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Speeches before joint sessions of Congress tend to be forgettable. Even ones that make an impression rarely have long-term effects on politics or policy.
But there are exceptions. And as I listened to President Joe Biden give this year’s State of the Union address on Thursday night, I thought of one: a speech that then-President Barack Obama delivered to Congress in September 2009.
At the time, Obama was in the midst of an especially brutal political stretch, with his approval ratings sinking amid controversies over race and frustration that the economy wasn’t pulling out of recession. Worse still, his signature legislative campaign ― for a massive health care reform proposal ― was in deep trouble, with Republicans on the offense and conservative activists erupting at town hall meetings.
Many Democrats in Congress were ready to concede defeat. Obama didn’t want to let that happen, and he decided to make his case in person with a detailed, spirited address.
Two moments from that speech stand out. One came after Obama debunked a conservative talking point about his plan’s effect on undocumented immigrants. A lone Republican House member shouted out, “You lie!” That kind of heckling, so routine nowadays, was a serious breach of decorum back then. (If you don’t believe me, watch this clip of the reaction.)
The other moment came at the end of the speech, when Obama read aloud from a letter that former Sen. Ted Kennedy had written just before losing his battle with brain cancer, and that his widow subsequently sent to the White House. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who spent decades leading the fight for universal coverage, urged his colleagues to persevere even though he was gone.
The House member’s outburst was a sign of how angry Republicans had become about Obama’s health care reform effort, and how determined they were to stop legislation from passing….
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