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On Monday, President Obama stepped up to the podium in Washington D.C. to discuss issues surrounding the rather slow Obamacare (or more formally, the Affordable Care Act) website.
After he’d been speaking for nearly 30 minutes, pregnant female supporter Karmel Allison, standing behind him, began to lose her balance. The president noticed the situation while looking over his shoulder and turned to assist her, saying, “You’re OK. I’m right here. I got you.”
Obama jokingly added: “This happens when I talk too long.”
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A White House aide quickly escorted Allison offstage as Obama continued with his speech, which ended shortly thereafter.
“But that’s always our goal, to free families from the pervasive fear that one illness or one injury might cost you everything that you dedicated a lifetime to build. Our goal has always been to declare that in this country the security of healthcare is not a privilege for a fortunate few, it’s a right for all to enjoy,” Obama said before concluding his speech. “That’s its promise. And I intend to deliver on that promise. Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you.”
Allison, a biologist from San Diego who suffers from type 1 diabetes, later posted on Twitter to thank the president: “I’m OK world — just got a little lightheaded. Thanks, ?@BarackObama for catching me! And good thing this pregnant diabetic is pregnant :).”
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Obamacare, which saw support from Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Jennifer Hudson, Katy Perry, Amy Poehler, Michael Cera and Jason Derulo before it rolled out on Oct. 1, is aimed at helping more Americans gain access to affordable health insurance.
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