Re-heat? (UPDATED)

(UPDATE #1): We had a hoops league game so we were unable to catch the speech last night, though from the reviews coming in, it was exactly as we suspected: same ol’, same ol’. In fact, word around the campfire was that Obama was merely using this speech as a deadline to get something, anything pushed through Congress before the start of the speech so that the tone of the speech would’ve been more along the lines of “Today, we have witnessed tremendous progress” rather than “Let me be clear”. Why else would you risk sacrificing more political capital making the same speech you have many times before? In the end, there weren’t the votes in Congress and to that end, the President bored everyone to tears again.

B-Daddy has a fine wrap-up on the speech, here.

B-Daddy makes an excellent point that dawns upon those not afflicted by political office-holding. If we are going to raise revenue to pay for this monstrosity through the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse... why wait? Why should eliminating that depend upon passage of a bill?

(here endeth the update)

Crawl into my ambulance, your pulse is getting weak
Reveal yourself all now to me, girl, while you've got the strength to speak
'Cause they're waiting for you at Bellevue with their oxygen masks
But I could give it all to you now, if only you could ask
And don't call for your surgeon, even he says it's too late
It's not your lungs this time, it's your heart that holds your fate

- "For You" Bruce Springsteen



The President is going to take (sigh) another shot at pitching healthcare reform tonight.

Given the words and deeds of his surrogates, underlings and fellow Democrats this summer in calling the townhall protesters “un-American” and worse without the President ever once jumping into the fray and displaying some leadership in a call for cooler heads, we don’t know how another primetime speech is going to change anyone’s mind.

That many of the learned class were shocked by the shock expressed by the townhallers is shocking in itself. That a 1,000 page bill could yet be so vague and nebulous with respect to something as personal as health care would illicit anything other than loud and vocal skepticism? Honestly, what were they expecting?

Well, we now know that the most ethical Congress ever was thinking that the “crisis” environment that was once inherited and then exacerbated on their watch, would be the grease for the skids in fast-tracking an entire make-over of 1/6th of the economy… and that you all would timidly play along not daring to question their noble intentions.

Hello, summer of ass-kickings.

(Hedge Alert!) We’ll hold out some hope that the President will outline some market-based reforms in his speech but we’re not counting on it. Why else make this speech if he is merely going to rehash the same talking points he has all spring and summer? (UPDATE: If the President’s speech to the AFL-CIO on Monday is any indication, then he isn’t offering up anything we haven’t heard before. Or maybe he will. Anybody up for a fine if you don't buy health insurance?)


The President had his chance but a) he never displayed any leadership in the townhall kerkuffle (understanding organizing and protests was supposed to be his strong suit, right? He was supposed to be post-partisan, right?) and b) he never displayed any leadership by allowing Nancy Pelosi (Nancy Pelosi!) a leadership role in crafting this legislation.

And now he’s left to deal with the carnage in the aftermath. Good luck with that, sir.