President Obama is 'westward, ho' with health care town meetings in Montana and Colorado... Even as "end of life counseling" provision is removed, Palin continues criticism of health care reform... Bill Clinton says GOP wants Democrats "to fail" on health care... The president will be making one last push to boost support for health care reform this weekend before he goes on vacation. Today, he holds his second of three health care town meetings this afternoon in an airplane hangar at the Belgrade, Montana airport; tomorrow, he's in Grand Junction, Colo.
"During a multi-state trip to national parks with his wife and daughters, Obama will speak and take questions in Montana and Colorado to try to convince Americans that the massive reform plan his top domestic policy priority -- is necessary to fix a broken system and push back against conservatives who say he wants a government takeover," reports Reuters' Patricia Zengerle.
"The two 'town hall' meetings on Friday and Saturday will be Obama's second and third such events within less than a week, after a meeting in New Hampshire on Tuesday. They come as poll numbers reflect concern about the U.S. budget deficit and Republicans contend that the plan would be an expensive mistake, especially as the country tries to emerge from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."
Protestors have promised to "greet" Mr. Obama in Montana, however, given that today's event is adjacent to a tarmac, it's safe to say he'll be nowhere near the protestors. In order to be heard, however, opponents are trying to score some tickets to the actual event, reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle's Daniel Person.
"Tea party protesters have reserved a spot off of Frontage Road to hold a rally, said organizer Henry Kriegel, but he said those sharing their anti-big-government views plan to attend the meeting. 'People who are not supporters of health care reform will definitely try to obtain a ticket and definitely try to ask a question,' he said.
"Kriegel said he would like someone to ask Obama about how his reform would affect accessibility of health care in the United States and what affect the increased government spending on health care will have on the worth of American currency.
"Kriegel said he expects “thousands” to turn out for the tea party protest.""Democrats in that state are furiously recruiting the party faithful to turn out at his event, which is scheduled to take place in a suburb of Bozeman," writes the Washington Post's Anne E. Kornblut.
"Demonstrators are targeting Obama's appearance as their most high-profile opportunity yet to make their case against a plan they perceive to be a government takeover of the nation's health-care system. "Worried about the potential for a harsh reception, the Montana Democratic Party sent an e-mail to supporters Thursday urging them to show up Friday.
"'Last fall, when Swiftboaters and special interests attacked President Obama, folks like you came to his defense,' wrote Anna Gustina, who was the 2008 state director of Organizing for America, a grass-roots arm of the Obama presidential campaign. 'We knocked on doors, talked to neighbors, and made our voices heard. Now, we need to do it again.'"
"Perhaps no region of the country better illustrates Barack Obama's political vulnerabilities than the mountain West, a region traditionally wary of the federal government," the Associated Press' Liz Sidoti and Kristen Wyatt add. "He's hoping to ease some of those concerns in a Western swing blending town hall appearances and visits to national parks beginning Friday.
"Democrats have made recent election inroads in the region by successfully courting independents, Republican crossovers and conservative-to-moderate loyalists in their own party. But it's these very voters gun owners, civil libertarians, private property advocates — who seem to be turning away from the president across the country because of deep-seated concerns about expanding government and soaring budget deficits."