Senate Democrats Upset that Obama did not Wave Magic Wand to Pass Health Care Reform
There are times when I feel sorry for the Obama White House. No, not for the president’s typical complaints about the problems he “inherited” or the criticism he’s endured, but this time for the expectations his fellow partisans have the attacks they’ve unleashed when he’s failed to meet them. Democrats are behaving as if he really is the person they’ve portrayed him to be.
As if riding into town on his pink unicorn, he can wave his magic wand and make popular legislation that doesn’t sit well with the American people. To be sure, he enables such criticism by saying his biggest mistake was not doing a better job explaining his proposals.
A line caught me in an article on Al Franken’s latest temper tantrum. At least, this time, the former funny man is not venting his spleen on his ideological adversaries. This time, he’s taking one of Obama’s right-hand, er left-hand, men to task:
Democratic senators are frustrated that the White House hasn’t done more to win over the public on health care reform and other aspects of its ambitious agenda — and angry that, in the wake of Scott Brown’s win in the Massachusetts Senate race, the White House hasn’t done more to chart a course for getting a health care bill to the president’s desk.
In his public session with the senators Wednesday, Obama urged them to “finish the job” on health care but did not lay out a path for doing so. That uncertainty appeared to trigger Franken’s anger, and the sources in the room said he laid out his concerns much more directly than any senator did in the earlier public session.
The private session was set up in a panel format, with Axelrod joined at the front of the room by Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine and Democratic strategist Paul Begala.
Did you catch the same thing I caught? No, not about the directness of Franken’s laying out which, given Franken’s record, is probably a euphemism for tart-tongued attack. It was in the very first line of the quote–about Democrats frustrated that the White House hasn’t done more to win over public opinion.
Huh? Huh?
This White House hasn’t done more to win over public opinion? What? Have they missed that infomercial on ABC? The HCAN ads? The president’s speeches and town hall meetings? His interviews with the news media? His flacks hitting the airwaves any chance they get?
This White House has done just about everything possible to win over public opinion. The only thing more he could have done was wave a magic wand to make the American people want the costly reforms the Democrats were proposing. The problem wasn’t the salesmanship; the problem simply put was that the public just didn’t want what the Administration was selling.
You can fault this Administration–and this president– for a lot of things, but for not doing enough to sell health care, well, that’s just ludicrous. Considering that they came within inches of passing legislation which was taking on public opposition faster than the Titanic took on water is some feat.
It’s not the White House Democrats should be blaming, it’s the idea. The American people just don’t want the federal government running our health care system.
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Yeah, what a strange premise. As if Obama isn’t already overexposed – as if most people in the middle aren’t already well sick of him. And as if all He had to do was explain Himself better to us dumb hicks clinging bitterly to our guns and religions.
But there is something the White House could have done to win people over: Propose constructive free-market reforms that have a chance in real life of reducing costs and expenditures. But (1) Obama is incapable of that, and (2) Franken would have been none too happy if Obama had.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — February 5, 2010 @ 1:19 am - February 5, 2010
ILC, what a perfect rejoinder to my rhetorical question.
Well done, very well done.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — February 5, 2010 @ 1:23 am - February 5, 2010
No matter what it is, Democrats always think Bigger is Better…. For example: The bigger the smile the more they think we like them…The bigger the lie the more they think we trust them … The bigger the cost the more they think we need them… So it only stands to reason…. The bigger the unemployment rate the more we need to get rid of them.
Comment by Spartann — February 5, 2010 @ 1:49 am - February 5, 2010
I agree with Franken here. I think Obama’s big mistake so far has been to buy into the meme that his opponents spread – that he was somehow “overexposed”. Of course they say that – they would rather he stay on the sidelines. But the fact is that he needed to be more outfront, publicly laying out his own standards of what should be in the bill, and explaining it to the people. By failing to do so, he allowed all the crazy lies, like death panels and the like, to get some traction.
Comment by Tano — February 5, 2010 @ 2:14 am - February 5, 2010
to Tano….
you know that..I know that ….the whole world knows that….the only problem is, Obama isn’t capable of doing that …….. sure he’s a good talker, but he’s not cut from the same cloth Chief Executive Officers are made of……… you elected a professional shit stirrer not a professional steerer of ships……….. Big difference my friend.
Comment by Spartann — February 5, 2010 @ 2:34 am - February 5, 2010
He admitted there were death panels, he admitted everything we said was in there was true. I am sick of these people who are in such denial they appear delusional. Is that the act? Is that the shtick? Is this written in the liberal play book? If it is snap out of it!! This ship is sinking fast, there’s people that are dead and drowning and you people are playing word games. That’s just plain evil.
Comment by jann — February 5, 2010 @ 3:43 am - February 5, 2010
Yes! But Democrats have to blame the messenger, or the stupidity of the audience. If they are forced to admit it was their idea that failed, they would have to admit that the reason Obama and the Democrats are so incredibly unpopular right now is that America is utterly rejecting “progressivism” itself!
Comment by American Elephant — February 5, 2010 @ 4:22 am - February 5, 2010
Obama only laid out what he wanted in the health care proposals and then turned the actually crafting over the ship of fools known as Congress. The Enlightened One, the “One We’ve Been Waiting For” knows nothing about how to get things done in Washington and cares less. He actually thinks that all he has to do is say and it will be done. Obama doesn’t know yet just HOW hard life is going to become for him. How long before he cuts and runs just as he’s done in all previous “jobs”?
Comment by Mary — February 5, 2010 @ 8:39 am - February 5, 2010
Excuse my incurable ignorance, but I seem to recall that this “plan” wandered all over the place. It was going to insure the uninsured. It was going reduce medical costs to everyone. It was going to bring the high quality coverage that Congress enjoys to the least among us. It was going to lower the deficit. It was going to tame and punish the ugly beast insurance companies. Access to miracle medicines would not be limited by high costs. Pre-existing conditions were never to affect access or cost of coverage. You could keep your doctor.
Then, it turned out that it would cover up to a third of the uninsured and the rest could rot for reasons unexplained. You could keep your doctor if you could afford to buy him. Everyone would have to buy the insurance or pay a penalty. Not all services would be available to everyone if your age was such that your productive service was not useful to society as a whole. Medicare would be cut drastically. Abortion would be funded. Unions and others could keep high quality existing plans, but the common slug would have to pay a usurious tax of 40% to keep such a plan. The deficit would continue to be reduced under advanced bookkeeping shenanigans.
And now the Democrats have formed a circular firing squad and the firing has commenced.
Obama announced that managing Israel was harder than he anticipated. Hillary has just told Iran that she is not going to talk to them about their rocket into space trick. So it appears that all that chit-chat diplomacy has matured into the realities Bush dealt with.
Obama said the Clintons screwed up by rushing health care and building it behind closed doors. Then he did the exact same thing. Obama talked a lot about what was in his plan, but to this exact moment, there is no such plan. His plan is to have a plan. And like Israel and Iran he has discovered that the Mussolini chin in air and the klieg lighting just don’t cut it. His attention span has been sorely tried and things are a lot harder than he thought they would be.
So, he votes “present” and gets back on the campaign trail and talks about himself. Meanwhile, America has stopped listening. They have seen what is in the pot at the end of The Won’s rainbow and it isn’t gold.
Comment by heliotrope — February 5, 2010 @ 8:42 am - February 5, 2010
Wow!
I sort of agree with heliotrope!
Obama let the senate control the debate and thus losers like Bacus and leiberman “owned” health care.
Should have been the other way around. That way they didn’t have to take the political heat on their own and it would be on his shoulders.
Its the biggest disastor that has hit the dem party.
Hopefully the job numbers will continue to go down, the economy improve and we can get our 60 back!!!
Comment by gillie — February 5, 2010 @ 9:07 am - February 5, 2010
Job numbers continue to go down gillie? Really. We lost another 20 thousand jobs in January but the rate drops to 9.7% Interesting math in the Labor Department. The only reason the rate has dropped is because hundreds of thousands additional have given up looking for work and the Labor Department manipulates the rate by dropping those out of the base. Shame on you.
Comment by John in Dublin CA — February 5, 2010 @ 9:25 am - February 5, 2010
So Obama is a Big Fat Idiot? Is he a Lying Liar?
Comment by Ashpenaz — February 5, 2010 @ 9:49 am - February 5, 2010
to Ashpenaz…..
I see you worship at the altar of Al Franken, but that’s your problem…..and my answer to your question is, “yes and no” …yes because his polices make no sense….but no because there’s no way they could have..
Comment by Spartann — February 5, 2010 @ 12:04 pm - February 5, 2010
Actually, I was mocking Franken. He may learn that we have a bigger, fatter idiot and a lying-er liar for President than anyone he discusses in his books.
Comment by Ashpenaz — February 5, 2010 @ 3:40 pm - February 5, 2010
And yet Chimpy Bush Hitler was still able to do more with less than 59 Republican Senators. I thought that brainiac Obama was supposed to be better than the disaster of the last Administration? Guess we know who has bigger huevos I suppose…
Comment by John — February 5, 2010 @ 6:12 pm - February 5, 2010
Some of my Democrat friends have been asking me why Obama is on TV constantly. One the other day yelled, “go do some work”.
I think he hit the nail on the head.
When Obama gives speechs to bolster Obamacare, the polls worsen.
No one is listening anymore. Talk talk talk.
He’s a great talker.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — February 6, 2010 @ 4:36 pm - February 6, 2010
@Tano – I have one thing to say. MORE COWBELL
Comment by John Mark — February 6, 2010 @ 11:06 pm - February 6, 2010