SpellCheck - That Uncertain Ally

In an interesting column on emotion versus reason, Marc Ambinder is betrayed by SpellCheck:

The Democrats and Obama assume that, inside every voter who isn't an instinctive partisan, there is a competition of sorts -- a calculus, subject to outside influences:  If the voter succombs to the fear-emotion, he or she will retreat into a comfortable partisan shell. If the voter is convinced that the partisan games are wrong, the voter will seek refuse in a side that more closely aligns with different values.

I won't succumb to the tyranny of SpellCheck and I refuse to believe Mr. Ambinder meant to suggest that voters will find refuse in the Democratic positions.  Yet Freud nods.

Mr. Ambinder also delivers a "Timing is everything" puzzle:

For the right to win the health care fight, they'll want to speed up the voters' decision-making. The more quickly the voter accesses certain emotions, the harder it is to slow down, reassess, and access different ones.  Democrats are asking voters, in essence, to simmer down. Use reason; be conscious about the process of thinking through health care.

Sure, now Dems want us to simmer down - at his town hall today, Obama said that we have "months to go before we're done" with the debate.  But this was the party that was insisting until recently that a bill had to be on the President's desk before the August recess.  Raising the fear of a hasty, complicated, poorly thought through partisan cram-down was easy (and reasonable) in that environment.

In any case, I deplore this false dichotomy of fear versus reason.  Why not describe it as prudence versus irrational exuberance? 

Until Congress successfully repeals the Law of Unintended Consequences it strikes me as perfectly sensible to worry that lurking in the 1,000 page House bill are provisions the consequences of which will be unexpected and unpleasant.  Attempting to remodel 1/6th of the US economy ought to be a humbling and daunting task, not an opportunity for the Democrats to whoop something through that might make sense, or might not.

Comments

[bad]

ha ha ha ha ha

[Jim Ryan]

Is there a link to where Ambinder has demolished all of the arguments against government health insurance? Surely he knows that he's entitled to psychologize only after demolishing his opponents' arguments.

[Paul Zrimsek]

Armbinder's timing theory predicts that support for reform should be increasing over time. Well?

[bgates]

It's a media cop-out when a journalist refuses to use their expertise to inform a debate even when it might influence the debate to go in a certain direction.

It's a shame we have to go through the cut-out of having the media select candidates for office, rather than just being governed by journalists and their expertise directly.

[bad]

What expertise?

[clarice]

some journalist who can't even manage his own tongue:
"

It's a media cop-out when a journalist refuses to use their HIS expertise "

[TOPSECRETK9]

Democrats are asking voters, in essence, to simmer down. Use reason; be conscious about the process of thinking through health care.

I can't believe Ambinder wrote this. Does he really think we don't KNOW that Democrats have publicly bragged about not even reading the damn bill?

[Porchlight]

bgates, it is indeed a shame, but thankfully by hiring so many journalists the Obama WH has cut out the middleman about as much as can be hoped from any administration.

[Uncle Pinky]

Just want to see, just once, Obama actually build something by himself. A physical construct. I get a feeling that his Dove moisturized hands have never held a hammer.

"Hey Mr. Carpenter, Plumber or what have you; DO IT NOW! Not right, not correctly, just do the damnable thing! Someone will pay for it at some time, and they will pay for the inevitable repairs necessitated by my shortsightedness soon enough! JUST DO IT! Did I happen to mention that I have a degree, therefore I know more about this than you?"

It is the heart-cry of the spoiled single child who was never in the Cub Scouts, and never has had to be responsible for his actions.

I truly believe that much of his behavior can be traced to the poor socialization of the spoiled single child and the poor self-esteem of the individual who has exceeded the level of his incompetence.

In a nation that is leaning towards over-priveleged, non-achieving, useless critters who call an electrician when they want to change the outlet faceplates to match the new paint; kind of a poster child.

And the more that he realizes how inadequate he is, the more arrogant he becomes.

Take a shop class Barry.

Measure twice.

Cut once.

[Extraneus]

Well, if it's any consolation, even AP pans the staged event today.

To friendly crowd, Obama assails health care foes

[RichatUF]

For night owls the Perseid Meteror Shower is tonight.

Democrats are asking voters, in essence, to simmer down.

Right. I must have been imagining Obama giving the SEIU its go orders through Organizing for America and Obama's cabinet giving them "attaboys" for showing this last few days.

[Cecil Turner]

Democrats are asking voters, in essence, to simmer down. Use reason; be conscious about the process of thinking through health care.

Yeah, right. Unfortunately for the Dems, 57% now oppose single-payer health care (including 63% of independents, which kinda blows the ol' "partisan shell" argument). And their stated reasons are not "emotional":

Fifty-two percent (52%) believe such a system would lead to a lower quality of care while 13% believe care would improve.

Forty-five percent (45%) also say a single-payer system would lead to higher health care costs while 24% think lower costs would result.

I also think that last question was poorly worded, and could easily be read as "direct costs" (ignoring the public subsidy). Either that, or 24% of the public is on drugs . . . but I digress.

On the public expenditure side, several congresscritters are on record saying they won't vote for anything that raises the deficit (including Specter in his recent debacle). Since the CBO report scores it as a trillion dollar program thru 2019 with about a quarter of it unmet, it's hard to see how that gets squared as well. Looks to me like the only Dem option was exactly what they tried to do . . . ram it through before anybody had a chance to read it. Now that they failed on that score, guess it's time to lie about it. Ambinder's got a good start going on that score, the first step being to accuse the opponents of fearmongering (and better than half the electorate of being stupid and emotional). We'll see how it works out.

[bad]

There appears to be a link between the 9 yearold from Ibama's townhall today, her mother, and Ibama.

LUN

[Porchlight]

That is actually some consolation, Extraneus.

Nice catch bad! Obama maintains his green thumb at these townhalls, I see.

[narciso]

The point of this whole thing was to keep everything boiling, so it would pass before anyone noticed. He just doesn't like what's being cooked up in the process. To cross metaphors, a few people have put a spike in the middle of the track, so they have to switch relays for the time being,

[bad]

No credit to me Porch, I stole it from a commenter at Tapper.

[RichatUF]

So a Dem activist used her child to ask a softball question of Obama, which he used to attack any and all criticism of his healthcare plans. Stay classy Dems. What are they going to do next say we are being mean to the little girl (shouldn't sshe have been in school?) because we "spotted the plant"?

[bad]

Didn't TM have a post earlier today where Obama was saying something about exploiting children.....

[clarice]

Guess he couldn't use Lynn Sweet again.

[RichatUF]

Oh, good one bad.

[bad]

Good one, Clarice.

Thanks Rich.

[bad]

This is from babs45 at Tapper's blog:About the tame audience in New Hampshire:

"I've staged presidential events. No one, but no one is admitted without a Secret Service background check days before the actual event. They collect social security numbers, etc. and know exactly who is in the room. And, if that doesn't keep the crowd tame, there are agents with tommy guns sitting behind the drape background. The town hall was a contrived event that came down to just another photo op of The One."

Does anyone know if babs is speaking with knowledge here? It makes sense to me...

[matt]

when does it become pathological lying? LUN

[narciso]

Camille Paglia, came through at least from the beginning of this latest piece from Salon, in the LUN. Could be that she dissapoints later

[RichatUF]

bad-

Seems plausable. However, Emanuel and Axelrod are such control freaks regarding Obama's image they wouldn't send him into a hostile venue, regardless of how much the Secret Service wanted to have command-and-control of the event. Seems more of a deflection of the "it was staged" criticism of Obama's "town hall" appearences. The Sercert Service are pros, and if Obama wanted to show up to Congressman's town halls and field, unscripted, angry questions, he could do it and his security detail would make it happen.

[Barry Dauphin]

Democrats want folks to simmer down, slow down the process? Someone actually pays Ambinder to write or is he on welfare?

[Sue]

bad,

I think that only applied to the Obama girls. Other children are okay to exploit.

[bad]

Thanks Rich.

[Sue]

I know I posted this earlier, but I want to remind everyone that Obama winked at a woman about to ask him a question. The MSM has been oddly silent about it.

[bad]

Other children are okay to exploit.

Of Course!! I've got to get better at nuance...

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Does anyone know if babs is speaking with knowledge here?

I don't know about the behind the curtain stuff, but she's telling the truth about the rest.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I've done a few events where I had to work with the advance team, usually many days in advance of the event and we had to provide a list of names of everyone we expected to be there for a SS check. This was for off site events (away from the WH). I also worked on a Rose Garden event where the PM of Australia was the guest of honor. Sheesh! I and the rest of the volunteers were screened like we were going to be given access to the "football" and have our finger on the button. That event was invitation only and the lists had to be submitted way in advance, although I don't recall just how long.

I didn't like these events. The SS are creepy. Even when you know you aren't doing anything wrong, it feels like you are.

[Roux]

Ah that pesky law of unintended consequences.

[Tom Bowler]

Is there a link to where Ambinder has demolished all of the arguments against government health insurance? Surely he knows that he's entitled to psychologize only after demolishing his opponents' arguments.

Who needs a link? The case for Obamacare is open and shut. Republicans oppose it. George W. Bush and the Republicans are evil. Besides, it's for the children. It goes without saying.