Why "abandoning" the Public Option was a masterstroke

[damonm]

Obama has, on many occasions, said "I cannot do this alone"; that he required our help. His seeming to abandon the public option held OUR feet to the fire, and we've responded as needed. We've reminded him AND the American public that there is indeed strong support for the public option - giving the lie to RW claims of "flagging support". We've given him the covering fire he needs to move forward when it seemed we were getting passive.

In addition, he ONCE AGAIN exposed the righties as simple obstructionists - they wouldn't even accept co-ops, fer Gossakes - who want NOTHING done, and want to keep the insurance companies ripping you off.
THIS is the genius of "bi-partisanship"; forcing the GOP further and further into the whackadoodle world of their crazy base, and even further from mainstream thinking. Once he's safely marginalized the righties, he can get down to some SERIOUS business.

[knowbody0]

1. I totally agree with you!

[Riverman]

2. Audacity of Hope! Let's Hope!, but just in case read Huffington Post

Article about David Axelrod's connections ($$$$) with Big Pharma and then go to Talking Points Memo and read Howard Fineman's Article on how Obama miscalculated on Health Care!

If he has played the chess game as suggested then maybe he is a genius. I voted and supported him enthusiastically. Yet, I wonder if his gambit of persistently pissing-off many of the people who helped get him elected and believed in his Audacity of Hope and Change We Can Believe In and The Fierce Urgency of Now speeches in favor of bipartisonship, and cutting closed-door deals with Big Pharma, pandering to the right and corporate lobbyists will be worth the price. I would sincerely like to believe that President Obama has not played all of his cards. I fear that he has!

[FrenchieCat]

5. Can you link to this article of Axelrod's connections?

What I read was his connection to the advertising firm hired to fight FOR health care reform.

President Obama isn't playing chess, he's playing poker, and is calling the Pug's bluff....
including Grassley's......

[Riverman]

19. If read it why do you need the link? But, here it is:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/09/lobbyblog_n_228657.html

So, how was that that Pharma has such a cozy relationship with people inside the White House that they negotiated a deal that the President went public with touting all the savings that the pharmacuetical corporations were offering? And, I really liked Axelrod!

People can come to their own conclusions.

[shraby]

21. You must be fairly new here..when citing a story, a

requirement from the du'ers is a link to the story is needed.

[Riverman]

25. Love being corrected! Thank you. And Yes here since Oct 2004

So, that is pretty new!

[rox63]

36. He used to play in a weekly poker game against the Repukes in the IL state senate

I hear he had a hell of a poker face there as well. :)

[xultar]

3. Seriously. The WH got pawned by Grassley and they just found out last week.

They thought he was playing ball and Grassley made a mistake and let it be known that he was just stringing the WH along.

And then WHOOPS. Now the WH has to put it right.

My gut tells me that the WH didn't have this planned in some masterstroke, they really thought that there was going to be bipartisan ship...but grassley lied to their faces and they just found out.

[Better Believe It]

15. So we all understood what Grassley and the Republicans were up to and President Obama didn't?

Whatever.

[xultar]

23. No I'm saying I just figured it out. Because Grassley jumped the shark last week.

And so did the WH because of Grassley.

[Better Believe It]

24. Well, most of us had it figured out. Glad that President Obama sorta, maybe understands

According to another poster White House Press secretary Robert Gibbs just said:

"I trust that 3 republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are working in good faith".

So perhaps you understand this much better than President Obama!

Gotta love that bi-partisanship stuff.

Why should Democratic leaders be partisan .... as if they stand for something?

Why can't we all get along? Let's have a lovefest!

[backscatter712]

I'd say it's Grassley being played...

Step 1: Obama administration publicly praises Grassley's willingness to negotiate & bipartisan spirit.

Step 2: Grassley brags about blocking health care, says he'll vote no even if public option is replaced with co-ops, spitting in the face of the Obama administration and the public.

Step 3: Watch as Grassley and the rest of the GOP ends up looking like complete assholes.

Step 4: Now that there's not even a pretense of GOP Senators acting like adults, Democrats can now shove through health care reform using reconciliation, without losing any brownie points with the public for refusing to be bipartisan.

[FrenchieCat]

4. We have not yet responded as needed, nor given him needed cover as of yet,

but I hope that we soon will.

[freddie mertz]

6. You have a lot of faith in your own sunny reading of things.

I don't see it that way at all.

What I see, at best, is a confused message, and at worst, an expressed willingness to let any meaningful reform go down the tubes for the appearance of "success."

[FrenchieCat]

7. You underestimate this White House.......

but that's probably a good thing.

[freddie mertz]

9. I hope you are right.

But I am not convinced.

I take what they have said and done at face value.

Our job now is to forget about "faith" and start applying serious pressure.

[FrenchieCat]

11. You should apply pressure on every pressure point there is......

including your lying media,
and your media shy congresscritters.

[freddie mertz]

12. AND the White House. (nt)

[FrenchieCat]

14. You already said that, so I didn't need to.....

And I have already sent my heartfelt letter to the WH of my support of the Public Option,
and why the President needs to take a stand, and fuck the doubters (didn't use the Fuck word in the letter though).

[freddie mertz]

17. I send one a day. And try to get in on the phone (WH that is).

My congress-creature is a puke, and a horrid one.

My senators are Casey and Specter, and they know how I feel, believe me.

[damonm]

37. All due respect,

but your read of the situation is only what you see on the surface, and Obama's track record to date consistently indicates that such an analysis falls far short of the facts. The stimulus alone should have shown you that team Obama is a different breed of political cat. There he consistently outplayed the Rethugs - his rebuffed "bipartisanship" helping him and hurting them in the eyes of the voters. This is more of the same.

[havocmom]

8. yep

[Oregone]

10. A *masterstroke* would of been figuring out how to get single-payer through Congress

That would of been a "master chess game".

This whole angle is like a child selling lemonade to seniors on a hot day. Whoopie.

[dflprincess]

13. +1

[glitch]

18. +2

[uponit7771]

27. Was this a campaign promist like pub option? TIZ

[Oregone]

30. Campaigns to get elected are now excuses for not doing to right thing thereafter?

He did promise to bring sound judgement to the Whitehouse. Ignoring single-payer as a viable option is not sound judgment.

[polichick]

35. THAT'S the "masterstroke" I'd love to see! nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

39. Hear, hear!

[damonm]

40. It leads to the same place...

Single-payer WILL get here.

First, the freepers must incontrovertibly be proven wrong about a Government-run health option, which PO will do, THEN single-payer becomes a much shallower hill to climb. Bear in mind that Obama, as a Senatorial candidate in 2003, FAVORED single-payer; as a Presidential candidate, he did not. Consider possible reasons for this. The one that will spring to mind MOST quickly is "health industry lobby got to him", but that becomes unlikely given the strength of resistance they are offering to his present ideas.
The most likely scenario is that (given his demonstrated level of political savvy) he saw during his time in the Senate that single-payer was a non-starter in the current political climate, and that a more incremental approach was in order. I find it unlikely that he has wholly abandoned single-payer; meseems he's approaching it from a more politically possible angle.

[Oregone]

41. No it doesn't. Single-payer leads to single-payer.

Public option will probably expand at the same rate Medicare has the last few decades. In other words, the public option approach leads the status quo, with just another 11 million on the public rolls.

[damonm]

42. As you wish.

We disagree. So be it - time will tell (and likely prove us BOTH wrong).

[harun]

46. +3

[Cha]

16. They've had to take extraordinary

measures in order to bring it all home in getting what they want..I do know that.

All the Big Money is against them..GUNS to the Town Hall Meets for Craps sake!!

[Dr Fate]

20. Not a "masterstroke"- but maybe the Community Organizer was trying to get us riled up.

If so, it worked- but the master stroke will hopefully be the endgame.

[Better Believe It]

22. Do you also think that Obama is "pretending" to abandon "card check" in the EFCA ....

in order to get it passed?

And did President Obama also pretend to abandon the "cramdown" provision in foreclosure legislation in order to get it passed and pretend to abandon the cap on credit card interest rates in order to get credit card legislation passed?

Oh yes. More brilliant masterstrokes.

Are you really that naive and uninformed on how politics actually works in Washington?

Oh well, you will eventually learn. You're probably very young and just getting involved in politics.

[freddie mertz]

28. Some folks want to see pretty ponies I guess.

It's very odd.

[uponit7771]

26. He also exposed the righties in the dem ranks even more

[Bluenorthwest]

29. A master would be able to pass single payer

That is just the fact. A master does not have need to anger and alienate his friends while romancing the other side. A master would not leave his fellow Democrats facing what they faced in Town Halls just to make a point. A master would not need such tactics. A master's voice and view are clear as a dinner bell ringing.

[Clio the Leo]

31. Bingo. NT

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Politicub]

33. Thanks for bringing a fresh perspective

Now that you've mentioned it, I do see that there has been a marked increase in the demand for a public option. It's starting to drown out the Obama is a nazi idiots.

[depakid]

34. That's a very creative rationalization

for vacillation, indecisiveness and failure to get the administration's players on the same page.

[damonm]

38. And THAT...

is an example of how some folks just don't get it.

[depakid]

44. Oh, I get it

You think bungling is "playing chess."

I doubt the administration agrees- as they were trying pretty hard to get back on message after this latest bit of waffling.

[damonm]

45. Nope. Swing and a miss.

But no matter - you think Jiujitsu is "bungling".

[depakid]

48. You go on thinking that...

People do need to believe in the leadership's ability- regardless of the how in reality the process is playing out.

[IndianaGreen]

43. Is this a new spin on the 'give Bush enough rope to hang himself'

or on the "keep the powder dry?" I have heard this sort of intellectual gymnastics before, but I can't quite remember when.

[damonm]

47. No, but I wouldn't expect you to understand it. n/t

[jimlup]

49. I'll rec the post because I think the idea is worth considering but...

I don't agree. My first reaction is that Obama didn't hold on to the football well enough here. I'm a little concerned. Hopefully, I'm wrong and if I'm right maybe the administration will learn from taking this too lightly.

[DailyGrind51]

50. It sure got me sending e-mails!