Open Left

Great breakdown, Mike

 And I think President Obama (mostly) understands the above. His bitter clinging to the "bipartisanship" chimera suggests to me that he doesn't completely get it, but he's still way ahead of the Democrats in Congress, who seem to have a death wish.

 Health care will be the key. Universal health care with a strong public option immensely mitigates the pain of unemployment, as it covers the one single aspect of one's life that one can't control. You can scrimp and save and live austerely under tough economic times as long as you have your health. If Obama can fill in that gap, he'll buy himself a lot more voter patience.

 But to succeed, he's going to have to pretend the DC punditry does not exist. He's shown little indication of that. And he needs to realize, as Chris pointed out, that the real enemy is not Republicans -- it's blue dogs.  

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn

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by: Master Jack @ Tue Jun 09, 2009 at 07:58:35 AM CDT