Obama Trying To Sell Obamacare To The Public; Senator Ted Cruz's Faux Filibuster
BLITZER: We're here at the United Nations watching what's going on but also, we're also watching what's happening elsewhere in Manhattan. Two presidents, a former president, a current president, they're having a dialogue right now on Obamacare. The former President Bill Clinton in effect interviewing the current president. I want to listen in, but also Ted Cruz, by the way, you see him at the bottom right hand part of your screen, the senator from Texas, he's on the Senate floor. He's really speaking out against Obamacare. He's getting some support from Marco Rubio, from Senator Rand Paul. We're going to listen in to him as well. But let's go listen to this unique conversation now between President Clinton and President Obama on Obamacare.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Providing health insurance for those who don't have it, to provide these health -- or these tax credits in the marketplace, and at the same time, because we're driving down costs, we actually end up saving a little money. It is a net reduction of our deficit. The irony of those who are talking about repealing Obamacare because it's so wildly expensive is if they actually repeal the law, it would add to the deficit. It would add to the deficit. Now there have been a couple of Republicans in the House who have been smart enough to say we're going to repeal all the benefits so the -- you know, 20, 25, 30 million people don't get health insurance, but we're going to keep the taxes that Obama raised. We just won't talk about that. And that in that way we can say we reduced the deficit. But, you know, obviously, you're doing some funny business there with the budget. But look, nothing is free. The bottom line, though, is, do we want to continue to live in a society where we've got the most inefficient health care system on earth, leaving millions of people exposed to the possibilities that they could lose everything because they get sick, or we've got little children and families going to the emergency room once a week because they got asthma and other preventable diseases because their families aren't linked up with a primary care physician who is providing them regular care. Where the costs to society for reduced productivity, illnesses, et cetera, all burden our businesses. Is that the kind of society we aspire to? I think the answer is no. And the notion that we would resist or at least some would resist as fiercely as they would or as they have, make this their number one agenda, is perpetuating a system in which millions of people across the country, hard-working Americans, don't have access to health care, I think is wrong.</s>BILL CLINTON, CLINTON INITIATIVE: The --</s>OBAMA: Everybody, sign up. Go to healthcare.gov. Thank you very much.</s>CLINTON: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: All right. It's not something you see every single day. The former president, Bill Clinton, the current president, Barack Obama, they're here in New York City. They were just talking for almost an hour or so about the Obamacare initiative which is coming under fierce, fierce criticism, even as they were speaking, on the Senate floor. Senator Ted Cruz, the freshman senator from Texas, he has been railing and railing and railing against it. He's getting some support from a few Republican senators, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, but not many others, at least not yet. We'll see what happens. We're going to continue to monitor that effort on the Senate floor to derail Obamacare, but it's clearly not going anywhere in the Senate. They'll pass legislation approving funding for the government, send it back to the House of Representatives. We'll see what happens in the House. The deadline coming up. If there's no resolution passed, the government will stop funding huge chunks of the government by Monday morning. This weekend will be critical indeed. We'll have full analysis of that. We're also watching what's happening in this U.S.-Iranian relationship in the aftermath of President Obama's speech this morning and now President Rouhani of Iran speech just now. Lots of news happening. We'll continue our special coverage from here at the United Nations right after this.