Former HHS secretary lauds Obama for plainspoken address

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By Christina Bellantoni

A top Clinton health care official said President Obama scored a big win with his speech to Congress by avoiding some of the wonky language that doomed the last Democratic administration's effort.

Donna Shalala, who as Health and Human Services Secretary for President Clinton spearheaded the failed health care agenda, told The Washington Times Thursday it is obvious Mr. Obama learned the lessons from the 1990s.

"It was not a speech to the wonks, it wasn't a speech written by wonks, it was a speech to everyone that says these are the things we can agree upon, here's what we can incorporate," said Ms. Shalala, now serving as president of the University of Miami.

Ms. Shalala, a Democrat who said she wants to be a "cheerleader" for the health care effort, said she was glad to hear a detailed plan the party and activists can now rally behind.

She said Mr. Obama projected an "air of inevitability" and confidence that told the American people, "We're going to settle it now."

"It was a shrewd, emotional, focused very clear speech," she said, adding she thinks the White House did a masterful job of crafting the address with short and direct sentences, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

Ms. Shalala said Mr. Obama's tone indicated he had no intention of failing without being confrontational.

She applauded Mr. Obama for focusing so much on curbing waste, fraud and abuse within the system, and said the Clinton administration found "billions" in savings from similar measures.

Ms. Shalala also said the president's olive branch to Republicans of creating a pilot initiative for medical malpractice in the states will make a difference, even on a regional level, because some Democrats won't acknowledge lawsuits are such a problem for doctors.

Ms. Shalala said Mr. Obama was right to paraphrase a letter the late Sen. Ted Kennedy sent to the White House that was to be read after his death.

She said the president avoided a "sappy" reference to his friend and longtime Democratic lawmaker, instead reminding Republicans they can still work together.

She said getting Republican support "does matter," and insisted the White House and Democratic senators are trying to convince the GOP to come on board.

Still, she's confident that something will pass Congress in 2009.

"We've got a lot of things to do in this country, things to fix, things to work on, and when the president says 'We're going to get it done,' we're going to get it done," Ms. Shalala said.

She said she sees the passage of the plan as just one small element of improving health care: "This is the framework for reform, we're going to need to keep improving the system."