Rules of the road: Healthcare shapes Obama’s political message

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There are two things that will substantially determine how long and how well you live. The first are the genes you inherit and the second is the quality of healthcare you can afford. The current debate over healthcare overhaul is at its heart a battle over how to pay for the medical system and what it will do to treat which Americans.

But the fight is about more than policy. It is a battle over philosophy, the role of government and eventually how the major players see the role of politics in trying to solve society’s problems beyond just healthcare.
In his recent speeches in Pennsylvania, Missouri and in Ohio on Monday, President Obama touted his healthcare plans, but he also gave his clearest vision of how he now sees politics, and that has changed since he took office more than a year ago.

Here is a look at the emerging Obama political philosophy as seen through the lens of the current healthcare battle.

1. Politics takes place in Washington, and that is trying place.

Obama starts most speeches on the campaign trail by explaining how good it is to be out of the nation’s capital, which he often describes as an echo chamber in which politicians and the media speak mainly to themselves and feed on each other.

“They can’t help it,” Obama told an audience of mainly students from Arcadia University in Glenside, Penn. on March 8. Politicians are “obsessed with the sport of politics. And so that’s the environment in which elected officials are operating. And you’ve seen all the pundits pontificating and talking over each other on the cable shows, and they’re yelling and shouting. They can’t help themselves. That’s what they do.”

2. Real life is more important than Washington and it exists outside the Beltway:

“But out here, and all across America, folks are worried about bigger things. They’re worried about how to make payroll. They’re worried about how to make ends meet. They’re worried about what the future will hold for their families and for our country. They’re not worrying about the next election. We just had an election. They’re worried about the next paycheck, or the next tuition payment that’s due. They’re thinking about retirement.

“You want people in Washington to spend a little less time worrying about our jobs, a little more time worrying about your jobs,” Obama told the Pennsylvania audience.

3. Government is an important thing. And it requires faith to work well.

“Now, there’s been a lot of discussion about government over the last several months -- and let’s face it, people have lost faith in government. They had lost faith in government before I ran and it’s been getting worse,” Obama said on March 10 in St. Charles, Mo.

“You know, President Lincoln said that ‘the legitimate object of government is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they cannot … do at all, or do so well, by themselves.’ ”

“That pretty much sums up my attitude. You let people do for themselves what they can do for themselves; and then if there are some things that we do better together, we should do them together,” he said.

4. Faith leads to optimism. Success may not be assured, but optimism is.

“Despite all the challenges we face -- two wars, the aftermath of a terrible recession -- I want to tell everybody here today I am absolutely confident that America will prevail; that we will shape our destiny as past generations have done,” Obama said last week.

“That’s who we are. We don’t give up. We don’t quit. Sometimes we take our lumps, but we just keep on going. That’s who we are.”

5. Doing right is more important than politics.

“I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know how passing healthcare will play politically, but I do know that it’s the right thing to do,’ Obama said.

6. Doing right is supposed to bring victory – if everyone works together.

“And if you share that belief, I want you to stand with me and fight with me. And I ask you to help us get us over the finish line these next few weeks. The need is great. The opportunity is here. Let’s seize reform. It’s within our grasp.”

7. Electoral politics is a necessary evil, but politics is about more than just the next election.

“Of course, now that we’re approaching this vote, we’re hearing a lot of people in Washington talking about the politics. Talking about what this means for November. Talking about the poll numbers for the Democrats and the Republicans,” Obama often says, including on Monday. “Because in the end, this debate is about far more than the politics. It’s about what kind of country we want to be.”

8. Because the fight is about politics, the result is about more than healthcare.

“And the truth is, what is at stake in this debate is not just our ability to solve this problem, but our ability to solve any problem. The American people want to know if it’s still possible for Washington to look out for their interests and their future. They are waiting for us to act. They are waiting for us to lead. And as long as I hold this office, I intend to provide that leadership.

“I don’t know about the politics. But I know what’s right,” Obama said.

-- Michael Muskal

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal