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Former President Obama on Friday called "Medicare for all" a "good" idea during a speech in Illinois where he launched his midterm campaign efforts for Democrats. "Democrats aren't just running on good, old ideas like a higher minimum wage. They're running on good, new ideas like Medicare for all," Obama said. (Hellmann, 9/7)

“They’re sabotaging the Affordable Care Act, already cost more than 3 million Americans their health insurance,” Obama said in a wide-ranging speech that also criticized the Trump administration‘s policies. “And if they’re still in power next fall, you better believe they're coming at it again. They’ve said so.” The remarks at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign launched Obama's midterm campaigning and drew attention to calls for universal health coverage, a cause that has rallied progressives in congressional races and statewide initiatives. (Demko, 9/7)

Two months before Election Day, some Republicans have embraced an unexpected new way to attack Democratic candidates: The party of Medicare for All, they charge, actually wants to take away Medicare from senior citizens. It’s an attack Democrats hotly contest, dismissing it as proof positive the GOP is failing to find a winning message in a challenging political climate. (Roarty and Glueck, 9/7)

The president is wrong on both claims: that Democrats plan to deplete Medicare and Social Security and that the two society safety nets are “stronger” under his administration. First, not only has Mr. Trump failed to strengthen Medicare and Social Security, the financial outlook for both trusts has largely worsened. That’s at least partly the result of Mr. Trump’s tax law that is collecting fewer taxes from Americans and, in turn, investing less money into each program. (Qiu, 9/7)