It has really been bothering me - the charges that Obama is all talk and no action.  Those of us who support him and have reviewed his record know there is no basis to this charge, but just to make sure, I went to the Congressional Record (www.thomas.gov) and did a search for bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Senator Obama in his three short years in the US Senate.  I searched the 109th and 110th Congresses which cover the years 2005-2007.

In a nut shell I found:

Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills in the 109th and 110th Congress.

Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become LAW since he joined the Senate in 2005.

Senator Obama has also introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate.

His record is in fact quite impressive for a junior Senator from Illinois.  

Details below the fold.

In his op-ed (Feb 4), Paul Krugman demonstrated that he cannot see the forest for the trees.

The question is not who has better details on enforcement/mandates; Congress will decide that. The question is who can achieve needed reforms?

Obama has pledged to begin working immediately with Congress to take advantage of a very short window of opportunity to enact reform. Obama has committed to get health care reform enacted by the end of his first term.

Hillary Clinton has made no such commitment; she says she will get it done "by the end of my second term." She is also handicapped in her ability to "take on" the special interests; her campaign is financed by health insurance and pharmaceutical PACs and lobbyists; Obama has taken none of their money.

If you want a President who will actually deliver health care reform, Barack Obama is your choice.  

I write this in all sincerity.  This is not snarky.  I am truly baffled by her behavior the last few days.  Has anyone else noticed?

Perhaps the Hillary supporters have some insights on what is going on.

Twice in the last 3 days, Hillary Clinton has pulled a disappearing act at what would seem important moments in her campaign.

FROM NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA

January 24, 2008

A Message to Pro-Choice Voters Regarding the Democratic Presidential
Primary

Nancy Keenan is president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

This week Americans mark the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a milestone that coincides with the 2008 presidential election. As we celebrate this occasion, and this critical time for women's reproductive freedom, NARAL Pro-Choice America is proud that we have such strong pro-choice candidates like

Sens. Hillary Clinton
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/election s/statements/clinton.html  

and
Barack Obama
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/election s/statements/obama.html

and former Sen. John Edwards
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/election s/statements/edwards.html

running for president.

Boy!  Everyone needs to take a deep breath on this one.  DEEP BREATH.

This is the most ridiculous Gotcha I have ever seen.

And the irony is that Hillary Clinton feels the same way as Barack does.

The reality is that both Hillary and Barack understand that single payer is the best way to guarantee access to health care for All Americans.  And both understand that it is not politically feasible to just dump the current system and go wholesale into single payer.  It is possible to hold these two thoughts at the same time and there is nothing contradictory about doing so.  

Both of these candidates are very smart people.  They both understand that single payer is THE best system for affordable, comprehensive, equitable, secure, efficient health care for all Americans.  This is good news, folks.  Take another deep breath.

But the realities of our current system and how it has evolved over time, make it difficult, if not impossible, to move from where we are now to 100% single payer system over night.

Both of them support single payer and NEITHER of them has every proposed it in the form of legislation.

The amount of misinformation floating around the blogasphere regarding the Democratic candidate's health care proposals is staggering.  As an health policy educator and researcher, I would like to try to set the record straight and cut through all the spin.