On With The Cram-Down! (Over The Cliff)

So what did people think of the health care show?  I think the Republicans did well enough to block the "No Ideas, Obstructionist" label, which leaves Harry, Nancy and Barrack with a problem. 

Do they pause briefly, then announce that having heard the Republicans ideas, some of which the President acknowledged as valuable, they are going to use reconciliation and arcane maneuvers to pass a bill favored by 25% of the recently polled?  Can they even round up enough suicidal Dems to make that work?

Do they proceed with Obama's non-existent Plan B?  Or do they just let this issue fade away and focus on jobs, jobs, jobs?

I think they have to just fade.

LUCK, INCLUDING BAD LUCK, IS THE RESIDUE OF DESIGN:  The summit was covered extensively on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC.  So who won, Dems or Reps?  I didn't watch Fox to see how well Reps did; I stuck with CNN, which more or less was calling it even.  And MSNBC?  Normally they would have had their reporters in pom-poms cheering Obama's greatness, but instead they cut to Olympic coverage.

Rachel and Keith will carry Obama's water tonight, but for a few vital hours the Administration outlet was off-message.

Comments

[anduril]

Via Powerline, here's what some of the LIBERAL talking heads thought:

CNN's David Gergen:

The folks in the White House just must be kicking themselves right now. They thought that coming out of Baltimore when the President went in and was mesmerizing and commanding in front of the House Republicans that he could do that again here today. That would revive health care and would change the public opinion about their health care bill and they can go on to victory. Just the opposite has happened

CNN's Gloria Borger:

The Republicans have been very effective today. They really did come to play. They were very smart.

They took on the substance of a very complex issue. ... But they really stuck to the substance of this issue and tried to get to the heart of it and I think did a very good job.

They came in with a plan. They mapped it out.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer:

It looks like the Republicans certainly showed up ready to play.

The Hill's A.B. Stoddard:

I think we need to start out by acknowledging Republicans brought their 'A Team.' They had doctors knowledgeable about the system, they brought substance to the table, and they, I thought, expressed interest in the reform. I thought in the lecture from Senator John McCain and on the issue of transparency, I thought today the Democrats were pretty much on their knees.

I think Gergen captures the unreasoning arrogance of this WH.

[bad]

Obama stunk, stinked, stank.

[Carol Herman]

Whatever happened to the idea that they start all over again. From scratch. How much time would have to pass for Nancy Pelosi to claim this as her idea; and then she walks it through the House. Where members are up for votes. And, the negatives can't be fixed with Botox.

[centralcal]

TM: You won't be hearing from Olbermann tonight, apparently Matthews will be doing his show (Keith's father is dying, I believe).

There was a stark contrast between the two sides today - the Republicans came off as sensible, reasonable, and knowledgeable; Obama and his motley band simply couldn't compete.

[centralcal]

hey, bad! I have missed you! Glad to see you commenting (hey, you didn't say "Obama sucks!").

[bad]

ha ha CC!! I'm always thinking it....

[Porchlight]

Hi, bad! Obama does suck, I think that phrase to myself every day.

[Captain Hate]

Keith's father is dying, I believe

What did he finally get cable and see what his Ag-school son has made of himself?

[windansea]

Just moments before the afternoon session got under way, C-SPAN's cameras picked up audio of Biden chatting casually with participants.

"It's easy being vice president — you don't have to do anything."

Whoever Biden was chatting with said, "It's like being the grandpa and not the parent."

"Yeah, that's it!" replied Biden.

[centralcal]

ha ha, windansea - the grandpa with dementia.

[Hacklehead]

When MSNBC cut away to the Olympics that was the equivalent of the libs throwing in the towel.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

All I can say is it was a very brief pause, since they pretty well announced their "stuff it down their throats" plan last night.

[Extraneus]

Speaking of Matthews, the Republicans must have had a group leg-thrill when they first saw the list of invitees on the other side.

[windansea]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/02/25/obama_on_reconciliation_a_majority_vote_makes_sense.html

Obama to McCain on reconciliation

Dumbo sez he's going for it in 6 weeks.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

[bgates]

Whatever happened to the idea that they start all over again. From scratch.

From everything I read, I'm surprised Obama didn't propose doing just that, at least for the meeting, by about 11am.

[anduril]

For anyone who actually gives a shit about Paul Krugman (TM?), Steve Sailer has a must read blog: Mr. and Mrs. Krugman.

It seems Krugman's wife has been hugely influential in channeling his rage--toward Republicans--and she even edits his columns:

So, Krugman's wife has merely channeled his inner anger toward Republicans and away from his old target--people who think about economics without using equations.

This is based on a New Yorker profile (Sailer has the link).

[windansea]

cool, the Progs are comming around..

comments at HamsherDogLake :)

Obama is Bush’s 3rd term.

There better not be a 4th.

.............................

Obama is throwing the Game on purpose, he is helping the other team win, and wants the republicans to win.

The Obama score card

trillion dollar bail out for banks Obama says Yes
drug importation Obama says no
public options Obams says no
excise tax on union health care plans Obama say Yes
individual mandate Obama says Yes
Bush Torture Obama Says O-kay no problem
Volker Rule Obama says No
penaly for not buying health care increase it Obama says Yes

Obama is not FDR, LBJ, more like Hoover

Obama is no friend of progressives.

House Dems need to ignore the White House and Senate Dems, and look at for their political lives. Obama wants to work with republicans because he is one.

12 months ago Dems had a 32 point lead on the GOP, you just don’t lose a 32 point lead, unless you want to lose it.

[anduril]

Via FR:

According to a new Zogby poll, Americans are more concerned about seeing bad bills passed than getting nothing done, and more annoyed by politicians who think they are smarter than Americans than partisan bickering.

Zogby asked adults to choose which statement on “the problem with Washington” came closer to their own view.

The first choice was between, “The problem with Washington is that nothing ever gets done” and “the problem with Washington is that it passes too many bad bills.”

For those polled, 49 percent said too many bad bills were the main concern, and 37 percent said it was that nothing ever got done.

[Extraneus]

I normally refrain from giving them hits, but dailykos and huffingtonpost are in pretty sad straits tonight.

HuffPo: "The Talk Is Over"

DKos (quoting John Stewart): President Obama can't win with the Republicans on health care, so the Democrats should push through whatever reform they want.

[RichatUF]

Hi bad, hope all is going well.

So was is so bad that the Democrats can't even spin it or are they just taking some time getting the talking points straight?

[windansea]

another prog commenter

Republicans have crazy on their side.

[narciso]

Gee, and they haven't heard Sarah's take on it yet. Were not dealing with De Nile here folks, it's more like the Amazon

[Pops]

""Rachel and Keith will carry Obama's water tonight,""

You would think Keith would be at his Dads beside for another free death panel...
----

Did Pelosi actually say their bill would immediately create 400,000 jobs?

You can't immediatley create 400K doctors and nurses so are these 400,000 bureacrats?

[windansea]

RichatUF

it was so bad that about halfway through comments on lefty recap spin posts on the summit someone mentions the truth and the hair pulling commences

[Pops]

I just loved the liberals sob stories....wouldn't it be easier to just assign each sob story a liberal to take care of them and pay their bills?

By the way Mr. President, your brothers keeper? Why am I paying for your Aunts healthcare?
Everyone who goes to the doctor without insurance, simpy gets assigned a liberal to pay their bill. If we can mandate people have to buy insurance, we can certainly mandate Obama by insurance for his ilegal relatives.

Somehow the left thinks that healthcare that can't be afforded individually, can magicaly be afforded collectively.

[Jane]

I think (hope) we saw the health care burial. They don't have the votes for reconciliation and Obama did nothing to help that cause today.

Stick a fork in it.

[Captain Hate]

This is based on a New Yorker profile (Sailer has the link).

He has a lot of links there and the comments look interesting to say the least. I don't have the time to search through them all now but Paulie and wife *really* don't come across very well at all; and I was very negatively disposed toward him before those.

[bad]

Harry Reid started the day with a nasty accusation of Lamar Alexander being a liar because Lamar asked the President to take reconciliation off the table. Reid claimed no one was discussing reconciliation.

Obama ended the day by claiming reconciiation was an option.

What's wrong with this picture?

[narciso]

O'Reilly as usual, is missing the point, this is a knife fight, done the Chicago way, Obama was the 'moderator' in the same that Capone was at that big conference table in the Untouchables

[Clarice]

Jane, I do so hope you are right.

[Frau Tandenklempner]

Ryan certainly struck gold with his HCR=Ponzi Scheme comment. Repeat, repeat! Bernie Madoff still rings a bell with most voters.

The woman with the hand-me-down dentures is a true golden moment in political personal story time. It's enough to get a person all weewee'd up.

[Janet]

LUN a very funny audio from the Glenn Beck show about the letters Obama receives....from a JOMer

[narciso]

THat provision in the bill, proferred by Reyes
failed, in the LUN

[Janet]

Thanks for the update and link narciso. The Dems. really have no shame. I am so thankful to all our honorable warriors...Military, CIA,etc. that keep us safe.

[Jim Ryan]

We've moved back to farce now. It went from tragedy to farce, then back to tragedy. Now it's farce again.

After health care crashes, he's done. What will he do for the three years after his presidency has already failed? What will he say in the SOTU addresses?

This was depressing a year ago. Now it's becoming delicious. The buffoons are getting their due and the electorate are showing keen discretion, even wisdom.

A shame about the depression, though. There was a big admission price to this farce.

[ratskeller]

I learned so much today. For instance, I had no idea that Krugman had been able to snag a mate.

[sylvia]

Jerry Brown is opening an investigation in CA under reports that 40% of claims go unpaid by the largest insurance companies. (See Reuters) So congratulations. Now the healthcare industry will be bolder than ever to get away with what they can and pay even less claims, knowing that they can buy off the useful idiots.

[Jim Ryan]

Is Zero behind the drone killings of bad guys? He's getting something done, anyway. Hats off to him for that.

[Ann]

PUK would have thoroughly enjoyed this:

Nigel Farage harangues EU President Herman van Rompuy

h/t marc thiessen

[Janet]

LUN John Hinderaker notices that Obama is kinda a weird guy.
Global weirding...Obama is a weird guy....a whole lot a weird going on.

[anduril]

"I was wrong when I advised the Republicans to skip this summit. They need to be commended for having a pretty good strategy of going up there and ramming this down the Democrats' throats, not rolling over and playing dead, not talking about bipartisanship and 'We all want to get along.'" -Rush

[anduril]

Here's Powerline's explanation of that weird ass riff on auto insurance: Why Obama Hates Insurance Companies.

[windansea]

I like a man who can admit he's wrong.

[PD]

Rachel and Keith will carry Obama's water tonight

Oh, no, she won't. After all, in the MS-NBC featuring her talking about her reason for being on the air, she proclaims, "I'm not here to push an agenda."

And you can always believe a leftist.

[windansea]

not in a gay way tho......

[Pofarmer]

My jaw dropped when I heard the audio clip of McCain making a statement, and then Barack Hussein saying, in a very talking down manner "John, the campaign is over." He came off sounding arrogant and petulant at the same time. What a jerk. Nothing has changed, nothing will change. He's not capable of it.

[sylvia]

Anyway this whole thing is a farce and doesn't matter. The healthcare that really matters, Medicare is already provided by the government. Thank goodness for that.

Since the lifespan is in the late 80's, you'd have to be pretty unlucky to get seriously sick before age 65 and actually need the services of the private health insurance you are paying into every month.

It's all a big fraud. Everyone paying in, and no one taking out. The few percent of the people that actually need private health insurance, are dragged and bounced around until they either give up or win. You are all so sure Bernie Madoff types aren't at the helm of these big companies. I bet they are drawn to them like flies to honey.

So really this all doesn't matter. The only thing it was good for is a study in the gullibility of the people and how easily big money can buy them off.

[Old Lurker]

By the way, after he told the whopper about his car insurance episode...did I hear him repeat the statement that his daughter had had menengitis? Was that not shown to be false the last time he told it that way and MO told it the other way around? What's the name for a liar who does not know he is lying?

[Clarice]

Well, I have a third option--his car was a junker and he only bought the mandatory liability insurance.

[bad]

This isn't the first time Obama has been dismissive of "campaign rhetoric" and sneered at being held accountable to what he has promised previously.

He's pretty much telling the truth about being a big fat liar...

[windansea]

"John, the campaign is over."

classless trogladyte

what a weak individual

[Ignatz]

Sylvia, will you kindly shut your gob?

[Jane]

I missed the car insurance whopper. Was it good?

[Pofarmer]

OH. Good. LORD.

Obama on car insurance.

BAMA: ... You know, when I was -- when I was young, just got out of college, I had to buy auto insurance. I had a beat-up old car. And I won't name the name of the insurance company, but there was a company, let's call it Acme Insurance in -- in Illinois. And I was paying my premiums every month. After about six months I got rear-ended, and I called up Acme and said, "You know, I'd like to see if I can get my car repaired." And they laughed at me over the phone.

Because really, this was set up not to actually provide insurance, what it was set up was to meet the legal requirements. But it really wasn't serious insurance.

This guy? This guy graduated Harvard Law? And he didn't understand that what he had was liability insurance????

Oh. My. God.

What. A. Doofus.

[Old Lurker]

Not only a Doofus, everything that befalls him is ALWAYS the fault of some dishonest company. Now it's payback time. Wonder who was preaching to whom in his relationship with Wright?

[Clarice]

powerline seems to have missed the point, too.

[narciso]

Ot, it seems the investigation into Seth Bishop's death is proceeding, 24 years late

[Pofarmer]

Somebody get a hold of the guys at powerline, and explain to them that the only insurance you have to have in IL is liability insurance. Actually, if you own the vehicle outright, that's the only auto insurance you have to have most anywhere.

[anduril]

Here it is: Mandatory Insurance

Complying with the Law

You are in compliance with the mandatory insurance law if you have vehicle liability insurance in the following minimum amounts:

* $20,000 - injury or death of one person in an accident
* $40,000 - injury or death of more than one person in an accident
* $15,000 - damage to property of another person

So, it's apparent from Obama's words--"it was set up was to meet the legal requirements"--that this is the insurance he had. If he was hit by a driver who didn't have insurance--an unfortunately not uncommon occurrence--then he'd have been shit out of luck as far as repairing his own car went. His policy would only cover damage to a car that he hit. The law was designed this way to make it as easy as possible for low income types like community organizers to comply with the law and protect OTHER DRIVERS.

I sure hope lots of people pick up on this, because it reveals this Harvard lawyer to be a complete moron, knucklehead, idiot, bozo, nitwit...president?

[Rick Ballard]

If he was rear ended the other driver had primary responsibility. If he didn't bother with an uninsured driver rider then he screwed himself. Kinda like today.

I find his failure today to be very much in line with his flops in Copenhagen re the IOC and IPCC. He doesn't do the requisite homework and his intellectual mediocrity shines like a 1000 Watt halogen work light.

I hope he does wear the stinking albatross of HCR for a six more weeks. It's not going anywhere with public opinion solidifying in opposition.

[bad]

He also talked of watching his mother fighting cancer and the insurance company as she lay dying.

Hadn't we already established that he didn't visit his mother in those final months?

[bgates]

You know, when I was -- when I was young, just got out of college, I had to buy auto insurance. I had a beat-up old car. And I won't name the name of the insurance company, but there was a company, let's call it Acme Insurance in -- in Illinois.

OK.

Obama transferred in 1981 to Columbia University in New York City...and graduated with a B.A. in 1983. He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation, then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.

After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago

Huh. So I guess the problem is that you're allowed to buy auto insurance across state lines, is that the moral to the story?

[PD]

Whatever happened to the idea that they start all over again. From scratch.

I'd rather that this thing was shot in the head and left to die. Never to rise again.

[Danube of Thought]

Jesus--read this foul-smelling idolatry from Reuters.

[Janet]

everything that befalls him is ALWAYS the fault of some dishonest company. Now it's payback time.

Do you figure that is his motivation? Payback? Maybe leftists are all mad at the world and looking for someone/thing to blame. They want power for retribution.

[anduril]

He doesn't understand insurance this simple and he wants to throw our health insurance and health care up for frickin' grabs?? WTF does he think he is??

[PD]

Based on Obama's story about his car insurance, it sounds like he's the kind of guy who walks into a steak house, pays for a glass of ice tea, and then complains that they don't serve him a porterhouse as well.

[E. Nigma]

My jaw dropped when I heard the audio clip of McCain making a statement, and then Barack Hussein saying, in a very talking down manner "John, the campaign is over." - Pofarmer.

Over? Over? Nothing is over! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? This may cost millions of votes and billions of dollars, but nothing is over!

This calls for a really stupid, futile gesture, and trying for reconciliation is just that kind of gesture, and the Obama Administration are just the guys to do it.

[anduril]

I'd be willing to bet that most states have mandatory insurance requirements that are extremely similar to those of Illinois--amounts might differ but the basic scheme would be the same.

I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm still appalled at how stupid this guy is. I'm almost starting to feel some sympathy for Rahmbo (doncha know), having to deal with this moron constantly. How do you get the most basic ideas through to this guy if he can't understand this?

[Clarice]

niters..

[Old Lurker]

Point taken, Janet. You described my sister to a T.

[Danube of Thought]

"Now the healthcare industry will be bolder than ever to get away with what they can and pay even less claims, knowing that they can buy off the useful idiots."

Sylvia, you stupid shit, does it matter to you that Medicare denies 6.5% of its claims, while private insurers deny 3.5%? (Look it up.)

Please take a hike, you moron.

[anduril]

Somebody prominent has to call Obama out on this. Dubya never said anything even half this stupid, and certainly would never have heard the end of it if he had.

[bad]

And this same doofus thinks he can redo health insurance coverage for the entire nation....

[Old Lurker]

I love it when DoT is having his second Martini.

[anduril]

...you stupid shit...take a hike, you moron.

I'm not gonna hang around here if people stoop to this type of personal invective.

[Pofarmer]

You know what they say OL.

"Life is always harder when you're stupid."

[Soylent Red]

They want power for retribution exacting righteous justice.

At least that's how they see it.

Maybe leftists are all mad at the world and looking for someone/thing to blame.

No "maybe" to it when it comes to Barry. What isn't caused by racism derives from corporate greed, class struggle, or simple misunderstanding of his wisdom and benevolence (PBUH).

The guy is never responsible for anything and is at the confluence of all injustices in the world. Because he, of course, is without fault.

Standard issue NPD right there.

[Jane]

The car insurance story is priceless. He is too stupid to know what he purchased and too stupid to understand the issue of liability and far too stupid to tell the truth. It's a bloody trifecta.

[Pofarmer]

his intellectual mediocrity

I'm starting to have trouble believing he rises to the level of mediocrity.

[sylvia]

Don't worry Anduril, the mark of a troll is excessiviely insulting language. It's how it gets its juvenile psyhopathic kicks, thinking it can hurt the feelings of unsuspecting others. However, it is not smart enough to understand such unusual behavior gives it away, and defeats the purpose. Irony. Of course, another tactic of a troll is bad cop, good cop, so hmmmm, Anduril.

Anyway, just for argument, those stats are gotten from where? And how confident are you it's 3.5% when Jerry Brown of CA has evidence it's closer to 40%? Companies never fudge the figures do they?

[Soylent Red]

It's a bloody trifecta

He's the big winner in this afternoon's races at Moron Downs.

His winnings will go toward buying affordable liability insurance to repair his car, make a payment on a heckova deal he got on a bridge in Brooklyn, and this here bag of magic beans.

[anduril]

I was in a focus group last night run by a financial services company, just a bunch of very ordinary people, several ex military types, a waiter, a HS teacher, a student and a housewife, me. Not a Harvard lawyer among us, but every single one of the people in that room would have understood that insurance issue. They were real people in touch with the lives that real people lead, unlike this frickin' arrogant Marxist.

[Free Radical]

FWIW- reading down just the headlines of news stories at GoogleNews, you would think that either Obama won or that the country is ungovernable. The latter is what will get emphasized if the dems try 'reconciliation.'

BTW, what was with all of the 'Republicans came ready to play' headlines from unrelated news outlets? Are they echoing a republican line, or are all these clowns hammering out their stories on JournoList?

[PD]

"John, the campaign is over."

That's really galling, coming from the man who is in permanent campaign mode.

[daddy]

Just awoke and watched the first 45 minutes of BBC and CNN INternational.

The Health Care Debate was not mentioned on CNN, and on the BBC all it had was a blurb saying something like "Differences mar a 7 hour Health Care conference organized by President Obama."

That's about it. So what that tells me is that the cheerleaders at CNN and BBC can't figure out how to paint this to their and the Dem's and Obama's advantage. Didn't see any of the conference myself.

Hope my initial impression is right.

Everything in the last 15 minutes is breaking news about explosions in Kabul.

[Jim Ryan]

Dana Milbank: Professor Obama schools lawmakers on health-care reform. He even maid McCain wear a dunce cap!

How's your circulation these days, WAPO?

[Fresh Air]

I'm not gonna hang around here if people stoop to this type of personal invective.

I'm going to cancel you out by hanging around twice as long.

[PD]

Willie Brown on Hardball, speaking of Obama today:

"He really does great work when he's in the presence of his enemies."

Yeah, okay. If you say so.

[srp]

Sounds like the Republicans did better than expected. It's like when your bad shooters hit 50% from three-point range and you win big. Always encouraging but it's important not to extrapolate such performances into the future.

[Matthew Crandall]

Sylvia Dahhhhling, that 40% figure is so high, it seems quite unlikely to be true.

However it is worth noting that denying medicare claims was exactly how Obama was planning to pay for his little health care adventure. Of course, the denied claims were mostly going to be the "fraudulent" ones, right? But then we really don't know do we? I think one of those 150+ new gubment panels was going to sort out the finer details.

[Fresh Air]

Another thing about auto insurance is that health insurance is orders of magnitude more complex. Health insurance requires decades to form a good actuarial experience claims database. Auto requires one year at most to reflect seasonality.

Health insurance is the definition of "long tail," while auto is the essence of "short tail." If he can't figure out auto, he has no business even attempting medical. Maybe it just befuddles him so much he just wants the whole insurance industry to disappear.

[Danube of Thought]

OL, you sly devil, you nailed the Martini count spot on. And I had the first one with my mother-in-law, a.k.a. the Vile Banshee.

[Rob Crawford]

I'm not gonna hang around here if people stoop to this type of personal invective.

Door -- don't let it hit you, etc.

[Sue]

Anyone know how the left's million man "virtual" march on Washington went? Nothing in the news, so it must not have been too productive.

[Old Lurker]

Ha! Takes one to know one...

[Rick Ballard]

Is Obama making good on his 40 acres and a 3BR 2BA promise? From whence does the power to abrogate private contracts arise?

[Soylent Red]

Anyone know how the left's million man "virtual" march on Washington went?

KOS and Rachel Maddow project attendance at 10.2 million.

If by "march" you mean "not participating", and by "virtual" you mean "asleep in parents' basement".

[Old Lurker]

Saw that earlier Rick and it made me so mad I didn't post it. Having screwed bond holders and gotten away with it...this seems logical to him. How it escapes him that no MBS will ever be priced the same in the future if these are the new rules is beyond me.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Jane, et al-

His car insurance tale is a bald faced lie.

It's a an old Axelrod campaign strategy. It might have been for the original insurance mandate here in Illinois. It just reeks of an Axelrod ploy that I remember from a gubenatorial race here. Took adavantage of the horrible Willis family tragedy and launched Gov. Rod's career.

I'll find this twist for all to enjoy.

G'night all.