Continuing his week-long push to reassure the nation his health care initiatives are plausible, President Barack Obama visited Shaker Heights, Ohio where he addressed about 2,000 people in a health care town hall.

President Obama takes questions from an audience of about 2,000 at Shaker Heights High School, in Ohio.

Obama’s hour-long speech and question and answer session outlined many details of his plans for health care reform, and the president’s vocalized commitment seeing that the efforts not be in vain earned him near-constant applause.

In both his speech, as well as the question and answer session, Obama clarified many of the specifics behind his health care plans, easing the worries of many in attendance.

Obama responded to concerns that his plan attempts too much too soon, and cleared up any confusion of what his ideal timetable for the health care bill is.

“Our target date is to get this done by the fall,” Obama said.

“Let me just be clear, if there’s not a deadline in Washington, nothing happens. Nothing ever happens.” Obama said.

The president clarified that he hopes to see a version of the current health care reform bill on his desk by August, not that he wants to have all changes implemented by that time.

“It’s not as if you’re going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly the health care system is all changed completely,” he said. “We are going to phase this in, in an intelligent, deliberate way.”

Obama’s high school appearance was the second stop during his trip to Cleveland. After arriving around 9 am, Obama met with directors of the Cleveland Clinic, one of the premiere health facilities in the country.

“The reason I visited the Cleveland Clinic is because, along with the Mayo Clinic, they have been able to drive down costs more than any other health care system out there, while maintaining some of the highest quality.”

Numerous regional and state level politicians and community leaders were in attendance, including Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones and Rev. Marvin McMickle.

Notable absent was Ohio’s Lt. Gov. and Shaker Heights resident Lee Fisher, who, according to Shaker School District Superindent Mark Freeman was busy at a campaign event for his upcoming senate primary against Brunner.

Unsurprisingly, the audience was overwhelmingly supportive of both Obama and his proposals. Shaker Heights is part of Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, which includes the city of Cleveland and is arguable the most liberal region of the state.

“We love you, Barack…” shouted an unidentified woman early in his speech, to which Obama replied, “I love you back.”

This was one of many of the afternoon’s lighter moments, some of which were initiated by the president.

“Is that the air-conditioning?” asked Obama as a loud banging noise interrupted his speech. “That’s good. It’s a little warm…”

Significantly enough, the nation’s first African American president chose Shaker Heights High School as the location for his Cleveland address. Not only does the high school have an African American principal, but it was one of only three in the country to desegregate before the U.S. Supreme Court mandated it.

The president called on a number of young people during the question and answer session.

Shaker Heights High School Senior Class President Brandon Patterson asks Obama about uninsuried young Americans.

Shaker Heights High School student Brandon Patterson, the senior class president, noted that Americans age 19-29 are the largest demographic of uninsured, and asked Obama what efforts are being made to guarantee that young Americans have health coverage.

“Anybody would be eligible to go ahead and get health insurance… with help from the federal government if you can’t afford it, so that you’ll still be able to get health insurance even if you’re 20 or 21 or 22 as long as you’re eligible financially,” Obama explained.

“The whole idea is that we’re creating a system where anybody who doesn’t have health insurance is able to go and look up and see these choices.”

For the event’s final question Obama called on yet another Shaker Heights High School student, this time an incoming freshman,  14-year-old Parker Smith.

“How can you assure many Americans around the country that your health care proposal isn’t too much too fast?” Smith asked.

Obama said that his proposal would not completely dismantle the current health care system, rather, his plan will give people alternatives to an ineffective status quo.

“We’ve been talking about health care reform since the days of Harry Truman. How can it be too soon?” Obama asked.

“What we’re talking about is not completely scrapping the existing health care system. All we’re saying is, if you’ve got health insurance, you can keep it. If you don’t have health insurance, you can now afford to buy it with some help.”

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