ingredients:

- Universal coverage. Just stay outside the illegal immigrants are estimated to be about 12 million of the 47 without coverage today. Young people and self-employed are required to have insurance.

- Participation of the State. The Government will promote a public choice to ensure universal coverage, but only as a last resort for those unable to access private insurance. The public will have to be sure, moreover, self-sufficient exercises can not be completed with deficits can not cover with their own customers. Of course, nobody is obliged to pursue this option. It is estimated that no more than 5% of Americans would.

- Control of insurers. The main objective of the plan is to improve the system of private insurance, increasing competition and companies undergoing serious scrutiny so they can not reject patients for pre-existing medical conditions or give them low when they have a serious illness.

- Respect for current conditions. Nobody is obliged to change their current insurance, no company or doctor.

- No one will go without insurance for job loss. A group of insurers subsidized by the state be responsible for providing coverage to workers who are unprotected when dismissed.

- Attention to retirees. Obama said that no reduction in the least the current program of public coverage for pensioners (Medicare) to pay the public choice, denying it was one of the main reasons for anxiety among the elderly.

Timothy Garton Ash to defend his health care reform, has used the ‘nuclear weapon’ of the speech to Congress

It remains to be seen how you will finance your plan without increasing the deficit

A Summer of encounters with people, sometimes hysterical, has not been helpful to Obama to win the debate. According to surveys, almost all belonging to that vast majority of Americans who do have health insurance are reasonably satisfied with what they have. They fear that the proposed reform will leave them worse off and also costs more to the country (the first is rather unfounded fear, the second is not). More than half of independent voters, which are so important, neither is happy. The Obama’s approval rating has fallen to nearly 50%, worse than most of his predecessors at this point in their presidencies.

With just seven months after taking office, Obama has sought to use what in the U.S. Congress is tantamount to a nuclear weapon. A special address to both houses, apart from the inaugural speech and State of the Union is an exceptional measure, which last used by President George W. Bush after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. According to veteran political commentator Mark Shields, Lyndon Johnson made just two of these speeches, one after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the other on civil rights. Franklin Roosevelt uttered only one to ask Congress to declare war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. And Obama used to this …

On Wednesday night delivered a magnificent speech. He presented a convincing case for reform and recognized that the fundamental problem is that the United States spends “one and a half more per person on health than any other country, but not have better health.” Europeans and Canadians may smile at his final statement that one thing that all other advanced democracies are trying to do-combine free enterprise and market freedoms with a minimum of social justice, health and safety paratodos-reflects a moral exclusive of the American character, but we have no choice but to agree to its momentum.

Despite all its nods to bipartisanship, it was also a very partisan speech. Some Republicans responded by whistling, breaking and even a cry of “Bullshit!” (for which the person who launched it has apologized); few signs of disrespect that are unusual on such occasions. The scene probably did not help the Republicans, but also strengthened the authority and aura of Obama. And when he said “you realize there are still several important details,” brought on as Democrats and Republicans, unexpected laughter. It is good that one would laugh thanks, but not when they laugh at something you said seriously. Overall, the chosen medium-parliamentary most solemn occasion, reserved for times of national emergency “does not seem appropriate for the purpose.

Although the speech will help win public support and enough votes in Congress, just let you pass both houses and modest version of health reform compromise. The law likely will emerge from the legislative sausage factory address the most pressing social problem, namely that almost one in six Americans have no health coverage. But the key economic issue: the costs ridiculously fired system. Disproportionate costs for the benefit of the patient but enormously profitable for insurers. According to Harper’s magazine, from 2002 profit of the top 10 insurance companies have risen 428%.

There are two explanations to justify Obama’s problems. Democrats say the story (and, more specifically, George Bush) has distributed some letters very difficult. Republicans say is not playing them well. Perhaps both are true. The economic situation he inherited could not be worse. Although there are signs of improvement, or at least slowing of the crisis, unemployment and bordering 10%. U.S. taxpayers pay the cost of the bailouts and stimulus packages for decades. Health reform is one of the most important and most difficult to address, and has become larger and more intractable with every government that has not dealt with it.

Abroad, Obama has inherited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Islamist hotbed in Pakistan forgotten the challenge of climate change and the rise of China, to name but a few problems. Abraham Lincoln himself would have thrown to tremble at the prospect.

It is also true that Obama so far has not shown much skill when using the tools available to make things. His personal style remains a delight: a pleasure to see you every time, always manages quite well to words. But it has yet to prove that it works so well the government prose and poetry of the campaign. So you have to learn on the fly.

Speaking of health, in particular, his government seems to have underestimated how difficult it would be. His charm, his eloquence and decency are not enough to hide the fact that, after trying to avoid what is considered one of the errors of Bill and Hillary Clinton, who proposed their own health reform rather than let Congress prepare the bill, there was no “Obama plan” single, simple to explain and defend. On Wednesday night put a remedy to this situation, but is yet to be seen how he will finance it, as promised, without adding “ten cents” deficit.

“His wings of wax melted and is the man who fell to earth,” exults the neoconservative commentator Charles Krauthammer. But Obama is not yet Icarus. Many presidents have recovered from worst and second terms have been stronger. And Krauthammer may have forgotten that the other character with wings flew down and managed to cross the sea. His name was Daedalus, and was a consummate craftsman. That’s what America needs right now: someone not gifted in words but a politician who does things. Step forward, Barack Daedalus. Now is your time.