Pfc. Kham Xiong

At Ft. Hood Army Base today, President Obama honored the thirteen people killed Thursday in a shooting spree there, including St. Paul’s Pfc. Kham Xiong. Obama told of Xiong, a 23-year-old married father of three, who “came to America from Thailand as a small child” and later “followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service.” He was set to begin his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. Xiong will be buried with honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery following a traditional three-day Hmong funeral ceremony.

A day before Veteran’s Day, Obama said that “as we honor the many generations who have served, I think all of us – every single American – must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who have come before. We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.”

Full text of Obama’s remarks:

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AT MEMORIAL SERVICE AT FORT HOOD

Fort Hood – III Corps

Fort Hood, Texas

1:55 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT:  To the Fort Hood community; to Admiral Mullen; General Casey; General Cone; Secretary McHugh; Secretary Gates; most importantly, to family, friends and members of our Armed Forces.  We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war.  Yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle.  They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state and the heart of this great American community.  This is the fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that’s been left.  We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers.  You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know:  Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation.  Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched.  Their life’s work is our security, and the freedom that we all too often take for granted.  Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — that is their legacy.

Neither this country — nor the values upon which we were founded — could exist without men and women like these 13 Americans.  And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill had served in the National Guard and worked as a physician’s assistant for decades. A husband and father of three, he was so committed to his patients that on the day he died, he was back at work just weeks after having had a heart attack.

Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager.  But he put himself through college, earned a PhD, and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment.  He’s survived by his wife, sons and step-daughters.

Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow joined the Army right after high school, married his high school sweetheart, and had served as a light wheeled mechanic and satellite communications operator.  He was known as an optimist, a mentor, and a loving husband and loving father.

After retiring from the Army as a major, John Gaffaney cared for society’s most vulnerable during two decades as a psychiatric nurse.  He spent three years trying to return to active duty in this time of war, and he was preparing to deploy to Iraq as a captain.  He leaves behind a wife and son.

Specialist Frederick Greene was a Tennessean who wanted to join the Army for a long time, and did so in 2008, with the support of his family.  As a combat engineer he was a natural leader, and he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Specialist Jason Hunt was also recently married, with three children to care for.  He joined the Army after high school.  He did a tour in Iraq, and it was there that he reenlisted for six more years on his 21st birthday so that he could continue to serve.

Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was an athlete in high school, joined the Army shortly after 9/11, and had since returned home to speak to students about her experience.  When her mother told her she couldn’t take on Osama bin Laden by herself, Amy replied: “Watch me.”

Private First Class Aaron Nemelka was an Eagle Scout who just recently signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service — diffuse bombs — so that he could help save lives. He was proudly carrying on a tradition of military service that runs deep within his family.

Private First Class Michael Pearson loved his family and loved his music, and his goal was to be a music teacher.  He excelled at playing the guitar, and could create songs on the spot and show others how to play.  He joined the military a year ago, and was preparing for his first deployment.

Captain Russell Seager worked as a nurse for the VA, helping veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress.  He had extraordinary respect for the military, and signed up to serve so that he could help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and return to civilian life.  He leaves behind a wife and son.

Private Francheska Velez, daughter of a father from Colombia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army.  When she was killed she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.

Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman was the daughter and granddaughter of Army veterans.  She was a single mom who put herself through college and graduate school, and served as a nurse practitioner while raising her two daughters.  She also left behind a loving husband.

Private First Class Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child.  He was a husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service.  He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan.

These men and women came from all parts of the country.  Some had long careers in the military.  Some had signed up to serve in the shadow of 9/11.  Some had known intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some cared for those did.  Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity, the decency of those who serve, and that’s how they will be remembered.

For that same spirit is embodied in the community here at Fort Hood, and in the many wounded who are still recovering.  As was already mentioned, in those terrible minutes during the attack, soldiers made makeshift tourniquets out of their clothes. They braved gunfire to reach the wounded, and ferried them to safety in the backs of cars and a pickup truck.

One young soldier, Amber Bahr, was so intent on helping others, she did not realize for some time that she, herself, had been shot in the back.  Two police officers — Mark Todd and Kim Munley — saved countless lives by risking their own.  One medic — Francisco de la Serna — treated both Officer Munley and the gunman who shot her.

It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy.  But this much we do know — no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor.  For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice — in this world, and the next.

These are trying times for our country.  In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America, our allies, and innocent Afghans and Pakistanis.  In Iraq, we’re working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for.

As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon.  Theirs are the tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call — the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country.  In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility.  In an era of division, they call upon us to come together.  In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.

We are a nation that endures because of the courage of those who defend it.  We saw that valor in those who braved bullets here at Fort Hood, just as surely as we see it in those who signed up knowing that they would serve in harm’s way.

We are a nation of laws whose commitment to justice is so enduring that we would treat a gunman and give him due process, just as surely as we will see that he pays for his crimes.

We’re a nation that guarantees the freedom to worship as one chooses.  And instead of claiming God for our side, we remember Lincoln’s words, and always pray to be on the side of God.

We’re a nation that is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal.  We live that truth within our military, and see it in the varied backgrounds of those we lay to rest today.  We defend that truth at home and abroad, and we know that Americans will always be found on the side of liberty and equality.  That’s who we are as a people.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day.  It’s a chance to pause, and to pay tribute — for students to learn the struggles that preceded them; for families to honor the service of parents and grandparents; for citizens to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made in pursuit of a more perfect union.

For history is filled with heroes.  You may remember the stories of a grandfather who marched across Europe; an uncle who fought in Vietnam; a sister who served in the Gulf.  But as we honor the many generations who have served, all of us — every single American — must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who’ve come before.

We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.

This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in the time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known.  They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places.  They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains.  They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war.  They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and all stations — all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

In today’s wars, there’s not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops’ success — no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed.  But the measure of the impact of these young men and women is no less great — in a world of threats that no know borders, their legacy will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that’s extended abroad.  It will serve as testimony to the character of those who served, and the example that all of you in uniform set for America and for the world.

Here, at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to 13 men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home.  Later today, at Fort Lewis, one community will gather to remember so many in one Stryker Brigade who have fallen in Afghanistan.

Long after they are laid to rest — when the fighting has finished, and our nation has endured; when today’s servicemen and women are veterans, and their children have grown — it will be said that this generation believed under the most trying of tests; believed in perseverance — not just when it was easy, but when it was hard; that they paid the price and bore the burden to secure this nation, and stood up for the values that live in the hearts of all free peoples.

So we say goodbye to those who now belong to eternity.  We press ahead in pursuit of the peace that guided their service. May God bless the memory of those that we have lost.  And may God bless the United States of America.

Before his trip to Iowa, Pawlenty had taken heat for endorsing the Conservative Party candidate over the Republican in Tuesday’s U.S. House district in New York. He then called moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine “more liberal than most Republicans would like.”

Pawlenty seemed to be addressing that controversy, saying debate over things like the party platform are good, but once that’s complete Republicans must unite to “start the American comeback.”

Pawlenty then struck a chord for party unity, saying that there should be vigorous primary campaigns, but then everyone should get back on the same team in order to elect Republicans.

“We’re going to have our debates about what the platform will look like,” he said. “We’re going to have our primaries and caucuses. We’re going to go through that process, and it should be hard fought. But when those decisions are made, as a team we have to come around and support each other.”

This marks the second major Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser where a potential 2012 presidential candidate has made it a point to discuss creating an inclusive party. In June, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told a crowd of GOP activists and elected officials that the only way back into the majority was to resist demands for ideological purity.

For most of his speech, Pawlenty struck a populist tone attacking federal bailouts for Wall Street companies and Detroit automakers. And on the night that U.S. House lawmakers approved health care reform legislation, Pawlenty repeatedly hit the Democratic reform efforts, saying they are proof that Democrats no longer care about working families.

“They have a party now, our competitors, that have embraced big government, big unions and big bailouts,” he said. “And they want to have the people believe that they work for the common person. The working person.”

During his successful presidential campaign, Barack Obama regularly asked if the crowd was “fired up and ready to go,” Pawlenty said

“Are you fired up and ready to fight back?” Pawlenty said. “Are you willing to be involved?”

He said Obama broke his campaign promise to seek bipartisan health care reform, instead deciding to push for a liberal bill, ignore Republican voices and continue the “dangerous leftward tilt” the president has pursued for the country.

“In his victory speech in Iowa after the caucuses, President Obama promised — he used the word promise — he was going to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass needed health care reform,” Pawlenty said. “Now I ask you, are you sick and tired of Democrats trying to ram down this liberal monstrosity down our throat which is their health care reform plan?”

But the Republican Party can’t simply be critics, Pawlenty said. Republicans must also offer solutions, and he pointed to his record as governor of Minnesota as proof that GOP ideas work. Minnesota is a very liberal state, Pawlenty said, and he was still able to cut spending and taxes.

“If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere,” he said.

The federal government could learn from his experience in Minnesota. Instead of allowing the national deficit to continue to grow, government should begin to live within its means, Pawlenty said.

“The only thing growing faster than the national debt is [MSNBC host] Chris Matthews’ man-crush on Barack Obama,” he said.

This marks Pawlenty’s first trip to Iowa since he campaigned for Arizona Sen. John McCain last year, and many are speculating that the trip is another indication of his interest in seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. He has already said he will not seek a third term as governor and last month he formed a political action committee called Freedom First, a typical first move for presidential aspirants.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has brought 52 fellow Republicans together — including Rep. Michele Bachmann — on a letter demanding the resignation of Kevin Jennings, the White House’s “safe schools czar.” Greg Sargent looks at the text of the letter, and how it maintains (wrongly) that Jennings covered up child sexual abuse.

Here are the other Republicans:

Alexander
Aderholt
Akin
Austria
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton
Boozman
Broun
Brown, H.
Carter
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Conaway
Davis, Geoff
Fallin
Fleming
Foxx
Franks
Garrett
Gingrey
Gohmert
Hunter
Issa
Jordan
Lamborn
Latta
Luetkemeyer
Marchant
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller, J.
Myrick
Neugebauer
Olson, P.
Pence
Pitts
Posey
Rogers (AL)
Rooney
Ryan, Paul
Shuster
Smith, C
Smith, L.
Wamp
Westmoreland
Jones, Walter

Related: Key claim in King, Bachmann letter on Jennings in dispute ]]> http://minnesotaindependent.com/47262/bachmann-among-53-house-republicans-opposing-gay-obama-adviser/feed 3 http://minnesotaindependent.com/46870/franken-coleman-wellstone-99-percent-improvement http://minnesotaindependent.com/46870/franken-coleman-wellstone-99-percent-improvement#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:41:39 +0000 Chris Steller http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=46870 After three months in office, former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, chomping an unlit cigar, pronounced himself “a 99 percent improvement over Paul Wellstone.”  Coleman’s successor, Al Franken, has now held Wellstone’s old Senate seat for three months: Is he a 99 percent improvement over Coleman?

Coleman was showered with criticism after his self-assessment appeared on the cover of the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. In his responses, first unapologetic then remorseful, the freshman senator insisted he’d only meant the comparison in terms of support for President Bush.
That sort of direct contrast isn’t possible for Coleman and Franken because their Senate terms coincide with different administrations: Coleman served only under President George W. Bush and Franken only under President Barack Obama.

But Coleman was in the Senate with Obama for a couple of years, so that’s a basis for comparison. In 2007, when both voted, Coleman and Obama voted differently 119 times. In 2008, Coleman and Obama cast opposing votes 43 times, for a total over their two years together of 162 votes at odds.

Franken on the other hand has voted with his party (and Obama, presumably) 95.5 percent of the time in 88 votes so far, according to the Washington Post — meaning he has voted against the Democrats (and Obama) about four times.

At that rate, over a two-year span equal to Coleman’s overlap with Obama, Franken will vote out of step with Obama only about 32 times — an 80 percent improvement over Coleman, by Coleman’s standard of measurement.

One thing almost everyone can agree on: As his 100th day in office approaches on Thursday, Franken (whose staff didn’t respond to a request for comment) is surely a 100 percent improvement over the vacancy in Wellstone’s seat that persisted for six months while Coleman challenged his election in court.

Here is an excerpt from the the April 7, 2003 Roll Call story, “Coleman Becomes Big Draw“:

Still, Coleman is loyal to Bush, perhaps because the president stood by his side in the last days of the campaign. And the Minnesota Republican is not shy about comparing his legislative accomplishments to those of his predecessor.

“To be very blunt and God watch over Paul’s soul, I am a 99 percent improvement over Paul Wellstone,” Coleman said. “Just about on every issue.”

When pressed about the remaining 1 percent, Coleman sidestepped the issue and instead talked about his desire to support Bush.

“In other words, Wellstone was never with the president,” Coleman said of the first two years of the Bush administration. “I could be with the president most of the time. If I disagree on affirmative action. If I disagree on ANWR. If I disagree on something else down the road, so what. The differences are so profound.”

Two days later, Roll Call reported on the fallout, under the headline “Coleman Under Fire“:

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) spent most of Tuesday dodging criticism over the freshman’s claim in Monday’s edition of Roll Call that he is a “99 percent improvement” over the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D).
Former Wellstone aides demanded an apology from Coleman, while Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) chastised his new colleague.

“I think it was an unfortunate comment,” Daschle told reporters. “I was one of those fortunate enough to consider Paul Wellstone a very, very dear and special friend. And I disagree with Senator Coleman 100 percent of it.”

Protesters also showed up at Coleman’s St. Paul office demanding that he “change the tone in Washington,” a pointed reference to one of the themes of his campaign last year.

For his part, Coleman initially released a statement that did not challenge the quotes that were attributed to him in the front-page story. He also did not specifically apologize in that statement.

“Mark Twain said the problem with talking to the media is they’re likely to print what you say,” Coleman said in a prepared statement. “It was my responsibility to be more clear in my remarks to Roll Call. It was my understanding we were comparing my relationship to this White House to the relationship Senator Wellstone had with this White House. I would never want to diminish the legacy or memory of Senator Paul Wellstone, and I will accept full responsibility for not having been more accurate in my comments.”

But late Tuesday, Coleman phoned HOH and said that he did want to apologize for any hurt that he caused.

“I fully apologize,” he said. “I accept the fact that there is a higher degree of sensitivity when talking about Senator Wellstone.”

Coleman stressed that he did not want to hedge anything about the context of his comments. “I apologize and it won’t happen again. I’ll choose words more carefully in the future. It’s not the reporter’s mistake. It’s my mistake.”

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

President Obama’s health care rally in Minneapolis on Saturday brought out both foes of the Democrat and fans who often ribbed the other side through pithy signs of their own (one man carried a placard that read “Angry white people against everything!“). But inside the Target Center is where the real action happened: Nearly 20,000 people turned out, including a cast of national and local officials and a 7-foot, 8-inch-tall Rochester man dubbed the “World’s Biggest Obama Supporter.” Obama’s rousing speech — which ended with the crowd chanting “Fired up! Ready to go!” — made a sobering point.

Citing new Treasury Department findings that nearly half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next 10 years — and that a third will go without coverage for more than a year — Obama said, “We’ve got to do something because it can happen to anyone. There but for the grace of God go I.”

Photojournalist Kathy Easthagen was there to capture the scene for the Minnesota Independent.

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Outside the Target Center, some demonstrators shared their distaste for Obama using familiar imagery (below), while others countered them with signs of their own.

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Inside, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius warmed up the crowd. “The status quo is not an alternative,” she said of the health care system. “But get ready, Minnesota, because the special interests won’t give up easily.”

Photo by Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

As he hit the stage, Obama pointed out familiar faces, including that of 27-year-old Rochester resident Igor Vovkovinskiy. “It’s nice to see you again,” Obama said to Vovkovinskiy, who wore a t-shirt bearing the words “World’s Biggest Obama Supporter.”

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

A young woman in the stands beams after Obama responds to her shout of “something’s gotta change!”

Photo by Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin react after Obama, recalling an early campaign event, said Rybak was one of his first supporters. “Nobody thought I could win; nobody could pronounce my name,” said Obama to laughter. “Nobody except R.T., that was the only person who believed.”

Photo by Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Sen. Al Franken, with the seat of honor beside Sebelius, watches Obama’s address.

Photo by Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Stacia Goheen of Stillwater watches the president’s speech on the Target Center scoreboard.

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

“It has now been nearly a century since Teddy Roosevelt first called for heath reform,” Obama told the crowd, which frequently interrupted him with applause. “It’s been attempted by nearly every president and Congress since. … I might not be the first president to take up the cause of health care reform, but I am determined to be the last.”

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Following the president’s address, Sen. Amy Klobuchar was interviewed live on MSNBC while, to her right, Sebelius spoke with a reporter for another network.

Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Harkin bills his event as a stop for Democrats on their way up: In 2007 the event’s speakers included, among other Democratic presidential wannabes, a first-term U.S. Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama.

This year it’s another first-term senator from a neighboring state — who, after all, has written a book about becoming president – but Al Franken denies that visions of the White House are dancing in his eyes:

I guess that most people who speak at the Steak Fry eventually run for president. I guess that’s been the history but I’m not interested in running for president. I’m coming because I like Tom Harkin and I like steak.

Franken is also co-host at another event this afternoon: a send-off in Minneapolis for Sam and Sylvia Kaplan. The DFL activists and benefactors are relocating to Morocco, where Sam will serve as U.S. ambassador. If Franken is to make it back to Minneapolis for the 4–6 p.m. cocktail reception for the Kaplans, a fundraiser for Wellstone Action, he’ll have to fly. Indianola is a good four hours by car down I-35W.

Here’s the video feed from the Harkin Steak Fry, which should be live from 2:30–3:30 p.m. via iowademocrats.org, which also promises live blogging all day. At the bottom of the post, for your off-hour viewing pleasure (in case you haven’t heard him speak lately), are clips from Obama’s 2007 Steak Fry speech.

Obama at 2007 Harkin Steak Fry, part 1:

Obama at 2007 Harkin Steak Fry, part 2:

Update: Here are the first videos of Franken in Iowa to surface on YouTube:

President Barack Obama at Target Center, Sept. 12. Photo: Kathy Easthagen for the Minnesota Independent

Less than a week after President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress in an effort to galvanize support for his ambitious health-care agenda, he brought the debate to the Target Center in Minneapolis. Speaking to a boisterous crowd of roughly 20,000 people Saturday afternoon, Obama made his case for dramatic changes to the country’s beleaguered health care system.

“It has now been nearly a century since Teddy Roosevelt first called for heath reform,” Obama told the crowd, which frequently interrupted him with applause. “It’s been attempted by nearly every president and Congress since. Our failure to get it done, year after year, decade after decade, it has placed a burden on families, on businesses and on taxpayers, and we can’t stand it any longer. … I might not be the first president to take up the cause of health care reform, but I am determined to be the last.”

The event had the feel of a campaign pep rally. Spectators did the wave and chanted “Yes we can!” Vendors hawked mini-donuts. If Tuesday’s address was designed to shake up the health-care debate and lay out an understandable framework for reform to the American people, the Minneapolis event was all about photo-ops and generating momentum.

It wasn’t the first time that Obama has utilized Minnesota as a backdrop for a high-profile event. In July of last year he traveled to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to declare victory in the Democratic primary.

Obama called on those in attendance to help build support for a health-care overhaul by talking with friends and co-workers about the need for significant changes. He also criticized his political opponents for spreading distortions about the health care plans being debated in Washington.

“We’ve heard scare tactics instead of honest debate,” Obama said. “Too many have used this opportunity to score short-term political points instead of working together to solve our challenges. I don’t know if you agree with me, but I think the time for bickering is over.”

Obama was flanked by two massive United States flags during the forty-minute speech, which largely echoed his remarks to Congress earlier this week. He vowed to protect Medicare for the elderly and make insurance affordable for all Americans, and to do so without increasing the federal deficit. Obama also reiterated his support for a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurance firms.

“You know and I know that health care is one of those fundamental struggles, because if you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans who have no health insurance, you live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy,” he said. “And contrary to some of the myths out there, these aren’t primarily people who are deep in poverty. A lot of those folks are on Medicaid. These are people who are working every day. These are middle-class Americans.”

Obama was joined at Saturday’s event by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. She briefly addressed the crowd prior to the President’s speech.

“The status quo is not an alternative,” Sebelius said of the health-care system. “But get ready, Minnesota, because the special interests won’t give up easily.”

At the close of the event, Obama summoned an oft-told anecdote from the campaign trail about a diminutive South Carolina woman who was notorious for enthusiastically chanting. Her slogan: “Fired up! Ready to go!” It became a catchphrase of Obama’s presidential campaign. At Saturday’s event, supporters exited the Target Center chanting the slogan.

Clearly the president succeeded in firing up the faithful present at the rally. But it remains to be seen whether the event will have any affect on the debate playing out in Washington.

Photoessay: ‘Fired up’: Scenes from Obama’s health care rally

But even among the protesters, this woman stood out. Clad in a surgical mask for much of the day, she toted two signs with different anti-Obama messages on each side. She declined to provide her name.

“Obama supporters are ruthless,” she said in explanation. “They’ll go after people, they’ll search them down and they’ll make life hell for them.”

Among the slogans on her signs: “PUMAS for NObama.” For those with short memories of the 2008 presidential campaign, PUMA stands for “Party Unity My Ass” and was briefly touted as a movement of disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters refusing to back the party’s nominee.

“I’m a disgruntled Democrat,” said the woman. “I want this administration out. They’re a bunch of thugs. Chicago politics.”

When asked what she meant by the phrase “Chicago politics,” she elaborated.

“They bring in communists,” she said. “They lie. They bring in terrorists, Bill Ayers. … And the media covers for him. The media are down on their knees in front of Obama sucking as hard as they can.”

The Inver Grove Heights resident is not at all assuaged by the fact that Clinton is now serving as Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

“It pisses me off,” she said. “I want her to leave. She’s going to run for New York governor and I will support her then. I want her out of that administration. That administration has got to go.”

She also carried a sign questioning whether Obama is an American citizen.

“His own grandma said he was born in Kenya,” she stated (erroneously). “His own grandma. And they won’t produce his real birth certificate. All they give us is the certificate of live birth from Hawaii. Anybody can get one of those if you live in Hawaii. You don’t have to have been born there. That’s all they’ve shown to us. And they won’t show us his college transcripts either.”

What did she hope to accomplish by coming out today?

“Showing them I’m not a mindless Obama-bot like all these other people who want an American Idol for president,” she said. “I believe in Amerca’s freedoms. I don’t like him going to other countries apologizing for us. I don’t like him almost spitting in the eye of our allies. He doesn’t care about Britain. He doesn’t care about Israel. And he goes and he bows to the King of Saudi Arabia.”

Update: Text of the speech, after the jump.

Demko will be live-tweeting the event at @MnIndyLIVE.

Here’s the full text of Obama’s speech:

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AT A RALLY ON HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM

Target Center

Minneapolis, Minnesota

1:00 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Minnesota! (Applause.) Hello, Minneapolis! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Are you fired up? (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, all right. Thank you. Everybody — everybody take a seat, take a seat. Great to see you. It is good to see you all. It’s good to be back in Minnesota. (Applause.)

Now, before I do anything else, I want to get to some very important news. I hear the Gophers have their home opener in their brand new stadium a little later today. (Applause.) I want to make sure you know I wish the Gophers luck. (Applause.) But they are playing Air Force, and I have to fly back home on one of their planes in a few hours. (Laughter.) So I got to be careful about what I say.

We’ve got some wonderful people who are here today with me, and I just want to make some special acknowledgments. First of all, your two outstanding senators, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Al Franken, are in the house. (Applause.) My great friend who was part of the Obama for President movement before I decided to run for President, R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis, is in the house. (Applause.) The Mayor of the great city of St. Paul, Chris Coleman is in the house. (Applause.) Your Attorney General Lori Swanson is in the house. (Applause.) Your State Auditor Rebecca Otto is here. (Applause.) And one of the finest public servants in the country, my Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius is here. (Applause.)

Also, the biggest Obama fan in the country is in the house. (Applause.) Love this guy. Michelle has a picture where she looks like Sasha, thanks to this guy. (Laughter.) He’s a great supporter, and it’s great to see you again. (Applause.)

You know, I don’t know if any of you caught it on television — you may have been watching “So You Think You Can Dance” — (laughter) — but — Michelle loves that show, by the way. But the other night I gave a speech to Congress about health care. (Applause.) And I have to say, I can already see that this crowd is a lot more fun. (Laughter and applause.) But listen. I didn’t go to Congress just to speak to senators or representatives. I went to speak on behalf of the American people. (Applause.) Because, you see, I ran for this office because I believed it was time for a government that once again made possible the dreams of middle-class Americans — that we’re looking out for ordinary people — (applause) — a government that understands the quiet struggles that you wrestle with at the kitchen table when you’re going through all the bills or when you’re lying awake at night at the end of a long day and trying to figure out what you’re going to do about health care for your children or what you’re going to do about the situation with your mortgage; worrying about how stable your job is and what’s happening with the economy; seniors who are worrying about their retirement security.

You know and I know that health care is one of those fundamental struggles — (applause) — because if you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans who have no health insurance, you live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. And contrary to some of the myths out there, these aren’t primarily people who are deep in poverty. A lot of those folks are on Medicaid. These are people who are working every day. These are middle-class Americans. (Applause.) Maybe your employer doesn’t offer coverage. Maybe you’re self-employed and you can’t afford it because it costs you three times more in the marketplace than it does for big companies. (Applause.) Maybe you’re one of the millions of Americans who’s denied coverage because of a previous illness or condition — no fault of your own, but the insurance companies decide it’s too risky or too expensive for you to cover.

In the last 12 months alone, 6 million more Americans lost their health insurance — 6 million more. Today, we received more disturbing news. A new report from the Treasury Department found that nearly half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next 10 years. Think about that. (Boos.) More than one-third will go without coverage for longer than one year. We’ve got to do something. (Applause.) We’ve got to do something because it can happen to anyone. There but for the grace of God go I. It could happen to anyone.

But I don’t need to tell you that our health care problems don’t stop with the uninsured. How many of you who have insurance have ever worried that you might lose it if you lost your jobs or you changed jobs or you had to move? (Applause.) How many stories have you heard about folks whose insurance company decided to drop their coverage or water it down when they get sick and need it the most? (Applause.) How many of you know somebody who paid their premiums every month only to find out that their insurance company wouldn’t cover the full cost of their care like they thought they would get? (Applause.)

We’ve all heard these stories. There’s the father I met in Colorado whose child was diagnosed with severe hemophilia the day after he was born. Now, they had insurance, but there was a cap on their coverage. So once the child’s medical bills began to pile up, the father was left to frantically search for another option, or face tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because, they said, she forgot to declare a case of acne — true story. (Boos.) By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer had more than doubled in size. Small business people — I got a letter just this week from a small businessman. He said, “I don’t know what to do. I’ve always provided health insurance for my families, but here, the attached bill, shows that the premiums have gone up 48 percent in the last year, and I think that I’m probably going to have to stop providing health insurance for my employees. I don’t want to, but I don’t have a choice.”

These stories are wrong. They are heartbreaking. Nobody should be treated that way in the United States of America, and that’s why we’re going to bring about change this year. (Applause.)

It has now been nearly a century since Teddy Roosevelt first called for health reform. It’s been attempted by nearly every President and Congress since. And our failure to get it done — year after year, decade after decade — it has placed a burden on families, on businesses, and on taxpayers, and we can’t stand it any longer. We cannot sustain it any longer. (Applause.)

If we do nothing, your premiums will continue to rise faster than your wages. If we do nothing, more businesses will close down; fewer will face — fewer will be able to open in the first place. If we do nothing, we will eventually spend more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. That’s not an option for the United States of America. So Minnesota, I may not be the first President to take up the cause of health care reform, but I am determined to be the last. We are going to get it done this year. (Applause.) We are going to get it done this year.

The good news — here’s the good news: We are closer now to reform than we’ve ever been. We’ve debated this issue for better than a year now. And there’s actually some solid agreement on about 80 percent of what needs to be done. That’s never happened before. (Applause.) We’ve got — our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses and hospitals and seniors’ groups — even drug companies, many of whom were opposed to reform in the past. This time they recognize, you know what, this is not going to be stopped; we’ve got to get on board.

Now, what we’ve also seen in these last few months is the same partisan spectacle that has left so many of you disappointed in Washington for so long. (Applause.) We’ve heard scare tactics instead of honest debate. Too many have used this opportunity to score short-term political points instead of working together to solve long-term challenges. (Applause.)

I don’t know if you agree with me, but I think the time for bickering is over. (Applause.) The time for games has passed. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to deliver on health care for every American. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

THE PRESIDENT: Now, because even after the speech there’s been a lot of misinformation out there, I want you to know about this plan that I announced on Wednesday so that when you go talk to your neighbors and your friends, and you’re at the water cooler or buying Starbucks or whatever it is that you’re doing — (laughter) — I want you to be able to say to people, here’s what’s going on.

The plan I announced will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. (Applause.) It will provide insurance to those who don’t. (Applause.) And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. (Applause.)

Let me give you some details. First of all, if you’re among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or you’ve got health insurance through Medicare or Medicaid or the VA, nothing — nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change your coverage or your doc. All right? I want you to be clear about that. Let me repeat: Nothing in this plan requires you to change what you have if you’re happy with it.

What this plan will do is to make your insurance work better for you. (Applause.) So under this plan — under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition. (Applause.) When I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick, or water it down when you need it the most. (Applause.) They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. (Applause.) We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, nobody should go broke because they got sick. (Applause.) And insurance companies — insurance companies will be required to cover, at no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies — (applause) — because there’s no reason we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer or colon cancer before they get worse. That makes sense, it saves money, it saves lives. (Applause.)

Now, if you’re one of the 10 million — tens of millions of Americans who don’t currently have health insurance, the second part of this plan is going to finally offer you affordable choices. So if you lose your job or change jobs or want to start a business, you’ll be able to get coverage. (Applause.) You will have confidence that affordable coverage is out there for you, and we will do this not, contrary to what folks say, by some government takeover of health care. We will do this by setting up a new insurance exchange — a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for an affordable health insurance plan that works for them. And because there will be one big group — because there will be one big group, these uninsured Americans will have the leverage to drive down costs and get a much better deal than they get right now. (Applause.) That’s how large companies do it. That’s how government employees get their health insurance. That’s how members of Congress get good deals on their insurance. You should get the same deal that members of Congress get. (Applause.)

Now, if you still can’t afford the lower-priced insurance available in the exchange, we’re going to provide you or a small business owner tax credits so that they can do it. And in the first few years that it takes up to the — it takes to set up the exchange — because it will take a few years to get this all set up, even after it passes — but in the meantime, we want to make sure people get some immediate help, so we’re going to immediately offer Americans with preexisting conditions who can’t get coverage right now, we want to give them some low-cost coverage that will provide them protection from financial ruin if they become seriously ill. (Applause.)

Now, I’ve also said that one of the options in the insurance exchange, one of the options — most of the folks who are going to be offering insurance through the exchange are going to be private insurers — Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, all these. Well, I think one of the options should be a public insurance option. (Applause.) Now let me be clear. Let me be clear. Let me be clear: It would only be an option. Nobody would be forced to choose it. No one with insurance would be affected by it. But what it would do is, it would provide more choice and more competition. (Applause.) It would keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable, to treat their customers better.

I mean, think about it. It’s the same way that public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students. That doesn’t inhibit private colleges and universities from thriving out there. The same should be true on the health care front. (Applause.)

Now, Minnesota, I have said that I’m open to different ideas on how to set this up. But I’m not going to back down from the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we’re going to provide you a choice. (Applause.) And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the coverage that you need. That’s a promise I will make. (Applause.)

Now — now, a lot of you might think this plan sounds pretty good, or when you’re talking to your friends or neighbors, they might say, yes, that sounds all right, but let me ask you this: How are you going to pay for it? And that’s a legitimate concern. We’ve got — we inherited some big deficits and some big debt. And we’ve had a big economic crisis that has required us to take some extraordinary steps. So we’re going to have to get control of our federal budget. We have to do it.

So it’s a legitimate question, but here’s what you need to know:

First of all, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits — either now or in the future. No ifs, ands, or buts. (Applause.) Part of the reason I faced these trillion-dollar deficits when I walked into the door of the White House is because there were a lot of initiatives over the last decade that weren’t paid for — from the Iraq war to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make the same mistake when it comes to health care. (Applause.)

Second of all, we’ve estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system — money that’s already being spent but spent badly, wasted and abused. Right now, too much of your taxpayer dollars and too much of your savings, frankly, are spent on health care that doesn’t make us healthier. That’s not my judgment — that is the judgment of medical experts and doctors and nurses — health care professionals all across the country. We love nurses. I love them. (Applause.)

As I said on Wednesday night, this is also true when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid. And Medicare is one of these issues that has been really distorted in the debate. So I want — I spoke directly to seniors on Wednesday; I want to repeat what I said. We have stood up for four decades for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with medical bills they can’t pay. (Applause.) That’s the essence of Medicare. That’s how Medicare was born. It remains a sacred trust. It needs to be passed on from one generation to the next.

That’s why not a dollar of the Medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan — not one dollar. (Applause.) We will not be lowering benefits for senior citizens. The only thing that we will be doing is eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud, as well as subsidies that are going to insurance company HMOs — (applause) — subsidies that pad their profits but don’t improve care.

The other thing we want to do is we want to create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years ahead. And that’s going to ensure that Americans, seniors, get the benefits that they’ve been promised. We’ll ensure that Medicare is there for future generations, and we can use some of the savings we get to actually fill the gap of costs on prescription drugs that so many seniors are struggling with. We can save them thousands of dollars on prescription drug costs. That’s what the plan will do for senior citizens. (Applause.)

So don’t pay attention to these scary stories about how your benefits will be cut. That will not happen on my watch. (Applause.) In fact, the folks who are making the accusations, they’re the ones who have been talking about cutting Medicare in the past. I will protect Medicare. (Applause.)

And here’s the best thing — and this is important, especially for Minnesota. Because Medicare is such a big part of the health care system, making that program more efficient can help usher in changes in the way that we deliver health care that reduces costs for everybody. We have long known that some places, including Minnesota, offer high-quality care at costs below average. (Applause.) Look at what the Mayo Clinic is able to do. It’s got the best quality and the lowest cost of just about any system in the country. (Applause.) So what we want to do is we want to help the whole country learn from what Mayo is doing. (Applause.) We want to help the whole country learn some of the good things that are going on in Minnesota. That will save everybody money.

The commission can help encourage the adoption of common-sense best practices — everything from reducing infection rates for hospitals to helping teach doctors how to work together so when you go to the doctor’s office, you don’t have to take a test each time you see a doctor; you take one test and they e-mail it to every doctor. Common-sense stuff like that. (Applause.)

Now, this is the plan I’m proposing. It incorporates ideas from Democrats and Republicans. And I’m going to keep on seeking common ground in the weeks ahead. And I’ve said to everybody in Congress, if you come to me with a set of serious proposals, I’m going to be there to listen and my door is going to be open. But I also said — some of you heard me on Wednesday night — I will not waste time with people who think that it’s just good politics to kill health care. (Applause.)

I’m not going to — I’m not going to allow the special interests to use the same old tactics to keep things the way they are. I’m not going to let people misrepresent what’s in my plan. (Applause.) I will not accept the status quo. (Applause.) Not this time. Not now.

Minnesota, we are closer to reform than we’ve ever been before, but this is the hard part. This is when the special interests and the insurance companies and the folks who think, you know, this is a good way to bring Obama down — (boos) — this is when they’re going to fight with everything they’ve got. This is when they’ll spread all kinds of wild rumors designed to scare and intimidate people. That’s why I need your help. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

THE PRESIDENT: You know, there have been — there have been some of the pundits in Washington who have been saying, well, maybe you’ve been trying to do too much.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: Maybe you’ve been pushing too far too fast.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: And I try to remind them, I said, listen, I never said change would be easy. (Applause.) Change is hard. It’s always been hard. When FDR — when FDR decided that Social Security was something that seniors needed — (applause) — when FDR decided — when FDR introduced Social Security, you know what happened? They called it socialism. But senior citizens decided that, you know what? If I’ve got some protection in my golden years, that’s something that’s worth fighting for. (Applause.) When Medicare — when Medicare was introduced as an idea, they said this is going to be a government takeover of Medicare. But imagine what seniors would be dealing with right now if they didn’t have Medicare. Every time we’ve made progress it’s because ordinary people banded together and they stood up and they said, we’ve got to make progress, and we’re going to push and we’re going to prod until Washington finally reacts, finally responds. (Applause.)

I’ve always believed — because I’ve always believed that change doesn’t come from the top down; it comes from the bottom up. It doesn’t start in Washington, D.C.; it begins in places like Minneapolis, it begins in places like St. Paul. (Applause.) It begins with you sharing your stories, fighting for something better. (Applause.) That’s how change happens. That’s what’s happening right now. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I asked you — I asked you at the beginning of the rally whether you were fired up. (Applause.) Some of you may have heard where that story comes from. But for those of you who don’t know, I want to just tell this story real quick. My staff loves this story, so they always tell me, “Tell that story.” (Laughter.) But it bears on what’s happening with health care today.

This is back at the beginning, when I was running for President. Nobody thought I could win; nobody could pronounce my name. (Laughter.) Nobody except R.T., that was the only person who believed. (Applause.)

So I went down to — it was right at the beginning of the campaign. I went down to South Carolina to a legislative conference where I was supposed to be one of the speakers. And I was sitting next to a state representative there — nobody was that excited to see me. (Laughter.) You know, I was — but I really needed some support and endorsements because South Carolina was an early state. So I said to this state representative, “Will you endorse my campaign?” And she looked at me and she said, “I will endorse your campaign if you come to my hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina.” So I had had some wine and I was feeling kind of desperate. (Laughter.) I said, “Yes, I’ll come to Greenwood. Be happy to do it.” Only to find out that Greenwood is like an hour and a half from everyplace else. (Laughter.) You can’t fly into Greenwood.

About a month later, I’ve been campaigning in Iowa for weeks — (applause) — haven’t seen my family — got some Iowa folks in the house? (Applause.) I’m exhausted. I get into Greenville, South Carolina, about midnight. I get to my hotel about 1:00 a.m. I’m dragging to the hotel. I’m carrying my bags, ready to hit the pillow. And suddenly my staff says, “Sir?” I said, “What?” (Laughter.) They said, “Sir, you have to be in the car at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow — in the morning.” (Laughter.) I said, “Why is that?” They said, “Because you’ve got to go to Greenwood like you promised.”

Next morning, I wake up and I feel awful, I feel terrible. I’m exhausted. And I stagger over to the window to pull open the blinds, and it’s pouring down rain outside, terrible day. I go out and I get some coffee and open up the newspaper — bad story about me in The New York Times. (Laughter.) I pack up, I go downstairs. As I’m walking to the car my umbrella blows open and I get drenched. (Laughter.) So by the time I’m in the car I’m wet and I’m sleepy and I’m mad. (Laughter.)

And I drive — and we drive and we drive and we drive — hour and a half, we just keep on driving. (Laughter.) Finally we get to Greenwood — although you don’t know that you’re in Greenwood right away. (Laughter.) It’s not like Minneapolis. (Laughter.) So there’s a little field house in a park, and we go into the field house, I walk in, I get a little more wet. I walk in — lo and behold, 20 people there. (Laughter.) Twenty people. And I’m already thinking about the fact I’ve got another hour and a half I’ve got to drive back. (Laughter.) And they’re all kind of damp and they don’t look like they’re that happy to be there. The state rep had dragged them to the meeting.

But that’s okay. I have a job to do. I’m running for President, I shake their hand, I say, “How do you do, what do you do, nice to meet you.” Suddenly I hear this voice should out behind me: “Fired up?” (Laughter.) And I almost jumped out of my shoes. (Laughter.) But everybody else acts like this is normal and they all say, “Fired up!” And then I hear this voice: “Ready to go?” And the people around me, they just say, “Ready to go!” I don’t know what’s going on. So I look behind me, and there’s this little woman there. She’s about 5′2″, 5′3″, she’s maybe 50, 60 years old. And she looks like she’s dressed for church. She’s got a big church hat. (Laughter.) And she’s just grinning at me, just smiling. And she points at me and she says “Fired up?” (Laughter and applause.)

Wait, wait, the story gets better here. It turns out that she is a city councilwoman from Greenwood named Edith Childs — that’s her name — and she’s also known as the chant lady because she does this chant wherever she goes. She goes, “Fired up?” “Fired up!” “Ready to go?” “Ready to go!” (Laughter.) And she does this at every event she goes to. She’s also, by the way, we discovered later, she also moonlights as a private detective but that’s a — (laughter) — true story. True story.

But she’s well known for her chant, so for the next five minutes, she starts chanting. She says, “Fired up?” And everybody says, “Fired up!” “Ready to go?” “Ready to go!” And this just keeps on going. And I realize I’m being upstaged by this woman. (Laughter.) And I’m — she’s getting all the attention, and I’m standing there looking at my staff and they’re shrugging their shoulders. (Laughter.) But here’s the thing, Minneapolis. After about a minute, maybe two, I’m feeling kind of fired up. (Laughter and applause.) I’m feeling — I’m feeling like I’m ready to go. (Applause.)

And so — so for the rest of the day, every time I saw my staff, I’d say, “Are you fired up?” They’d say, “I’m fired up.” “Are you ready to go?” They’d say, “I’m ready to go.” (Applause.) And it goes to show you how one voice can change a room. (Applause.) And if it changes a room it can change a city. And if it can change a city it can change a state. And if it can change a state it can change a nation. If it changes the nation it can change the world. (Applause.) It can bring health care to every American. It can lower our costs. It can make your insurance more secure. I want to know, Minnesota, are you fired up?

AUDIENCE: Fired up!

THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?

AUDIENCE: Ready to go!

THE PRESIDENT: Fired up?

AUDIENCE: Fired up!

THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?

AUDIENCE: Ready to go!

THE PRESIDENT: Fired up?

AUDIENCE: Fired up!

THE PRESIDENT: Ready to go?

AUDIENCE: Ready to go!

THE PRESIDENT: They can’t stop us. Let’s go get this done. Thank you, everybody. God bless you. (Applause.)