Obama has once again called for bipartisanship in the Thursday’s HCR conference.
I expect one of three things to happen.
Door Number 1:
Obama could cave in to GOP demands. While this would cause consternation on the GOP, because they would have to immediately about face and pretend that they now and have always opposed whatever those demands are. Such a move would doom Obama’s presidency by alienating the mainstream, let alone his base.
Door Number 2:
Obama will present what is essentially BARF (Baucus Against a Real Fix). The GOP would oppose it, as do the majority of Americans. It would probably fail to pass and doom Obama’s presidency for the same reasons.
Door Number 3:
The last and best possibility is that Obama will introduce a compromise between the House and Senate bills. Of course the GOP would refuse to compromise, and Obama can then claim justification to proceed with reconciliation. Hopefully, the public option will be put back in during that process. This alone can save Obama’s presidency.
Take your pick.
17 comments:
1) If he is weak
2) If he is tired
3) if he is a master political tactician concerned with the promises he heralded during his inaugural speech.
Exactly right TC. I pick 3 and I have to believe he will too, or we can start to assume he wants just one term because thats what he'll get if he chooses 1 or 2. I'm almost convinced he knew all along it would turn out like this, he just wanted a reason the country could swallow for going reconciliation. Of course other presidents used reconciliation but Obama doesn't ever want to appear partisan. That is his biggest fault.
Agree with Sue word for word, perhaps Obama is a politician worth his salt after all.
I pick door #3. I really want to believe what he's saying, but lately I have been doubtful of him.
I agree with Sue too. This bi-partisianship thing is killing him with his base. After this is over and they go for reconciliation, I hope he grows a spine and says enough of this shit.
I think there's a little psychology in the call for bipartisanship. The more the president calls for it, the more the GOP backs away and the more they look like the obstructionists they are. Most Americans see through their self-serving political games. Tea partiers are too incompetant to judge but, imo, they are insigificant little gnats.
Option 3 is best for me! The Republicans, fresh back from CPAC and full of anti-Obama piss and vinegar, won't give Obama the time of day. They are behaving toward him on HCR exactly as they did toward Woodrow Wilson on the League of Nations 91 years ago: uncooperative then; wholly uncooperative and worthless now. :-)
TC,
I'll pick door #3 too. It's what's best for his legacy and what's best for the health care industry, two of Obama's three major concerns;the third being the finance industry.
Oso, aren't the first two what's best for the health care industry? Number 3 with a public option would not be at all.
Everyone else, we all seem to be on the same page.
I love it when people agree with me! LMAO!! :-)))
I agree with all the great comments here!
TC,
I believe we will ultimately get a product without a PO.I think it was a bargaining chip. My cynicism about Obama has reached the point where I have difficulty even looking at him or listening to his voice.
Thanks Sue. It's not like at your place. You're still infested over there. ;-)
Oso, you may well be right, but before I condemn it, I want to see the final product. I also understand your frustration. Perhaps I feel less frustrated, because my expectations were not as high as most. I knew he was a centrist when I voted for him. I knew he would bend over backward on bipartisanship. I knew it would fail and I knew why. I never thought he was "the one". So I support him on those issues on which we agree, oppose him on those issues on which we do not, and remain thankful that we are not at war with Iran and have unemployment below 25%, both of which would have happened had McConJob and Mooseolini been elected.
All I can say to you nay-sayers is be damn happy we don't have McCain and Palin. Thing may not be going as fast or as well as you want but think of the alternative.
I would also like to remind people that Obama has been up against a wall of obstructionism unlike any other president in the history of this country.
And, as I've said so many times, Democrats need to get real. It don't happen overnight.
I'd like to think he's going door #3 as part of a great strategy. I hope he's not just going door #3 because he just realized that the peaceful bipartisan thing isn't working (because it's sad if it took him a whole year to get that, and he is a smart man). But either way, door #3 is the only real option here. Doors #1 and #2 suck.
Although I would find it interesting if Obama were to concede some aspects of the health bill to the GOP, only to see the GOP's reaction, I do not wish for this to be the course of action, only because the GOP media will claim it is a result of real America weighing in and that Obama will have to concede on other issues as well...
I prefer the last. Make a compromise and show the GOP is unwilling to work, then pass it through reconciliation, possibly with a public option (which I would think could get 50 votes in the senate - I believe Biden would probably vote in favor of it in case of a tie)...
Tnlib, that's the way I see it. As unhappy as I am over many of Obama's policies, the choice we have is between problematic (Obama) and catastrophic (GOP). Some third parties might feel good to support, but voting for any of them is an effective vote for the GOP.
Welcome, Sky Girl. Well said. They certainly do.
Kevin, I don't expect him to make those concessions.
TC: There have been umpteen gzillion third parties. None have survived past the first time up at bat. That should be good to hear. Furthermore they take votes away from what was their base party. That should also be good to hear.
I think Obama has accomplished much more than we realize, partly because we're so busy "wanting it now" and complaining because it wasn't delivered overnight.
I agree Tnlib. See my post today on the poll. I also agree that what Obama has accomplished is considerable, especially in light of the opposition he has faced. My frustrations with him are more over personnel than accomplishment. I want Geithner, Summers, Bernanke (too late now) and Emmanuel gone.
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