Obamarama: taking questions in town hall meeting

We need to restore a sense of justice in our economic lives and our social lives ... why must senior citizens have to take only half their prescriptions? It's a violation of the spirit of justice. Underpaid teachers, children who can't afford college ... that's a violation of the spirit of justice. Families who can't afford health care ... that's a violation of the spirit of justice.

I just want to make sure that everyone understands that while I am discussing Israel, I want to talk about this country and how we can make America fair for everyone.

Now questions: these questions have not been pre-screened. I want the toughest questions available. "We're gonna go boy-girl-boy-girl, though ..."

Question:
"The first 15 years ... I was all over eastern Europe. I can't stand the hate. Someone told me, 'if Barack Obama would change his name to Barry, I would vote for him!' "

"Let's face it: part of what raises concerns is that you've got a black guy named Barack Obama. My father was from Kenya. 'Barack' means the same as 'Baruch' - one who's blessed. It's the same Semitic root -- the same source. My father was basically agnostic as far as I can tell, and I was raised by my mother, who was from Kansas. I was called 'Barry,' but then I felt it was important to acknowledge my other side and I started going by 'Barack.' Israel has had a prime minister named 'Barak' ... you should be familiar with that name."

Question:
"Please clean up health care ... I'm losing my house, I have a mother with Alzheimer's .... I would like to see common sense come back to government."

"Let me talk about health care ... this is a crisis we've been talking about for decades. We've been talking about universal health care since Harry Truman. We are the only advanced, industrialized nation that doesn't offer universal health care. It's scandalous.

People have a deductible so high that it becomes catastrophic insurance -- insurance for your house, but you never go to the doctor. This is costly, and not only is it bad for the quality of life, but it's costing taxpayers exorbitant amounts of money.

So: if you've got health care already through your employer, you can keep it, and we will work to lower premiums by a catastrophic health care plan. If you don't have it, you can buy into a plan like that we have in Congress, and you can be subsidized if need be. No exclusions for preexisting conditions, and we'll emphasize prevention, which will save money in the system -- up to $150 billion that we then use to provide care for people who don't have it.

Sen. Clinton's plan is a good plan ... the key is how do we get it done? How do we get it past the special interests, the drug companies, the insurance companies? That's why I said I wouldn't take money from federal lobbyists and PACs. But we need to build a coalition that will finally get this done. We can have a legitimate debate about how it will get done, but it's not effective to say that we'll let the market forces determine it.

Medicare: let's negotiate with drug companies for the cheapest possible care."