So when folks with a stake in the status quo keep inventing these boogeymen in an effort to scare people, it’s disappointing, but it’s not surprising.  We’ve seen it before.  When President Roosevelt was working to create Social Security, opponents warned it would open the door to "federal snooping" and force Americans to wear dog tags.  When President Kennedy and President Johnson were working to create Medicare, opponents warned of "socialized medicine."  Sound familiar?  Not only were those fears never realized, but more importantly, those programs have saved the lives of tens of millions of seniors, the disabled, and the disadvantaged....

Nearly fifty years ago, in the midst of the noisy early battles to create what would become Medicare, President Kennedy said, "I refuse to see us live on the accomplishments of another generation.  I refuse to see this country, and all of us, shrink from these struggles which are our responsibility in our time."  Now it falls to us to meet the challenges of our time.  And if we can come together, and listen to one another; I believe, as I always have, that we will rise to this moment, we will build something better for our children, and we will secure America’s future in this new century.

Barack Obama,   (Town Hall Meeting, Bozeman Montana,   8-14-09)