White House Wimp Out

President Obama has already given up on his campaign promise to reverse Bush administration policy and allow the government to negotiate prices with drug companies. Now it's being reported that they're ready to give up the inclusion of a government insurance option as well. Which leads me to wonder: What exactly is this "health care reform" going to reform?

In a Politico story, Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) was quoted as saying:

“Look, the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option. There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.”

My question is: why aren't there? Aren't the Republicans all about competition? Aren't the Democrats all about using government to help people? So why wouldn't the reform include an option to allow people to buy into government-run health care? It would increase competition and demonstrate whether or not the government can fuck up your health care less than the insurance companies already do. Seems like a win-win to me.

No one is talking about FORCING people to be on a government plan. It would just provide it as an option...thereby increasing choice. So what's the problem? The only problem I can see is that private health insurance companies would worry that a well-run public system would eat into their profits. Wouldn't THAT be a shame?

Once again, the Republicratic party is showing that - when it comes to the interests of business vs. the interests of the people - we really do have only one party in this country. Thanks to all the corporate-owned Ds and Rs, this "reform" isn't going to reform anything... except maybe how quickly taxpayer money ends up in drug and health insurance company coffers.

Requiem for Hillary

The last time I posted, I was confident Obama would win the nomination. I certainly had no idea it would take this long. But even then — despite many of my friends calling me a "Hillary Hater" (ahem, Yashar) — I've always thought it unfortunate that we couldn't have had them both.

Over the last few days, I've had this fantasy that Barack would come out quickly and announce Hillary as his running mate, the party would unite, and this energy that's been going strong since the first primaries would just pick up steam and roll right over old, scary, conservative John "Walnuts" McCain. Even though, on a thinking level, I can understand Jimmy Carter saying that she's the worst possible choice (antithetical to Obama's change message, huge negatives, will bring out the right wing whack-jobs to vote against her), on an emotional level, I've really been hoping that the Thursday night meeting was their secret plan to unify everyone and just go for it.

I feel that even more so after her "suspension" speech yesterday. She spoke her own words, not those of her handlers trying to sculpt her into the candidate they thought she should be. After a long time of not seeing it, I finally remembered why in November 2007 I said that I would be happy with either Hillary or Obama. I really like her. When she's herself, she's just this incredible, funny, likable, smart woman who I'd have at my BBQ any day. The Votemaster over at Electoral Vote said it better than I can:

She is at her best when she is herself. During the whole campaign, her handlers have tried to turn her into some kind of steel robot who always marches forward, ignores all criticism, and is convinced she is never wrong--kind of like a smarter version of George Bush. Many people have said that in person she is warm and friendly. Her handlers apparently decided early on that the only way for a woman to win was to be tougher than Maggie Thatcher and Golda Meir combined. It didn't work.

So, will Obama pick her? I kind of doubt it, thought I completely disagree with those who say one of her negatives is that she doesn't bring him any new states (um, hello FLORIDA???). But either way, he really should support her in whatever the next role is that she wants to take on. She'd be SO much more effective than bland, boring Harry Reid in leading the Senate. She'd also do well as Secretary of State. My own personal favorite would be a seat on the Supreme Court — can you imagine the clashes between Hillary and Scalia?

Whatever's next for her, I really, really hope that it isn't just going away. I hope she follows the Howard Dean route and just keeps going. I mean, she can take a (much deserved) Al Gore-style break and come back stronger and better, but I hope she doesn't just disappear like John Kerry. That, truly, would be a real defeat for everyone.

Can we just write Joe Biden off now?

Plagiarist? Check. Liar? Check. And now... Racist.

Joe Biden is the prime Democratic recipient of the U.S. Senate's small state welfare plan. He's a completely mediocre Senator whose only notable qualities are his inexhaustible hunger for power and complete lack of ethics in the pursuit of it. If he were from a large state, he'd have been picked off years ago, but because he's from Delaware, he's been in the Senate since the 70's. Then, this week, he had this to say about Barack Obama:

"I mean, you've got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Can we just write him off now and not spend any of the energy we'll need to prevent a McCain administration on him? Seriously, folks, this guy is dead in the water.

An Eerie Thought About 'President Hillary'

On the occasion of Hillary Clinton's announcement that she is, indeed, running for President, I'm struck by something that the pundits haven't been saying about her "historic" campaign. Namely, what a horrible message it would send about democracy to have another Clinton in the White House at this point in history.

Before I go on, let me say that I haven't decided who I'm backing yet for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Out of the contenders so far, I think Barack Obama is the only potential Democratic nominee who could possibly beat John McCain in a general election. "Maverick" McCain would lock up the independent vote (and would attract many moderate Democrats), which would mean the Democratic nominee would have to go into new territory to beat him. Obama, who can talk about faith and religion with the ease of any Republican, could appeal to many Christians, who have been traditionally turned off by McCain.

That said, I'm not sure who I'm backing yet. McCain is far from a sure thing and there's so little out there about most of the declared candidates.

One thing I DO know is that a Hillary Clinton presidency, while better than any possible Republican administration, would be very depressing in terms of our democracy. Upon Hillary's election, the Presidency of the United States would then be controlled by just TWO families for 24 years (28 if she gets re-elected). Bush I for 4, Bill for 8, Dubya for 8 then Hill for 4 (or 8).

How could we continue to point to our "democratic system" as the best in the world when a Hillary presidency would mean a de facto oligarchy for two or three decades? It just creeps me out to think that we have the potential to have distilled power into the hands of so few in this country. While I'm only vaguely anti-Hillary at this point, due to the fact that she's such a centrist, "Republican-lite" type, I'm not completely opposed to her (like I was to John Kerry). The thought of three Bush-Clinton decades, however, does give me pause.