Presidential Health Reform Speeches: Then and Now

Matthew Yglesias has a nice piece explaining just how little of an impact Presidential speeches tend to have on public opinion or the outcome of the policy process. So maybe very little of what was said last night will matter for the future of health reform. But, I thought it'd be fun to put Clinton's 1993 effort up alongside Obama's 2009 effort. Unfortunately, someone at the New York Times beat me to the punch. In blogging, timing is important. However, I'm one-upping the Times by providing video of both speeches, and limiting my word clouds to a much more easily interpreted "top 25" words. I find that makes for easier comparisons.

President Clinton's Speech

President Clinton's Top 25 Word Cloud

President Obama's Speech

President Obama's Top 25 Word Cloud

As much as things have stayed the same--or gotten worse over the last 15 years, the speeches seem to be rather different. Here's what I see: Clinton emphasized the health care system, and focused on universal coverage using words like "people" "every" and "Americans." He mentioned cost, businesses, and doctors, but not at any great length. Clinton was about health care system reform that would cover everyone.

By contrast, Obama talked last night about insurance--far more than Clinton ever did--and he also frequently mentioned companies--as in "insurance companies"--not to be confused with businesses, which the President also mentioned. Obama spoke a bit about costs, but no more so than Clinton. Where the divide really shows, aside from the topic of health care system reform versus insurance reform, is that Obama actually made several references to government and Medicare, which Clinton did not. At the same time, Obama avoided using the word "system" to describe our health care financing and delivery in this country. I think that's a psychological trick--if you don't call it a system, it underscores how disorganized and broken it really is without you having to come right out and say it. (Although he did that last night, too.)

So, will any of it matter? I don't really think so. At least in the circles I travel in, if you believe Obama, you don't need him to convince you that we need health reform, and if you're one of the ones who needs to be sold on the need for reform, chances are you're anti-Obama....like the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina who yelled out "You lie!" during the President's speech. Fortunately, I think that health reform stands a good chance of passage regardless. One has to wonder, though, if it fails, what will the word cloud of the next Presidential address look like 15 years from now? I just hope it doesn't refer to the "insurance system."