Health Care Summit Kabuki
The Kabuki theater today shown on YouTube, of a health care “summit”, was far more compelling than I thought it would be. Stripped of the TV news video editor and voice over partisan commentator the public witnessed a display of raw political reality. Or at least as real as politics ever gets, being that they were all on public display and in performance mode.
Health care is such an important issue you wish there were statesmen somewhere to be found instead of the placeholders who populate our political-media-complex. I was surprised how emotional it was. Even if detached at first, these politicians have been at this issue for a long time, and their emotions have been drawn close to the surface.
Obama did a good job playing his part. He wanted to show the public that he “had tried” and the Republicans are all negative all the time. The Republicans helped by having nothing to offer. Obama made some very effective points when he wasn’t playing politics by trying to appear not to be playing politics.
Obama’s continual reference to Republican “talking points” was Obama’s own talking point. Obama’s patronizing response to McCain that “we aren’t campaigning anymore” failed to engage McCain’s points (one of which found Obama in agreement). It was pure deflection on Obama’s part. McCain pointed out that Obama had promised a transparent process but instead let Pelosi et al. aggregate the bill, which, along with Obama’s 11 pages of modifications, was being presented for debate a year after Obama’s promise, as a fait accompli.
Add to that the visible disdain manifest in Obama’s addressing all these more experienced public figures by their first names and you were left with the impression, once again, that Obama is tone deaf — his bubble of self regard making it impossible for him to understand how he comes across.
McCain made the telling point that the bill had been so larded with special deals that it was a disgrace. The Republicans in general made some good points, especially about the doubletalk embedded in the budgetary underpinnings of the health care bill. Unfortunately, Republicans had only, “start again” to offer — a cynical, deplorable tactic. Harkin for the Dems was quite effective in presenting the real world consequences of our current health care system.
So the Dems will barrel through with what is called a “reconciliation” vote, in unintended irony, and hope the health care bill doesn’t permanently discredit them.
