New York Times Story Tells It All in Headline  “Legacy on Line in Fierce Drive on Health Law”

The strongest and the fiercest spirit

That fought in heaven , now fiercest by despair.

John Milton (1608-1674), Paradise Lost

You can sense the ferocity of the Obama administration’s despair in today’s  NYT’s front page piece on Obamacare.  The despair is expressed in the title of  a White House document, “Official Affordable Care Act Enrollment Countdown, ” being bandied about in White House inner circles.

 It’s now or never unless the White House team, gathered together in the Eisenhower Room in the White House to see if the team  can come up with answers to these questions.  Can 2.7 million Americans be persuaded to sign up for Obamacare between October 1, 2013 and January 1, 2014? Can an Obamacare “train wreck” be avoided? Can the self-afflicted one year delay of the employer mandate be repaired?  Can Republican defunding be overcome?

The key is persuading millions of healthy young “invincibles” and Hispanic minorities, aged 18 to 35, to  sign up for Obamacare. The key is to make abstract benefits real.  The key is to convince these young people that increased health costs are worth the benefits of govenment-endorsed health plans.  

This White House campaign, its "last campign,"  is about outreach. It is about getting young people through the front door to sign up for Obamacare.  It is about mobilizing the mainstram and social media, pharmacies, churches, health centers, hospitals , mayors, city officials, sports teams, liberal celebrities, and left-leaning organizations to support Obamacare.

White House advisors staff has gathered together in the White House war room,  led by Obama chief of staff, Dennis McDonough, and chief advisor, Valarie Jarrett, to prevent the Obamacare “train wreck’. The questions being addressed are:  Can public skepticism be turned around? Can GOP opposition be countered? Can Obamacare sail on to victory?

In terms of  political theatre, the drama is intense, the suspense breath-taking.

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), in the Building of a Ship, might have said about the Obamacare ship,

Sail on, O Ship of State!

Sail on, O Union, strong and great!

With all the hopes of future years.

Is hanging breathless on thy fate!

Right now the Obamacare ship is floundering.  The next 5 months will tell if it can be salvaged, or if will sink in  the Presidential historical swamp.

Tweet:  The NYTs says Obama’s legacy in the pantheon of U.S Presidents depends on Obamacare's fate , and outcomes of  fierce battles for its survival.