Lies, Damn Lies and Health Care

Everything about this health care legislation seems like a sham. When Obama made his plaintive plea number 35 for his health care plan he was brazen enough to trot out more people in white coats to back him up. It seemed more like a skit for Saturday Night Live than the President making a case to the American people his legislation is important or necessary. It was a joke, and this picture from Drudge captures the absurdity completely.

Peggy Noonan, who is fresh off the hope and change bandwagon, wrote an excellent article on the disaster that is health care which is quickly becoming a portrait of a disastrous president.  She notes Obama's growing credibility gap:

All this contributes to a second problem, which is a growing credibility gap. In his speech Wednesday, demanding an "up or down" vote, the president seemed convinced and committed—but nothing he said sounded true. His bill will "bring down the cost of health care for millions," it is "fully paid for," it will lower the long term deficit by a trillion dollars.

Does anyone believe this? Does anyone who knows the ways of government, the compulsions of Congress, and how history has played out in the past, believe this? Even a little? Rep. Bart Stupak said Thursday that he and several of his fellow Democrats won't vote for the Senate version of the bill because it says right there on page 2,069 that the federal government would directly subsidize abortions. The bill's proponents say this isn't so. It would be a relief to have a president who could weigh in believably and make clear what his own bill says. But he seems to devote more words to obscuring than clarifying.

Clearly Noonan doesn't think the addition of a few people standing by Obama's side give him the credibility he needs to sell his disastrous bill.  Her solution, one she admits is exceedingly unlikely, for Obama to stand with Republicans at they offer a bill together.  Three reasons are offered why this will not happen and all are very true:

 First, they enjoy his discomfort. Second, they believe the bill is not worth saving, that at this point no matter what it contains—and at this point most people can no longer retain in their heads what it contains—it has been fatally tainted by the past year of mistakes and inadequacies.

And the third reason is that the past decade has taught them what a disaster looks like, and they've lost their taste for standing next to one.

Noonan was joined yesterday by Neil Cavuto who added his own comment on the lies and deceptions held out to the public as transparency saying, “You know what I think really turns off voters? Not lying politicians, but lying politicians who insist they’re not lying politicians."  Maybe we've come to expect a lie or two from politicians, sometimes we overlook it.  I would add this to Cavuto's comment, there does seem to be a place reserved in politician hell for those politicians who continue to lie to get their own way when the American people have said as clearly as they can, NO!