I've got no love of Fareed Zakaria--he's a smart guy, but sorta leans in that "world citizen" direction so prevalent in Eurpoe--but he really nails it on the head in his criticism here of Barack Obama's Presidency. A key graph:
If he represents all the people, Obama should remember that for 85 percent of Americans, the great health-care crisis is about cost. For about 15 percent, it is about extending coverage. Yet his plan does little about the first and focuses mostly on the second. It promotes too little of the real discipline that would force costs down and instead throws in a few ideas, experiments, and pilot programs that could, over time and if rigorously expanded, do so.
I think Zakaria overplays Obama's "centrist" approach to the stimulus and the banking crises. But the criticism that Obama's become more of a party hack than a President is spot on.
Some are reporting a deal has been cut so the House will pass the Senate healthcare bill as is, Mass election not withstanding (they'll sort out the payoffs and details later). This isn't all bad. If the Dems are in denial about why Brown won, let 'em go ahead and pull this crap and they will pay a heavy price come November.
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