Gee I know how you feel Mr. President. You've got a lot weighing on you; it's a tough job. But hey, you asked for it. You wanted the chance to work with the Party of Joe. So, I can't have much sympathy for you.
For myself . . .
Man, it's a tough day. I want to be a supporter. I want to be optimistic. But what can I do when I see this capitulation:
Speaking to reporters after meeting with Senate Democrats this afternoon, President Obama said he is "cautiously optimistic" about health care reform's chances for passage.
"I am absolutely confident that if the American people know what's in this bill and the Senate knows what's in this bill, it will pass, because it's right for America," he said, adding that he welcomes "the scrutiny of the press."
He warned that "the final bill won't include everything that everybody wants," but senators "simply cannot allow differences" over specific elements of the bill to derail reform.
The bill meets his own requirements, he said.
"Any fair reading of the bill will show that all the criteria I laid out, before a joint session of Congress, have been met," he said.
Mr. President, umm, this American person does know what's in the Senate bill and what's not in the bill.
In: Mandate to buy insurance exclusively from private companies.
Out: Public option/Medicare buy in.
(Out out: Single payer.)
In: Loophole for insurers to impose "reasonable" annual limits on benefits.
Out: Annual limits, Meaningful lifetime limits.
In: Loophole for insurers to rescind policies for "fraud".
Out: Guarantee of no recission; meaningful guarrantee of no rejections based on pre-existing conditions.
I know what's in the bill, and what's not, and I don't want it to pass as it is. At this point, Mr. President, the only thing the Democratic Party has left is subservience to either Joementum or Queen Snowe. Which is it? At this point, the Senate bill is just reform for the sake of calling something reform. At this point Mr. President, I share your facepalm. This truly sucks. But I'm not buying the latest spin, and that means yeah, you're in trouble.
Screw it. Go to reconcilliation. Fuck Lieberman, and Nelson, and Lincoln, and Landrieu, and Baucus, and Reid, and anyone else I'm forgetting. Primary all their asses.