2009

Death of Senator Edward Kennedy on 25 August reignites progressive commitment to health care reform after summer of right-wing demagoguery (“death panels,” loss of Medicare benefits) against the Affordable Care Act. Obama read letter from Kennedy in his 9 September health care address to Congress: “What we face is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country” (Starr, 220-222).