As the non-debate on health care reform devolves into a referendum on non-existent aspects of the legislation (let's kill Aunt Sally), President Obama seems to be incapable of grabbing the reins on this runaway stallion of rumor and misinformation.
The president continues to want to play nice while getting steamrolled by his adversaries.
The American people made a bold move in electing President Obama, and despite the thinking of his advisers, the American people did so because they wanted bold action on a number of fronts. What the president has to understand is: it doesn't matter who you are -- if you can't sell it, folks won't buy it. It's time for him to use his bully pulpit to say what it is that must be in the bill, what is not and will not be in the bill he signs, and once, and for all, state that a bill without a public option is not reform, and is not acceptable. Mr. Obama must finally cross the threshold; does he want to be a transformational leader, or does he want to be Jimmy Carter -- a real smart guy who couldn't get anything done?
It's time for the president to show some backbone and some balls. George W. Bush used the perception of a mandate he never had to enact bad ideas. If this Democrat continues to fail to govern from the enviable position of strength he now has, he can count on being regarded as much a failure as his predecessor. It's much worse to have the right ideas die because of a lack of political will.
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