Don’t believe it? Just search out a few right wing blogs. They are still celebrating.

(For those who are unable to view the video from Hulu, the video from NBC has been added following the break.)

The only Republican to vote in favor of health care for Americans was Representative Joseph Cao of Louisiana.

39 Democrats and 176 Republicans have a lot of explaining to do.

It has been a long day and night. More tomorrow. Goodnight.

Statement of President Barack Obama on House Passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act

Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.

Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.

UPDATE:

Here are the 39 Democrats who voted against health care for Americans. If your representative is on this list, you probably should get on the phone to him or her and demand a very good explanation.

* Jason Altmire (PA)
John Adler (NJ)
Rick Boucher (VA)
Allen Boyd (FL)
Brian Baird (WA)
* John Barrow (GA)
* Dan Boren (OK)
* John Boccieri (OH)
* Bobby Bright (AL)
* Ben Chandler (KY)
* Travis Childers (MS)
* Lincoln Davis (TN)
* Artur Davis (AL)
Chet Edwards (TX)
* Bart Gordon (TN)
* Parker Griffith (AL)
* Tim Holden (PA)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD)
Dennis J. Kucinich (OH)
Larry Kissell (NC)
Suzanne Kosmas (FL)
Frank Kratovil Jr. (MD)
* Mike McIntyre (NC)
* Jim Matheson (UT)
* Jim Marshall (GA)
* Charlie Melancon (LA)
Betsy Markey (CO)
Eric Massa (NY)
Michael E. McMahon (NY)
Walt Minnick (ID)
Scott Murphy (NY)
Glenn Nye (VA)
* Collin C. Peterson (MN)
* Mike Ross (AR)
* Ike Skelton (MO)
* Heath Shuler (NC)
* John Tanner (TN)
* Gene Taylor (MS)
* Harry Teague (NM)

Those representatives with an asterisk preceding their name have an extra level of explaining to do. They voted in favor of the Stupak-Pitts (anti-women’s rights) amendment and then proceeded to vote against the health care bill.

How in the world do you answer a poll like that?
 

In this week’s address, President Barack Obama expressed his sadness for the tragedy at Fort Hood and praised the selfless valor of those who came to the aid of the wounded. While we mourn the heartbreaking violence, we should honor the heroism of the soldiers and civilians who rushed to help their comrades. That is the heroism which makes the U.S. military the finest in the world.

Watch the video of the President’s address below or read the full text, as prepared for delivery, after the break.

Click below to listen to the audio only:

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
Saturday, November 7, 2009

I’d like to speak with you for a few minutes today about the tragedy that took place at Ft. Hood. This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, and began shooting his fellow soldiers.

It is an act of violence that would have been heartbreaking had it occurred anyplace in America. It is a crime that would have horrified us had its victims been Americans of any background. But it’s all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.

The SRP is where our men and women in uniform go before getting deployed. It’s where they get their teeth checked and their medical records updated and make sure everything is in order before getting shipped out. It was in this place, on a base where our soldiers ought to feel most safe, where those brave Americans who are preparing to risk their lives in defense of our nation, lost their lives in a crime against our nation.

Soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world called and emailed loved ones at Ft. Hood, all expressing the same stunned reaction: I’m supposed to be the one in harm’s way, not you.

Thursday’s shooting was one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base. And yet, even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.

We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad; skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.

We saw the valor, selflessness, and unity of purpose that make our servicemen and women the finest fighting force on Earth; that make the United States military the best the world has ever known; and that make all of us proud to be Americans.

On Friday, I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime. And I’ll continue to be in close contact with them as new information comes in.

We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing. But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every single one of the men and women who were injured at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who’ve lost a loved one in this national tragedy. And our thoughts are with all the Americans who wear – or who’ve worn – the proud uniform of the United States of America; our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen, and the military families who love and support them.

In tribute to those who fell at Ft. Hood, I’ve ordered flags flying over the White House, and other federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff from now until Veterans Day next Wednesday. Veterans Day is our chance to honor those Americans who’ve served on battlefields from Lexington to Antietam, Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Ramadi to Kandahar.

They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other. What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion, and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Ft. Hood showed America and showed the world.

These are the men and women we honor today. These are the men and women we’ll honor on Veterans Day. And these are the men and women we shall honor every day, in times of war and times of peace, so long as our nation endures.

As always, our thanks go to the talented and observant cartoonists who, each week, help us smile through the pain.

Bonus video (in which Jon Stewart channels Glenn Beck):

Here is the text of the President’s remarks:

THE PRESIDENT: Hey! Hello, everybody. Please sit down. Good afternoon, everybody. I wanted to come down and just talk a little bit about health care before Robert gives his regular briefing.

I am extraordinarily pleased and grateful to learn that the AARP and the American Medical Association are both supporting the health insurance reform bill that will soon come up to a vote in the House of Representatives.

When it comes to the AARP, this is no small endorsement. For more than 50 years, they have been a leader in the fight to reduce the cost of health care and expand coverage for our senior citizens. They are a non-partisan organization, and their board made their decision to endorse only after a careful, intensive, objective scrutiny of this bill. They’re endorsing this bill because they know it will strengthen Medicare, not jeopardize it. They know it will protect the benefits our seniors receive, not cut them. So I want everybody to remember that the next time you hear the same tired arguments to the contrary from the insurance companies and their lobbyists. And remember this endorsement the next time you see a bunch of misleading ads on television.

The AARP knows this bill will make health care more affordable. They know it will make coverage more secure. They know it’s a good deal for our seniors. And that’s why we’re thrilled that they’re standing up for this effort.

The same is true for the doctors and medical professionals who are supporting this bill today. These are men and women who know our health care system best and have been watching this debate closely. They would not be supporting it if they really believed that it would lead to government bureaucrats making decisions that are best left to doctors. They would not be with us if they believed that reform would in any way damage the critical and sacred doctor-patient relationship.

Instead, they’re supporting reform because they’ve seen firsthand what’s broken about our health care system. They’ve seen what happens when patients can’t get the care they need because some insurance company has decided to drop their coverage or water it down. They’ve seen what happens when a patient is forced to pay out-of-pocket costs of thousands of dollars that she doesn’t have to get the treatment she desperately needs. They’ve seen what happens when patients don’t come in for regular check-ups or screenings because either their insurance company doesn’t cover them or they can’t afford health insurance in the first place. And they’ve seen far, far too much of their time spent filling out forms and haggling with insurance company bureaucrats.

So the doctors of America know what needs to be fixed about our health care system. They know that health insurance reform would go a long way toward doing that.

We are closer to passing this reform than ever before. And now that the doctors and medical professionals of America are standing with us; now that the organizations charged with looking out for the interests of seniors are standing with us, we are even closer.

I want to thank both organizations again for their support, and I urge Congress to listen to AARP, listen to the AMA, and pass this reform for hundreds of millions of Americans who will benefit from it. Thank you.

A very good question from the White House website: Ask yourself who you trust to tell the truth on reform and on your health – these massive organizations of doctors and seniors throwing their support behind it, or the health insurance industry, their lobbyists, and their handmaidens coming out against it.

The Republicans organized a protest rally in D.C. today against the health care bill. As I watched coverage of this “impromptu” rally, I was struck by the fact that most of these people actually know nothing about what they are protesting. To them, this is pure politics. As conservatives, they feel it its their duty to oppose anything supported by Democrats. It is their hatred and ignorance shining through and nothing more. They could actually care less about the people who are dying daily because they lack adequate health insurance or who are one illness removed from financial ruin. The really sad part of this whole thing is that many of those people who were “protesting” today could easily fall into either of those categories and they don’t care. They really don’t care. The only thing that matters to them is their hatred of President Obama and the Democrats. They are willing to sacrifice their own health or that of their families to keep that hatred alive.

UPDATE: It’s kind of amazing (though not really) that Republican Minority Leader John Boehner does not know the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution…

Can you not imagine the screams of indignation that would be emanating from the right had a (group of) Democrat(s) shown this degree of ignorance?
 

Congratulations to the folks in the 23rd Congressional District of New York. They dealt a serious blow to the extremist right wing of the Republican party (led by the likes of Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh) and elected a Democrat to represent them in Congress for the first time since Reconstruction.

And, finally, deepest sympathies to the people of the state of Maine. Big money religion mythology, bigotry and discrimination won the day in their state as they overturned their Legislature and Governor and repealed a law granting equal rights to all their citizens. They cannot be happy this morning.

P.S. On a much more pleasant note, it appears that Referendum 71 is headed for victory in Washington state.
 

Just a little something to add to your list of things for which you should be grateful as the Thanksgiving season approaches.