I’ll admit at the outset that my lack of enthusiasm for the choice of Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany is based solely upon the feelings I get when I think of the last rebuttal offered by a politician from Louisiana. Now its not Boustany’s fault that Governor Jindal’s act tanked miserably on the national stage, but I am still less than ecstatic about the choice. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and he clearly has the credentials to talk about healthcare as a cardiovascular surgeon, but does he have the gravitas and charisma to follow the Chosen One?
Fox News posted an excerpt from an official statement released by the Congressman. ”As a doctor, I know we must lower costs and improve care, which we can accomplish by focusing on strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and working in a bipartisan way,” Boustany said in a written statement.
“Health care is a kitchen table issue that affects all Americans, and I believe we need an honest discussion about how we come together to fix what’s broken, while building on what works. That’s why I’m pleased the president will speak to Congress tomorrow night, and I look forward to presenting commonsense reforms that Republicans and all Americans can stand behind,” he said.
At the end of the day, these rebuttals are usually rather mundane and often overlooked; but when they are bad they are catastrophic. Republicans may not have many more chances to take their case to the country in the days before the Obama plan is rolled out; and they can hardly allow this opportunity for a dialogue with the American people go to waste.
Just a clip but I’m not sold that we have a winner here, but lets hope I’m wrong.
[...] all of us that said future may be an unfavorable one. He was given the opportunity to offer the Republican response to President Obama’s first speech before a Joint Session of Congress, and lets just say it [...]
[...] all of us that said future may be an unfavorable one. He was given the opportunity to offer the Republican response to President Obama’s first speech before a Joint Session of Congress, and lets just say it [...]