by Jamie Glazov
Frontpage Magazine
Frontpage Interview’s guest Victor Davis Hanson sheds light on the unfolding drama of a president whose unpopular proposals threaten to ruin his popularity.
FP: Victor Davis Hanson, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
I’d like to talk to you today about Obama’s retreat on healthcare and the hit he is taking in the polls.
The President has announced that his administration may abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.
Your take on this retreat? What’s the significance here?
Hanson: Obama has discovered that his statist proposals are more unpopular than he is popular. But more importantly, dozens of Democratic Congress people sent a message to him that they simply cannot run next year in their purple districts on cap-and-trade energy taxes, $2 trillion deficits, socialized medicine, and higher taxes, with periodic gaffes like the Sotomayor "wise Latina" cut and the Gates "stupidly" fiasco. At some point, they made the decision that hope and change was being trumped by town hall meetings and as a result are making the necessary adjustments on healthcare.
If Obama is wise, he will do a little tinkering, and declare victory, and it will all go the way of Hillary-care. Then we will see whether Obama has a Clinton 1994 moment or prefers to go the Jimmy Carter oblivion route. Even more importantly is the President's reaction to the setback, whether he will smile and move on, or lash out at "them" who "raised the bar" on him in a 'downright mean" way.
FP: What is your view of the town hall protestors and their effectiveness?
Hanson: Well, they are less provocative than Code Pink, Moveon.org, and Michael Moore, who until this year were canonized as principled dissidents. Pelosi et al. once upon a time thought the boisterous anti-Bush demonstrators were reflective of the finest tradition of American protest. I'm sure our President, the ex-community organizer, would agree. As long as the town-hallers are non-violent and allow meetings to proceed as planned, I think they are admirable participants in direct democracy. Note they are increasingly non-partisan, but more representative of a senior cohort who fear Medicare will be looted for many of those who choose not to purchase catastrophic healthcare plans, illegal aliens, and others who make decisions for a variety of reasons not to acquire a private plan.
FP: So you believe that Obama’s Healthcare plans are, ultimately, doomed to fail?
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4 comments:
rampant hyperpartisanship. Which is why people are afraid to compromise on anything.
One side says we want to bring down cost, we think a public option is the best way. The other says, we don't want public option but we do want to bring down cost. Pres. compromises, says public option is not a deal breaker, lets continue looking for ways to bring down costs.
Tell me, what the hell is wrong with that? Instead of painting this as a loss for the pres. or as him retreating, this should be seen as a small win for the american people where we see some flexibility in congress that may allow for legislation of some form to be drafted.
9:36am-put down the KoolAid, they didn't put down the public option or compromise, they called it something else-Co-op. It all leads to a single payer system with the gov't in control and it doesn't do anything to reduce costs. Don't take my word though, read the bill for yourself.
Great article..Written so that ALL the Kool-ade drinkers may understand.
So sad to be so blind.
11:10, what are you talking about? Your boy Grassley has been touting co-ops as a viable compromise for a while now as an effective way to bring down cost. You can argue whether this is correct or not, but obviously the president's step back from a "public option" demand as well as aknowledgement of the need to tackle tort reform are clear examples of compromise with republ. Hopefully we'll see more. It's just too bad idealogues like you on the right and the left lack the rational to be able to cobble together the best ideas from both sides into a unified strategy.
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