Health Law a Lost Cause?

Lost causes are the only causes worth fighting for.

Clarence Darrow(1857-1938)

Given the  furor over healthcare.gov and cancelled health plans, the health law appears to many critics to be a lost cause. The law has  resulted in lost health plans, lost doctors,  lost hospitals, and lost credibility.

Is the health plan really a lost cause?

Could be.   Its website doesn’t work.  It is causing millions to lose their health plans.  It is resulting in unexpected “sticker shock” for the young and middle class.  It is the butt of comedians’ jokes and of talk show host’s snide remarks.   It has led to a “crisis of confidence.”  It could  make the President  a lame duck.   It could signal the end of the health law as his “signature achievement.”

But wait.  As Hamlet might have said,  “Not so fast, MacDuff.”

President Obama still has his silken rhetoric – his golden voice.   He can still talk his way out of, around, and over his promises.  He can still talk a good, even a great, game. 

As Charles Krauthammer says,  in his Washington Post column today “Rhetoric vs Reality,“ he can still campaign. Campaigning, governing, leading, oversight, and paying attention to details, are different things altogether.

Rhetoric can still trump reality.  Obama can still deny reality. He can still say he hasn’t really changed his message from what he promised in June 2009. He can still assert,“If you like your plan, you can  keep your plan.  No matter what. Period.”   He can now say, “When I  said  Period, I  really meant “Semicolon,” Colon,” or “Dash.”  “

He might even say, The English language changes.  So do conditions. I do not change.  I apologize if you misunderstood my intent. It was perfectly clear to me.

In any event, you’ll be better off under my plan, which covesr everything but the kitchen sink, and all those theoretical things that might happen to other people but not to you,     

Government standards must prevail.  Government knows best.  The common good is better than the individual good.  We are all in this together.

Tweet:   Is ObamaCare a lost cause?   I think not. President Obama’s silken rhetoric will trump reality, no matter what the results on the ground.