Health Care Isn’t a Game

For months, we’ve been hearing horror stories of the American health care system For months we’ve been told by the President that he supports a public option. For months we’ve been told that health care is urgent and can’t wait. Yet the President appears willing to make millions of Americans who need a health care reform system that takes on–not gives to–insurance companies in order to get things like, say, cancer care.

When a President can’t stick up for something that 3/5ths to 2/3rds of the American people support, but insists that he “believes in” bottom-up democracy, something isn’t right. If the President continues this horrid decision making–when he defers to a Senator just over 1/1000th of the American public voted for in order to please beltway pundits and their dreams of bipartisanship even if it comes at the expense of canning good policy, then the people will inevitably elect another President in 4 years. The public might well just decided to elect Olympia Snowe President since she is, thanks to the President’s inability to stand up to the powerful on behalf of the people.

Update: The White House is walking back this trial balloon. By my count that’s at least the 5th time they’ve tried to leak word of the public option’s demise only to be forced it back by outrage from 2/3rds of the public. Perhaps it’ll one day dawn on the people in the West Wing that having 2/3rds of the public on your side is a good thing. That day can’t come soon enough–for the American people and President Obama.