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There’s a very good observation being made over at Talking Points Memo regarding where Obama stands right now–not just in the health care effort, but in this early stage of his presidency.
It reads, in part (emphasis added):
I could be wrong, but I get the feeling Obama’s approval is directly linked to Health Care. I definitely cooled to him quite a bit, and it’s due to the fact that he doesn’t seem willing to reform financial institutions or go for the gold on the public option.This seems to be a critical moment in his presidency. A real healthcare bill with a public option will restore faith in him from the base and give centrists, who are more result oriented than concerned with what the results are, something to latch on to that he’s still in control. A toothless health care reform bill will be very difficult to recover from because he will be both chastened, and people like me will have lost faith in his boldness and commitment to change.
If the above comment is generally accurate, now would be the perfect time for Obama to change course. More specifically, he could not pick a better time, nor a better occasion, than his eulogy for Edward Kennedy, to be given tomorrow morning in Boston.
For those struggling to understand Obama’s position on health care, and for those desparately maintaining hope that the election rhetoric of the past 2+ years was not empty, a strong statement from Obama would be tremendously uplifting. As "FakeHowardDean" recently tweeted:
"This whole one term for Obama boils down to one simple fact. Americans like to see STRONG LEADERSHIP. Screw bipartisanship."
While bipartisanship certainly has its place, the opportunity afforded to Obama at this eulogy cannot be over-emphasized. It gives Obama a chance to reset the board, reposition himself as a much stronger proponent of the public option, and do honor to a man who was crying out in support of Obama when it mattered most.
So what will Obama do tomorrow? Will he, like others in both parties, use Kennedy’s good name to simply get something–anything–passed quickly? Will he settle for just “shuffling the papers”, as Teddy termed empty legislation? Or will he finally use his strong Democratic majority to make a positive and meaningful difference for America.
Listen to Obama very carefully tomorrow morning in Boston.
7 Comments
Would be nice to see, no doubt.
MODS,
this post doesn’t appear to be showing up on the “Latest Diaries” List.
[Modnote: once your diary is chosen for the front page, it drops off the ”Latest Diaries” list.]
Right, folks here in the Seminal editing team liked your piece so much we put it on the Seminal’s front page. Hope that’s ok!
Clinton was right when he said “Voters would rather you be strng and wrong than weak and right.” And it was ever thus…
I hope President Obama comes out swinging for the fences.
The Republics will scream about politicizing a memorial, but jeez-o-pete, Teddy’s life was all about politics. What could possibly be more appropriate than a clarion call to pick up Kennedy’s torch and finish his life’s work.
And any health care bill named for Edward Moore Kennedy cannot suck. They’d d***ed well better kill anything that sucks, and point directly at the guilty parties while killing it.
what would kennedy do?
The single most common quality of bad leadership is an effort to do something, anything just to get it off the table and say you did something. We shall soon learn what kind of leadership we have in the Democratic leadership, but as they say, a fish rots from the head down. Ultimately, it’s O’s leadership that matters most, and it sets the tone for all those who follow.