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ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: HEALTH CARE (8/2/2009 12:03:39 AM)
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ORIGINAL: Brain
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Reply to: ThatDamnedPanda
I certainly have, and I can say that a big reason his approval rating with me is plummeting is for exactly the opposite reason - it's the complete lack of leadership he's shown in clarifying this issue and guiding it to a resolution.
The Clintons showed lots of leadership and said exactly what they wanted to do right from the start and they ended up getting the bill defeated because they were too authoritative. I think Obama will take charge and show leadership at the appropriate time when it's needed to give the health care bill a final push over the finish line.
That's a good point about the Clintons, Brain. As for Obama, I still think he's falling way too far on the other end of the spectrum. He's really undermining his own credibility by constantly exhorting the American people to support a bill he can't even explain because he doesn't know what's in it himself, and it's no wonder people are confused and wary of the proposal when every single day his description of the bill's intended objectives change. He's showing absolutely no leadership on this issue at all, and waiting until the bill hits his desk before taking charge will mean that his only real input into the process will be to either sign whatever the lobbyists pushed through congress, or veto it and tell them to start over. Presumably with no more presidential leadership, or even involvement, than he displayed the first time around.
This is a terrible failure of leadership. This is the issue that he intended to be the jewel in the crown of his administration. This is his issue. He needs to fucking own it, for christ's sake. He needs to be health care reform. He needs to set clear goals for what this program is going to accomplish, and clear guidelines for how it's going to meet those goals. He needs to go to the American people and explain why this is necessary (which he has done, to some extent), and how it's going to work (which he has made absolutely no attempt to do whatsoever). He needs to make his case the people, make it clear to congress what he will and will not accept in the final version of the bill, and make clear that if the bill does not meet his standards, he will veto it. He needs to fight for it tooth and nail, and he needs to take whatever political risks he needs to take in order to make this happen.
And he has done none of those things. The closest he has come is to hold these idiotic "town hall" meetings and a few press conferences, all of which serve only to make painfully clear how little involvement he really has in the process and how little genuine leadership he is actually showing. He still thinks he's on the campaign trail, for god's sake. The failure of this process is his failure. I hold him fully responsible for the fucking chaos this whole thing has become, and I tell you, right now - tonight - I wish to god I could get my vote back. This is absolutely not the president he said he was going to be.
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