CNN "Larry King Live" - Transcript

Interview

CNN "Larry King Live" - Transcript

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KING: We'll go now to the town hall meeting in Chicago with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. Democrat of Illinois. He's just wrapped up that meeting.

Congressman, your spokesman, Ken Edmonds, said you were going into this meeting expecting the best, prepared for the worst.

What did you get?

REP. JESSE JACKSON, JR. (D), ILLINOIS: A civilized crowd, as is the people of the Second Congressional District on the South Side of Chicago. It was a thoughtful conversation about -- about health care for all Americans. There was broad-based support for the president's plan -- broad-based support for President Barack Obama's public option. And they want the president of the United States to remain firm on the question of the public option as the only method to take private insurers and bring down costs and help save the system and provide options for the American people.

KING: Congressman, if it didn't have that option, would you vote against it in the House?

JACKSON: A hundred and sixty members of Congress have already signed a letter indicating that without a strong public option, from their perspective, including my signature, that this bill is a non- starter. I mean, the idea that 47 million Americans have no form of health insurance whatsoever and the idea that we would create a public option to help bring down costs is something that should be broadly accepted by the American people.

It is a market-based plan. It is a market-based solution. It's not socialized medicine.

Look at it this way, Larry. There's Federal Express, there's UPS and there's DHL. The public option is a stamp. It's e-mail. And because of the e-mail system and because of the post office, it keeps DHL from charging $100 for an overnight letter or UPS from charging $100 for an overnight letter.

Because of the public option, some of us don't have a problem buying a stamp rather than going that route. But without the public option, in terms of health care, we will continue the same system that leaves 47 million Americans uncovered.

KING: Is -- is the president working the House enough?

Is he working Congress enough?

JACKSON: Well, what I think the president has set out to do -- and I hope he will continue to do -- is to build a more perfect union for all Americans. And that's a very difficult concept. No one said that the concept profit building a more perfect union would be easy.

All citizens should enjoy the right to health care of equal high quality. He needs to stay right there. There should be no difference between a homeless person and someone who's working or someone who's affluent and someone who's in between their jobs. Everyone deserves a health care of equal high quality. And H.R. 3200 is the first step in that direction. It will not be the end of this debate, but it is a significant step in the right direction.

KING: And are we going to get a new law by the end of November?

JACKSON: Well, that's our hope. This has been a very difficult August for members of Congress. And so I'm sure many of them will be coming back to Washington having heard from their constituents, in more ways than, I'm sure, many of them wanted to hear during the summer recess. And I hope that they will bring some of those thoughtful moments and some of that thoughtful impact from their constituents back to, ultimately, a piece of legislation that will be broad, that will cover every American and will put some parts of this debate behind us once and for all.

What I do know is that a lot of political capital by the president, the administration, by the Congress, has been spent on this debate. And what we cannot do is have a bill that leaves Congress that does not cover everyone. We should put this debate behind us once and for all.

KING: Thanks, Jesse.

We'll be calling on you again. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. At a town hall in Chicago.

Three more doctors coming. Congressman Ron Paul -- he's a doctor; Dr. Paul Song, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, write their prescriptions for health care next.

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