Obama in Trouble
Published in Dagsavisen
(Norway) on 25 August 2009
by (link to original)
While Norwegian politicians are working hard towards the election, Washington DC has taken its recess. This weekend President Obama went on vacation after a town hall tour to save what was his number one issue, but has since become a political nightmare: health care reform.
Over the last few days leftist commentators in America have been writing obituaries for Obama's great project. Obama was going to be the president that finally provided all Americans with health insurance. However, the plan got off to a bad start when political veteran Tom Daschle had to withdraw from his nomination for secretary of health and human services. Since then things have gone downhill.
The opposition to health reform, the Republicans, have finally found a way to unify themselves. The [healthcare] debate has become so unfair and hysterical that only American extremists can make it, referencing both Hitler and Stalin. But Obama has to take his share of the blame for the derailment of the debate; he has been neither clear nor strong enough in his defense of the reform or in his explanations of what kind of health care system he actually wants.
Obama has been preoccupied with not falling in the same trap as Hillary Clinton 16 years ago by making a complicated and pre-fabricated solution Congress does not want. Instead Congress is losing itself in the development of solutions that cannot mobilize the majority. Obama, whose ratings are down to almost 50 percent, is looking more and more like a common, fallible president.
Obama's health care reform is guaranteed not to be the great change the enthusiastic left had hoped it would be. However, Obama can still be the president that gave health care to all Americans. Thus, he must bring the debate back on track when he returns from vacation.
Over the last few days leftist commentators in America have been writing obituaries for Obama's great project. Obama was going to be the president that finally provided all Americans with health insurance. However, the plan got off to a bad start when political veteran Tom Daschle had to withdraw from his nomination for secretary of health and human services. Since then things have gone downhill.
The opposition to health reform, the Republicans, have finally found a way to unify themselves. The [healthcare] debate has become so unfair and hysterical that only American extremists can make it, referencing both Hitler and Stalin. But Obama has to take his share of the blame for the derailment of the debate; he has been neither clear nor strong enough in his defense of the reform or in his explanations of what kind of health care system he actually wants.
Obama has been preoccupied with not falling in the same trap as Hillary Clinton 16 years ago by making a complicated and pre-fabricated solution Congress does not want. Instead Congress is losing itself in the development of solutions that cannot mobilize the majority. Obama, whose ratings are down to almost 50 percent, is looking more and more like a common, fallible president.
Obama's health care reform is guaranteed not to be the great change the enthusiastic left had hoped it would be. However, Obama can still be the president that gave health care to all Americans. Thus, he must bring the debate back on track when he returns from vacation.
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