But that was the reason: Because I did not want a compromised faux-liberal who talked a good game but sold us out to Corporate America at the first and every other opportunity. If I had to do over... at least the Clintons had a responsible tax policy they fought for, even if the Contract on America had to hold their feet to the fire on spending cuts. Hillary offered publicly mandated health insurance without the guarantee of a public option; Obama offered a public option without a public mandate. He lied about that, as with so much else, and delivered the opposite, but Hillary and McCain offered unappealing certainties he opposed with at least the possibility he would keep his word. Oh, well, maybe next time, if the country lasts that long.


It could have been, if he had the sense to duplicate FDRs First Hundred Days with a similar public mandate and huge Congressional majorities. Instead, he sat on his hands except to enact a series of corporate bailouts and subsidies that cut his approval ratings nearly 20% before embarking, or failing to embark, on a health care odyssey that would have exhausted Odysseus. Geez, do not even get me started on that; write a freaking bill, write three if you must (like LBJ did with Medicare.) Do NOT farm it out to incompetent Congressional hacks who lack the presidents leverage, much less cut Reid off at the legs by telling him NOT to cut Lieberman off at the legs. The public was ready to embrace whatever bill Obama offered them after the election; unfortunately, he waited six months to even address it and then did no more than make speeches urging support for at least one of the FOUR bills other people wrote.

This was Americas first real chance to embrace true socialism since at least 1964, and probably 1932. All Obama has done is reinforce the GOP narrative that government not only does not, but CANNOT work. He is a failure on a scale that would be unprecedented without Bush, and he can only run against Bush just so long. Regardless, we are marking time until he leaves office, whether it is next January or four years later, and it is time we do not have to spare.