Howard Fineman: What went wrong?

[SpartanDem]

Fineman wrote a fair article discussing the missteps and unlike some of article on the same subject it goes deeper than calinng an Obama idoitic weaking. I particlary agree with his point that too little attention was foucused on selling the plan to thosewith insurance. Also that maybe it would've been better to delay cap and trade he points that Obama used a lot of capital with blue dogs on that issue and I would add that it also ate up time in terms drafting and voting for the legislation that could've been used on health care


Too many 1,000-page bills
Americans are not an ideological people, for the most part. If they have an ideology about government, it is a hypocrisy: they want small government but they want government to address their every need.

It is not good politics for a president to rub this hypocrisy in their noises, and Obama has done just that. It’s not entirely his fault.

He had a near-Depression to deal with, and a banking crisis of mammoth proportions. But all the telephone-book-sized legislation and proliferation of czars left a lot of independent voters scared — and they are running from him now.


Focusing on the have-nots
From the beginning, some of Obama’s shrewdest (outside) political advisors have been telling him — almost waving their arms — that the sweet spot on the issue is clamping down on abuses by insurers.

In other words, the White House all along should have been focusing on the fears of the 85 percent who have insurance, not on the 15 percent who do not

These days the president is calling his plan “health insurance reform,” but it is late in the game to reframe the issue.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32460087/ns/politics-white_house//

[Writer]

1. I personally think health care reform is much too important to afford worrying about political games

n/t

[SpartanDem]

4. To deny the political aspects of this is to deny reality

[Writer]

6. What I mean by this is that Fineman's attention to crude political calculus...

about a bill that hasn't even been written, passed, or signed diffuses the needed public conversation about health care reform.

[ErinBerin84]

2. I think that OBama

made some of the same mistakes that he made during the stimulus fight, in terms of expecting bipartisanship, etc. Having congress write the bill probably confused people as to what exactly was in "the bill" (like, all these poll numbers about "Obama's plan", people are probably confused because there are several versions of bills). Blue dogs would have been assholes anyway, regardless of cap and trade. However, there has also been a lot of obnoxious "reporting" by the media, which the Obama administration should never underestimate. They treat astro-turfers and people who NEVER would have been brought on board for health care reform as people who could have been convinced.

[Jennicut]

3. Oh Howard, as if the 15 percent are just not important enough?

And some American people can be a stupid bunch at times...babyish and demanding to the point of idiocy. I am tired of Politicians having to dumb things down to "appeal to everyone". Some people need to get off their butts and read the damn bills being offered.

[ErinBerin84]

5. I agree with Howard

that OBama should not have expected any Repubs to get on board, but his columns are so fickle that I feel like FIneman would just as easily be making the "Obama and the dems made a huge mistake in trying to ram this through Congress" if Obama had done what Howard suggests. He's just like that.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Since .00166% of Americans are showing up at town halls

protesting against Health care, why are we caring so much about them? :shrug:

[SpartanDem]

9. Not when comes to selling legislation

Like you said the Americans can very stupid and selfish Obama hasn't until recently appealed to peoples self interest. Most Americans like their insurance or think like even in truth it may be crap.

[cottonseed]

7. How cares about czars? That's inside baseball shit.

Nobody on the street even mentions the word czars, much less things that "too many" of them are an issue.