President Obama overplayed his hand?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The stakes are high when it comes to President Obama's speech on health care to a joint session of Congress tomorrow night. If the president's call to action doesn't get more lawmakers on board and if some kind of health care reform legislation doesn't result, the political damage to Mr. Obama could be significant.
Meanwhile - critics are after the president for what they see as a wide range of missteps in his eight months in office. Some say Mr. Obama made a tactical mistake by putting Congress in charge of the details on a key issue like health care.
But conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer writes that Pres. Obama is in trouble and it's not Congress' fault. He says the president is to blame for an agenda too far to the left for a center-right country.
He says that Mr. Obama misread the election results and that he was not given a mandate to make sweeping changes to the American system, enlarge the government and spend trillions of dollars we don't have. Krauthammer suggests the president is jeopardizing the trust of the people who elected him.
He writes:
"Let's be clear: This is a fall, not a collapse. He's not been repudiated or even defeated. He will likely regroup and pass some version of health insurance reform that will restore some of his clout and popularity. But what has occurred - irreversibly - is this: He's become ordinary. The spell is broken. The charismatic conjurer of 2008 has shed his magic."
In other words, he says President Obama is a "mere mortal," a politician like all the others.
Here’s my question to you: Has President Obama overplayed his hand?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Paul writes:
What "magic" is right wing columnist talking about? You know what "magic" Obama brings to my life personally? A big dose of "The Real". Here is a president who actually talks to us with some sense and to us, not at us. And you know what? If he were a politician "like the rest", he would not have been the first black man in the White House in a country where the confederate flag is still allowed to be flown.
Albert in Los Angeles writes:
No! Recall when McCain tried to suspend his campaign, postpone a debate and hide under the economic crisis? Obama was correct: to be president you must continue to turn with the world or else it will turn without you. Obama won the debate, the election and the lousy hand left to him by George W. Bush and the Republican Party. Now a Superman must play that hand.
Andy from Hermosa Beach, California writes:
Jack, Obama proved he was a mere mortal when Congress morphed the stimulus and cap and trade from meaningful legislation to pork-laden garbage. Obama can take back his presidency by taking ownership of the health care issue and being clear and concise on what he wants to see in a bill. He needs to take the reins of the debate and not let Congress steer his proposals.
Toye from Bridgeport, Connecticut writes:
On the contrary, Jack, if Obama is able to regroup and get something out of this, it makes him all the more super-human in my books. Let’s be objective here: in a Democratic-controlled Congress, a “mere mortal” would have simply rallied the Blue Dogs and the liberals around his agenda and make it an all-Democrat affair. But that would have been too easy. Instead, Obama pursued the path of more resistance, in the spirit of bipartisanship. Let’s give tribute where one is due.
Bob in Miami writes:
Yes, he overplayed it and on the same issue that tripped up the Clinton administration.
Tom from Philadelphia writes:
No, not really, Pres. Obama was handed a full plate and he’s dealing with it. But while we’re on the subject of too much or too many, you take too many days off. Next year, I’m keeping tally.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
A "mere mortal"? A politician "like all the others"? I beg to differ. When the "uniter" Bush came into office, the first thing he did was alienate the Dems. Even as Regan was a good communicator, his trickle down economics or "Reganomics" is a HUGE reason we are in the mess we are in right now but is still reveared by many in the U.S. Obama, against "conventional" wisdom, has tried to reach across the isle and has had his hand slapped repeatedly for it. He is a politician yes and as one he has to play the game to make the system better. That's just the way the system works. What "magic" is right wing columnist talking about? You know what "magic" Obama brings to my life personally? I big dose of "The Real". Here is a president who actually talks to us with some sense and to us....not at us. And you know what...if he were a politician "like the rest", he would not have been the first Black Man in the White House in a country where the Confederate Flag is still allowed to be flown.
A leading economist in the UK just wrote that the US may on a path of going from a First World status to that of Third World one-similar to what happened to Argentina several decades ago. . Has Obama overplayed his hand? By quite a bit, so it seems to many.
I'm simply sick and tired of hearing everyone complaining about President Obama on issues that are based on assumptions and fear. I hear people complain that he is too left, too right,to centrist. I hear he's a nazi, a communist, a socialist. I hear he's not to be trusted because he's a liar, a foreigner, a black. The thing is, I never see any of this. He has done what he said he would do to what seems to be the best of his abilities, and has done much more than a good majority of past presidents were able to accomplish in such rough times in such a short amount of time.
So has he overplayed his cards on Healthcare, or any other issue? No.
Have the American people decided to start mobbing and quit paying attention to the world around them? Yes.
(Also, watching YouTube videos does not equate to paying attention to the world around you.)
The problem right now isn't the president, it's the public.
"The spell is broken"???? For crying out loud, no one but Obama's most fanatical supporters thought he was a "charismatic conqueror" or that he was somehow "magic"! The rest of us - pragmatic, progressive, informed voters - knew that he was indeed a "mere mortal" and that he would have both successes and failures.
Contrary to characterizations by the conservative echo chamber at Fox News, we did not think that a President Obama would somehow excrete rainbows and conjure magical unicorns. We expected an intelligent, thoughtful president who would be guided by common sense more than ideology, and so far that's what we're getting. Sorry, guys, but most of us had reasonable expectations of an Obama presidency.
(Now, if only we could persuade the right wing that Ronald Reagan was likewise a "mere mortal" and not some godlike paragon of presidential excellence, I'd be happy...)
No, he's just discovering how much money the insurance industry will spend to defeat some very necessary reform legislation.
No he has not overplayed his hand. The majority of the negative comments are comming from the far right, and the object is to lead people to believe that their views are more center. That is so obviously far from the truth. The rights views are clearly right and not central to what the majority of the people in the US thinks. The election spoke the truth, the people spoke and made their central beliefs known. We want a president who leads for the people and not for their own interests and political, financial gains or their cohorts.
Good Lord, it's not even November yet... which will be one year from the date he was elected (not even sworn in). Give the guy a break.
Jack,
Obama proved he was a mere mortal when Congress morphed the stimulus and cap and trade from meaningful legislation to pork-laden garbage. Obama can take back his presidency by taking ownership of the health care issue and being clear and concise on what he wants to see in a bill. He needs to take the reigns of the debate and not let Congress steer his proposals.
Andy
Hermosa Beach, CA
I sincerely hope for the sake of this country he hasn't. I truly believe that if put to a popular election "public option" healthcare would pass with a solid majority. Any reform of heath care without said option would just be another gigantic boondoggle one of so many we have experienced over the years with our government. I urge President Obama to stick to his guns and ride this one out. It's the only way we can begin to create the progressive change we so desparately need in this country. As to all these supposed people that "fear" our going socialist I sincerely wish they would leave this nation or better yet get a real education (oh wait a minute they're against that too)!
Not only has he overplayed his hand...Pres. Obama doesnt even KNOW what an ordinary American citizen cares about, worries about, or is passionate about. He is totally unaware that the majority of people in this country do not think like he does. He surrounds himself with far-left activists, and continues to call the common American people "the Fringe!"
Does't he realize how he offends people? (He truly is in the "(O-Zone!")
It has become clear to me that the GOP is not interested in compromise or cooperation. They are only interested in regaining power even if it means opposing something that is good for the country as a whole. Mark my word, once we get past the “public option” hurdle the GOP will waste no time identifying some other element of health care reform to railroad comprehensive overhaul of the US health care system. Think about it, a success for President Obama does not help their cause to regain power. So why cooperate or compromise on policies which benefit the incumbent if your goal is to remove the incumbent from office? President Obama has the potential go do some real good for this country. If he is allowed to succeed it would prolong the return of the GOP to power. So don’t look for any cooperation from the GOP. The only thing we can expect from the GOP is continued opposition. Dems need to do what’s best for the country and forget about bipartisanship.
What Obama does not understand is that health care is not a right, but a commodity. There is already a shortage of doctors in this country and adding millions of more people to the rolls will only create increased demand on that commodity. High demad equals higher prices. If the governement institutes price controls fewer will enter the profession. Then care will really be rationed due to no other choice.
Obama appears on TV more than Larry the Cable Guy. He's more of an actor than Reagan was. He should try being President for a change and stop spending money like a hollywood starlet!
It is obvious to me that Obama is trying to do way too much at once. I believe that a step wise approach to change has a much higher chance of success than an all or nothing approach. We are not able to evaluate the results of our efforts without pause. There are so many chances to improve that this all or nothing, without debate or proper consideration, approach cannot succeed.
The press made him a deity. He is a pol and a mere mortal and his politics are no more to the left than most Democrats in this country. Passage of a meaningful change in health care will endear him to most Democrats and Independents and presage an even larger sweep for the Democrats in 2010. This president has chutzpah and integrity and that is what the American people were, and still are, looking for, not obstructionism and more of the same from the Republicans.
Absolutely, you would think President Obama would have learned something from Paris Hilton. The public gets tired of people that smile and play dumb at some point.
I hope I am wrong, but maybe Hillary was correct in saying Pres. Obama is "all hat and no cattle". He doesn't seem to have the wheeler-dealer gene that served Pres. Johnson so well in getting Medicare passed.
Presidents have been trying to create a national health care system for over 70 years. The failure to do so lies not with them, or with Congress, but with the people. If we want it (and we do) then we should make sure it gets done. If it doesn't go through, the insurance industry has gained another 20+ years of status quo. Barack will survive and move on. This will not define his presidency.
Wow Jack, a conservative columnist claims the country is actually center-right? And Obama's landslide victory over McCain on a platform of change wasn't a mandate? I guess Sarah Palin was right too, I don't live in "real America". I feel like I'm living in the Twilight Zone though.
Obama has not overplayed his hand. Krauthammer's wrong about this, just as he was wrong about the Iraq war.
Yes, I think he has overplayed the situation, and that too many changes too fast have occured, and that the American people, need to take more of a role in their rights on the decision making processes.
We need represenatives in Congress and the Senate, that actually listen to what the poeple are saying in their districts and voting on what people want them to, and not doing the opposite.
These are scary times and reguardless of anyones situation, our voices need to be heard. Not bullied and landslided by our represenatives that were elected, reguardless of the political party that they belong .
Thank you. Jeff from Iowa
GregR Naperville, IL
No has has tried to let Congress act as if they were grown ups knowing full well that both parties are not. If he had tried to force a plan from the White House without "going through channels" he would have faced the same problem as Bill Clinton. You have to go round the bases to get a run, skipping them is not an option.
Simply yes. He has only catered to poor people who can't afford health insurance and the lazy who won't buy insurance. He hasn't provided any love for the poeple who will foot the bill; the responisble Americans with the dramatically overblown means to pay for it. For once he is required to hav the rubber meet the road and he has demaned what Americans don't want to give. Which is choice.
Pres. Obama is making the same mistake that Newt Gingrich did in 1996. Gingrich thought that the Republican landslide in 1996 meant that the public suddenly supported a conservative agenda, when all it really meant was that that the public was tired of the incumbents and wanted fresh faces in the government. He found out the hard way that the public does not move out of the center miraculously in one election. Now, Pres. Obama thinks that his election means that the population suddenly went from centrist to ultra-liberal or socialist, like his agenda, overnight. Hardly. The mainstream population is still, well, mainstream. Unless Pres. Obama realizes this and moves his governance to the center – where the people are – he will quickly lose support and effectiveness.
The people want change, they want health care reform. The media focuses on the sensational stories, the loud mouths who don't even make sense. However, the quite majority will back Obama, not because of him, but because Americans want the things he is trying to get implemented. If anyone thinks the majority of Americans are happy with the staus quo, they are sadly out of touch.
Obama has overplayed his hand in the sense that he has made his extreme hubris and far Left ideology apparent to many centrist "independents" who were duped by superficial factors into voting for him. To most who did not vote for him, that hubris and far Left ideology were painfully obvious all along. To true liberals, it simply does not matter... they were and will continue to be blinded by hatred of anyone or anything that threatens their distorted version of reality, and they would rather support Satan himself than admit they were wrong about anything.
Overplayed his hand? No way. How can anyone say it was a tactical mistake for President Obama to put Congress in charge of the details of health care reform? Did I miss something in my high school civics class? I thought it was the responsibility of the legislative branch to write the laws. Maybe we got so used to the usurpation of power by the Bush regime that we now expect the executive branch to do more than it was Constitutionally chartered to do. The current administration's approach to health care has been tactical, but it has not been a misstep. Some form of real reform will be passed. The cost of health care will begin to level off and gradually decline. Obama will eventually be remembered as one of the greatest Presidents the United States has ever had.
"He says that Mr. Obama misread the election results and that he was not given a mandate to make sweeping changes to the American system"
yeah ok, like dubya had a won a majority vote in his first term....oh wait a minute!
the fact is the pres needs to take this issue out of pelosie and reids hands and make his own bill. those two couldnt make a bill if they were running the reigster at wendies. we are in the greatest country on earth, and for that we are not helping our fellow man, nor are we helping our seniors.
I am strong believer in the idea that if you are not getting bruised and injured occasionally, you are not playing hard enough for your team to win. It would be in Obama's selfish interest to play it safe and not really rock the boat, however, It is in America's best interest for our president to be taking on tough questions and challenge the status quo which is bankrupting us (if it hasn't done so already).
That being said, I think Obama has underplayed his hand – Tort laws are one of the key drivers of rampant costs increases as tort without a ceiling has so many multiplier effects to costs. Obama should have taken on Tort reform as the first step in fixing healthcare – not as a peripheral item. Tort is an issue that is clear enough for anyone to understand.
If anything, I don't believe that President Obama has played the hand strongly enough. He has let the insurance companies and his foaming-at-the-mouth opponents drive and define the debate, without aggressively countering the various lies and distortions that have been springing up faster than exclusions on insurance coverage.
Has he overplayed his hand? Well let's discuss the issues Obama's had to deal with – two wars; the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; an environmental crisis that if left unchecked could lead to massive planetary changes within fifty years (according the a majority of the world's scientists anyway); oh and a little thing called health care which, if not reformed, could bankrupt this nation in the next 20 years. Simple question – would you rather he not deal with these issues? I wish I lived in a country where opposing parties could bring different ideas to the table in an effort to bring about solutions instead of working to break the other down.
We all know that he is a mortal. We also know that he is a better mortal President than the one we had. It wasn't a spell. Barack Obama is a refreshing leader who ACTUALLY works e-v-e-r-y day and just hopes to accomplish what he has set out to do, which is make America a better place to come from, to be in, to love again, and to be proud of hearing your leader speak. He has not overplayed his hand. Oh contraire!! He is playing with what he has been dealt and also with the God-given brains he has. God Bless his every step and every decision. He may not be an exellent player, but he is playing as best he can.
The only problem I have with obama is the same as I have with congress, no one listens, they talk at me, but never to me. They seem to think that every thing they present is the greatest thing since pockets on shirts, but they never tell us what is really going on. They expect me to read and comprehend a congressional bill, when I heard one congressman state that it would take 3 Harvard lawyers to interpret the health care reform bills. We do need health care reform, but we need to have input from more than congress and obama, most of congress is made up of lawyers, now what do they know about health care. Maybe we should go to a national health care system that would include all government employees including congress and the president.
Yes Jack, I think he just might have. One of the cardinal rules of being in the spotlight is to not believe your own hype. It was clear from the beginning that instead of people necessarily voting for Obama, I think they were just voting against 4 more years of Republicans. That by no means is a mandate from the people.
Tim
Danville, CA
No, He has not played it enough. He was trying to give everyone a chance to have input and all the Conservatives want to down is throw flames, lies and distortions and agree with the wing nuts of the party.
He needs to start drawing a few lines in the sand.
Flap about him speaking to School children really "takes the cake".
Jack,
I dont think he overplayed his hand on this, the republicans and the healthcare mafia would like you to believe this in order to further their own agenda.
Too many times and too quickly over the past eight months we, the American people, have been misled and lied to by this president, his administration and the Democrats in congress. Many of us no longer trust the man or his cronies.
He promised change, but the only real change we've seen thus far is legislation and deals that shove the far left liberal agenda down the throats of all Americans, like it or not. But the same Demoratic take it or leave it attitude in congress remains while the president spends so much time in front of TV cameras that he has little time left over to do the job he was elsected to do. Rather than bolstering his political position by sound and reasonable policies and decisions, he seeks to maintain the cult of adoration through his charisma alone. But then, given his gross lack of experience, that is the only real asset he has. However, many of us would not by a used car from this man with the crocodile smile.
I hope he is a one term leader
Jack:
If President Obama has overplayed his hand at all it is with inviting "bipartisanship" to a Republican party that has no intention of acting in a bipartisanship manner.
We elected him to LEAD us on issues of change not more of the same. Healthcare reform was one of those issues. He needs to remember his promises and act on them. That's not overplaying your hand.
Jack:
No, he hasn't overplayed his hand. In fact, shockingly, he has tried to fulfill his campaign promises – rather novel these days.
Jack the democrats have the majority in congress. If you ask me Obama has a stacked deck. They will pass some kind of bill and someone will be left paying for it. Whom remains to be seen.
Gee Jack who knows? He came into the Presidency during the beginning of a whopper of a recession. All the economist brains as I recall said "Bail out the Banks, stimulus money needed". Health care costs are rising annually and are corporate profit driven, not patient concerned. He has been dogged since day one by Neo-cons who couldn't tell the truth if it ran over them. Overplayed what hand?
What a crock! It is wishful thinking on Krauthammer's part! The fault is the Republicans who want Obama to fail, no matter the costs, and the Blue Dogs who are more interested in being re-elected than doing what is best for this country. Oh, and the rabid dogs nipping at Obama's heels with their out and out lies and misrepresentations of the truth.
Ruth Thompson
California
If anything, Jack, President Obama has underplayed his hand and THAT is what is hurting his popularity. We see opinion polls all the time that are telling us that the President's approval rating is down–ok, fine. But why is it really falling? Because the people that voted for him all of a sudden changed their minds on healthcare reform? I doubt it. Rather, we voted for this President to go to Washington and get the job done, and so far he–and the Congress–have wasted time trying to appease a minority party that everyone was fed up with. It is beyond me how we can have a significant Democratic majority in the House and Senate and a Democrat in the White House and yet we cower with fear and trembling over the idea of a tea party protest. Oh, and by the way, Jack, I learned a new word today: "astroturfing". If you want a fine example of it, see Charles Krauthammer whom you've referenced in this segment.
What is a polite way to say that someone is an arrogant, less-than-intelligent narcissist? Can you help me with that?!? Thank you.
Well of course he has.........
He continuously spoke of "Governing from the center" during the campaign. Republicans pointed out that he had the most liberal voting record in the Senate and that he was full of it. But due to their and W's extreme unpopularity, many Americans did not believe them. Obama believed that the election was a mandate for the popularity of his views. He was wrong as it was more a strong statement about how unpopular the Republican party has become...even to many conservatives. Now, many Americans are shocked about how liberal he is because they didn't take the time to think it through and analyze who he really is. They just voted for "Anybody Else". I can't tell you the number of people who used that as their reasoning when they told me intended to support of Obama. "Anyone has to be better than W" is hardly a well thought out vote....especially when W wasn't even running!!
Well Americans who voted for "Anyone has to be better than W".......your chickens have come home to roost!
If you are really that upset with the status quo in Washington, take a look at the Libertarian party. The problem is the two party monopoly on our nation's leadership!
Absolutely. He got lucky in the primaries because Hillary was being attacked by the media. No one was reporting about his past associations and ideas/ideals. He then was the only option for a lot of people because they were so angry with Bush. They thought they were voting the lesser of two evils or at least voting out the republicans. Now, they got what they paid for!
Overplayed his hand?? He hasn't even showed he has a hand! He's been just sitting there with a poker face waiting for everyone else to put their cards down on the table. He better have four aces and he better call and raise everyone else because morons like Krauthammer are totally devoid of any respect for our president and they would be merciless if the president were to fail to get a strong health care bill passed. If the president does prevail, Krauthammer and his legions of demons will spew their hate anyway.
Give me a break! I'm tired of all the belly aching, the guy has been in office for eight months and all the media talks about is how he hasn't accomplished anything. Give the man a chance. Further, why would you quote Mr. Krauthammer, is it just to tick people off? This guy is having difficulty with reality, "center-right" country, based on what? President Bush used his minuscule margin of victory after his re-election to claim that he had been given a mandate, I wonder what Mr. Krauthammer said then? Surely the most recent election was an indication that whatever the policy changes, they would be preferable to what the previous administration was dishing out. Now maybe Pres. Obama hasn't delivered on every idea he had, but he is apparently giving it all he's got. President Obama deserves the chance to enact the policies that he believes in, that's what we elected him to do. Please, give him your confidence and support and have a little faith.
On cap and trade, yes he did. He passed a bill through the Senate without checking to see who would be affected (manufacturing areas alraedy suffering will get hit with higher energy costs) and that it hasn't worked in other countries.
That aside, I think Obama still has the leadership qualities and the clout to get things passed through. He is just taking on some very big issues against the conservative base. The healthcare plan cannot be rushed through, if it fails, his administration will be a failure.
He needs to continue to be progressive, appeal to the left and the middle (there are still some liberal Repubs left) since the conservatives want to hold the country hostage with angry rhetoric. Communism, Socialism, and of course my favorite National Socialism (Nazi).
Bottom line is, he needs a win that involves both democrats and republicans. A bi-partison win, something we agreee one. Good luck finding it!
No, Jack, President Obama has underplayed his hand. Instead of mobilizing his supporters as he did brilliantly in the electoral campaign, he has chosen to play the bipartisanship game. Inexplicably he has been lulled into believing the lip service Republicans and health insurance companies have paid to reform while they have obviously been playing another game entirely, pursuing a scorched-earth program of obstructionism.
If Obama didn't realize that half of his supporters had only voted for him because he was black and because of his delusional speeches, he really is stupid. He has never had a mandate to make sweeping changes because his presidential campaign was far too vague and people far too disillusioned. If he had said during election season, "I will nominate 9/11 conspirators and communists to my cabinet and fight adamantly for universal heathcare," there is no way he would have been elected.
You have to be kidding. He is not "a politician like all others". He is anything but a politician like all others.
He is a self-absorbed, egotist, that believes it is his divine mission to completely recreate American by what he "knows" is right. What the American people say, what the Constitutions says and even what other politicians and leaders say carries no weight with him. He and he alone knows what is just and best for America.
Welcome to Obamaland. A country created in his own image.
Yes. He has succumbed to the pressure of the far left (of which he is a member) and is finding the country is more centrist. We all want reform. The goal was to reduce cost. All evidence points to the contrary. Obama's true colors are shining through.
so far what he did is right. NOTHING
Yes. He is in too many places at once.
No. But he put to much in trying bring others to the table who don't want to play. The Repubs, and not just those in office, just don't want him to succeed at anything. From the beginning he was Damn if he did and Damn if he didn't.
My confidence continues to grow with President Obama. How can we not support someone who is facing more challenges than any previous administration? Changing Washington will not happen in one year so we need to excercise patience as we all strive for a more prosperous country. Until we Americans select politicians based on what they will do for us and not themselves, then we can count on more of the same.
SURPRISE! He IS a poltician, what did everyone expect?
President Obama has underplayed health care. We in the US have the most expensive system with the most uninsured, near the highest Infant Mortality Rate and are the only Industrialized nation without Universal Health Care. His system will keep people dieing because it isn't enough. The great god profit and greed wins again. Buy stock in the funeral industries.
Unequivocally yes.
Barack Obama was elected with a chance to be another FDR, but he has squandered his mandate on the alter of Wall Street and the corporate lobbyists who run the game in Washington. And for what? He will never win over any Republicans, who "Just Say No!" to energize their base, and he is quickly losing the progressive Democrats who put him and other "D's" in office, hoping for leadership. President Obama hasn't overplayed his hand; he apparently has decided not to even play. So single payer health care, or at least a strong public option, are not in the cards. Pathetic.
Adrian
Oregon City, OR
No he hasn't overplayed his hand, he has however overestimated the Republicans willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion and underestimated their willingness to resort to unfortunately successful scare tactics.
Yes he has way overplayed his hand. He as well as Speaker Pelosi seem to think their vision and opinion is the only one that matters. They have insulted the "other side" too often. Unfortunately we will have another 4 years of total dysfunction in Washington as they are unwilling to compromise. As much as I do not like President Obama's view for the role of government, Speaker Pelosi is the biggest obstacle in DC. She really should be removed as Speaker. Gone are the days of folks like Tip O'Neil. He knew how to get a deal done. She only knows how not to blink!
From Massachusetts
Overplayed his hand? Wait a minute. Aren't ALL these people who are quibbling about a healthcare plan for taxpaying citizens benefiting from a taxpayer subsidized health care program themselves. Healthcare for ALL!
If Obama stays on this course,spending too much,keeping 2 wars going, listening to fools,he will overplay his hand.
Like every politician,he promised the stars.If his act doesn't get better.If he doesn't start using the best minds he can,he will find himself out with 1 term in office.
Asking individuals and companies to pay more for ideas and plans that are anathema to the historic American story is doubly insulting. First, repudiating the idea that individuals should make their own way, and benefit therefrom, while simultaneously asking those individuals to provide for others while bowing down to the nanny state sends many of us to the edge of credulity,. At the same time, he wants us to hurry up and do what is foreign to our being just because he says so. Time will show him and us the way. Take it.
Obama is a timid, weak coward who has sold out to special interests.
He has not overplayed his hand - he didn't play. He just retreated to mealy mouthed compromise.
America is ready for a true progressive agenda. Obama never tried.
People are tired of the conservatives buffoons but Obama has given power by not pushing a real progressive agenda or fighting it out.
No. He has not "overplayed his hand". He was elected on his ideals. Now that the Republicans realize once again they can be a force "leading" through fear, a true leader will push the legislation through WITHOUT any Republican support. This country needs drastic health care reform. Without it, this country will become a third World country within another decade. Are you as an American willing to give that legacy to your children? I am not. I voted for CHANGE. I want CHANGE. I do not want the same old politics as usual...and THAT is what I see on both sides of the aisle. Absolutely zero leadership except that which is coming from the President.
No, I do not believe so. There is so much to say about how hard the right is working to make every step he takes seem to be a poor one, just watch Fox News. We need change and we need it now. I really believe that our system has taken us over the edge and to find any way back would equal huge changes in our current system. This will not happen. Our system is built on greed and that alone will not allow change to occur. In a country that has all the wealth controlled by 10% of the population, the remaining 90% is left to suffer. Many with no health care and struggling day in and out just survive another day where they currently live. Sounds like just another sob story, but I have a full time job and run a small business of my own. So I am not really suffering at all, but others are and our country as a whole needs to wake up and redefine what is important.
Thanks
Sacramento, CA
The problem is he has spent to much political capital smooshing with Pelosi and Reid. If he would lead instead of worrying about the mindless crap the far left congressional leaders are spewing, he would be much better off. He should set a common sense agenda that people can relate to instead of trying to change everything about what America is . Yes, he has overplayed his hand because of his far left politcal ambitions.
The honeymoon is over!
Jack,
Not certain that your alanysis is on the mark. Using Charles Krauthammer, a devoted ultraconservative, does not blend balance to your assessments. Mr. krauthammer is quite analytical but not ubiquitous in accepting other views. The Fox "Fair and Balanced" mantra is shameful and meaningless, to which Charles Krauthammer is a regular contributor. Caution should be observed before affording references to lack of balanced news. Much observation and consideration prevails that ,regardless of station in life, most men in the U.S.A. put their undergarments in much the same way, so implying that a Regal or Mystic rainment pervades the President's cognomen is illusionary and taints of ludicrous journalism. We all fall short of Perfection, with you and me perhaps, being the supreme exceptions. James A. Melching--Springville, Calif.
No, Prez Obama is trying to do something that this country needs. If we call ourselves moral, then this is a essential, if we are ready to go into a country and remove a tyrant then why can't we remove a tyrant like the insurance industry in this country from controlling our health care. Come on america, my cousin had brain cancer when he was 14 and was un-insurable..... so who was in charge of the death panel that refused the proton radiation that saved his life.... wasn't the government. This argument is all about fighting a president that is wanting to fix a problem that ALL have admitted is a problem..... a debate is in order but grandstanding is not an option this time.... the town halls may have been filled with people vocal against..... I guarantee the fast majority are fed up with the system we have....
I think people are finally realizing that aside from being a great public speaker he's just like everyone else in D.C.
Overplayed his hand? No. Not done a very good job of getting HIS message out to the masses (like he did in during the campaign), yes!
Yes, Mr. Obama has overplayed his hand. The only thing he knows how to do well is read a speech from a teleprompter, 4 second facing right, then 4 seconds facing left with that well practiced preacher-turned-professor demeanor, and read his lines. The act is already getting old.
Talbot
"The nation is center-right" meme continues to be trumpeted through the media, even though the research tells us otherwise. I do not think Obama has overplayed his hand, but he does need to assert himself on this issue asap. He has taken on a lot, or was left with a lot of messes to clean (depending on one's view), and in most areas he has been successful. It strikes me that those who have bet against him over the past couple of years tend to keep losing their bets.
I get the impression that the president tried to see if congress could work together in a bi-partisan manner to come up with decent health care legislation. When it became obvious to him that this was impossible, he took matters into his own hands.
I am ashamed of my government. I am ashamed that so few people willing to listen to each other. Why is this happening? Why are people so afraid of each other?
Everyone is so afraid to speak up because something they say might possibly upset someone in their "party." I am ashamed that we have turned into a nation of cowards.
Politicians don't care about anything except money and votes. I say NO politician should serve more than eight elected years.
No wonder I've been an Independent voter since my first election in 1976. I am embarrassed by the actions of both the Republican and Democratic parties. At least I vote my conscience. I love my country but the immature actions of our politicians must stop.
Crystal near Memphis, TN
As an Obama supporter, I wish Obama would come out in his speech and put the left wing in its place and well as shut up the right wing and just satisfy the moderates of both parties. The majority of America are the moderates of both parties and that is the way to go. Get it done without a public option. Just put together some rules that the insurance companies must follow in terms of premiums and coverage. There is enough competition between companies where they are on an equal playing field.
Martin, Pittsburgh, PA
Absolutely not!
Obama is the greatest king this country has ever had.
Come on Jack, It's been 8 months...8 freakin' months and you are already writing this president off...I wouldn't if I were you.
I'm for one sure glad the Republicans are now seeing him as a "mere mortal". Now, that "he is one of us", not that out of space, alien with "suspicious" (superior) intelligence, who managed to voodoo legions into following him into "the abyss" (electoral win)...maybe now we can start rationalizing and the real work can begin.
He's just another politician. But, he's a touch less destructive than the last one!!
I think he has to play the cards he was dealt, many Democrats rode his coat tails into office and think they have a mandate to "fix" health care their way.
There are 535 elected officials in congress and just as many opinions on how to fix the problems....can you imagine 535 cooks in the kitchen trying to prepare a banquet???
The "chief cook" needs to show his detiailed "recepie" followed by an up or down vote. Time to MAKE the elected officials explain thier vote to the millions of people that don't have health care and the rest of us that are paying far too much for what we are getting now.
It seems that everyone EXCEPT those that are getting rich off health care can agree that something needs to be done.....time to cut bait or fish.
Doing nothing is not an option.....
Only a neo-con could look at the election of a liberal president , congress and house as coming from "a center right" country. I guess peering out of the hole the 25%'ers out the country into gives one a skewed view.
He is the left's version of George Bush. Thank god for Biden because Obama will never sound as stupid though after Bush and Obama I wouldn't hire a Yale or Harvard grad. They obviously are only good at one thing, kissing someone's arse to get ahead.
NO... He couldn't have over played his hand. He hasn't had enough time to make the sweeping changes that are needed to get this country back on track.
No, but Krauthammer certainly wishes so. And of course this will be picked up as the new republican talking point and pounded into our heads over the next couple of weeks. We voted for change in large numbers. Part of that change was to stop the republicans from protecting the obscene profits of the insurance industry. Period.
No...he has not overplayed his hand. I have every bit of confidence that he will take the best of all that was hashed over (in the past weeks) and put forth a great health care bill. No-Drama-Obama just isn't prone to showing his hand prematurely.
Why does anyone listen to anything Charles Krauthammer says about anything, considering that he is a neo-con hack and he's been proven wrong about everything?
Rob Shelton
The louder the nay sayers scream the more I know the Presidents on the right path.
No. He has yet to play it.
I found the statement that "Obama is now a mere mortal" to be offensive. Absolutely no one except jealous Republicans have called Obama "God", "the Second Coming", etc. The rest of us know that Obama is a highly intelligent, accomplished human being and no one expected anything else.
I think that he's understimated just how great the task at hand is, and has too quickly jumped into too much. I think he was shocked by what George Bush left him and because he's made so many promises feels pressure not to fail on them. I also think that he is delegating too much instead of actually getting involved. I voted for the man so I support him, but he's got to get more involved and stop leaving decision making up to congress. Pelosi and Reid are very unpopular and if he continues to allow them to call the shots, he will be a 1 term president!
Of course Obama has overplayed his hand. He's a radical facist. How else would one expect him to get his agenda passed other than toshove it down our throats and hope that Acorn can steal the election for him in 2012.
No Jack, Obama has not overplayed his hand. He only extended his open hand to the GOP and they have responded with fists again and again. To blame Obama for this partisan mess, is like the battering husband blaming his wife for getting beat up. Get real.
Vero Beach, FL
Not at all Jack. The President is an amazingly canny politician, as his record has proven. He had the hope that Congress would be able to produce a bipartisan bill he could sign. It could still happen but seems unlikely. He will now explain why the bear defecates in the woods and why Congress, for its own sake must now follow through, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the people of this country.
NO, NO, NO, Obama, if anything, has UNDERPLAYED HIS HAND. He needs an infusion of "Teddy Roosevelt" DNA. Obama needs to "RIDE ROUGHSHOD" over the Republicans and Healthcare CORPORATE GREEDMONGERS for the sake of each and every middle class and poor Americans.
Health care in this country SHOULD NOT be a profit center FOR ANYONE!!!!!!!
He had 7 cards in the hole which he never turned over. He believed he had a royal flush when he was lucky to have a pair of deuces. He deceived himself into believing that his victory was trhe mandate that he wanted to believe it was. He never understood, or he never wanted to understand..
Krauthammer is just finding a new way of expounding off an already stonewalled agenda. These people still can't deal with the fact that Obama has won the election and is now the president. His magic has far from worn off, but his opponents think they can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, In other words, they figure if they say it enough, it'll be true. Not gonna happen. Obama is still a magician.
No Jack, the damned democrats have underplayed theirs. they needed to get behind their man.
No. I think he's a genius. So glad I voted for him and thank god he won. The beast always fights hardest right before it dies. I can't wait to see what it (the beast, the republicans, the conservatives, the democrats, the financial people, the business people, the media, "them" and "they") does next.
Yes, he has. It is like, if I sat at a poker table – I have NO idea of how to play the game.
I definitely believe that President Obama has got a lot more up he’s sleeve.
Obama IS being tested on health care, but I don’t doubt for a nano-second that President Obama will get through the health care system that he intends and that soon.
He certainly has not overplayed anything. I believe he is attempting bi-partisanship at the beginning so that later in his presidency he can say "hey look I tried it and it didn't work." These tea partiers, the birthers and the deathers are simply code for "racism" at its highest level. I seem to never see any brown or black faces at those rallies. They are complaining about taxes that have not been raised, and speeches that have not been made and a Healthcare plan that has not yet been written. It's just insane.
For arch-conservative Krauthammer to tell people what America is and isn't, what its ready for and what it cannot stomach reads like yet another example of conservative middle kingdom syndrome. The mandate for change came in 2006 after the Republicans were trounced in the Congressional Elections and again in 2008 with the election of President Obama. He infers that sweeping change in extraordinary climes comes without precedent when that is clearly not the case. Like FDR before him, Mr. Obama must find the resolve to enact what he believes will benefit the majority of Americans, as they have charged him to do.
Jack, you're asking whether the President has lost his mojo? Of course not. I've learned to not underestimate Barack Obama. In the meantime, I think conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer comments are off-based. How can the President be a lefty if both the extreme right and the extreme are mad at him? I say the President is on target.
Krauthammer is a joke. Have you listened to the other things he's been spouting lately? He is a has been that sounds smart so FOX puts him on to further their agenda.
After hearing your report of how much lobbying has been going on against his efforts. I would say he played a great hand and hopefully we can get somewhere in the middle!
Obama never had a spell, the media created an aura of "blinding light" around him which many people could not see through. Just another Socialist in sheeps clothing.
I believe we are supposed to support the president the majority has
elected and I am ashamed of my fellow citizens who would prefer to
attack rather than support our leader. No matter who you voted for,
you should be ashamed for not supporting our legally elected president.
President Obama will always be extraordinary, no matter what. Anyone who would doubt that needs to get their head checked.
President Obama is brilliantly maneuvering through politics.
He is doing what needs to be done to give everyone health coverage, even if a small group of bigoted fanatics don't want it or understand it's necessity.
The President has allowed the extremists to have their verbal fights the last few weeks and I have every confidence he will lay out a cohesive and intelligent plan in his speech and enable everyone to understand it and it's importance – as well as rebuilding everyone's faith in him.
I also believe this is intentional and brilliant.
Obama has not over played his hand. He is facing resistance for trying to give every American what they deserve: a health care system that covers all of us regardless of class. This is not left or right, it is a human rights issue. And shame on those Republicans who call themselves Christians that feel "I am my brother's keeper" doesn't apply to them. This is thinly veiled hate and greed.
I believe President Obama has overplayed his hand. The issue that neither party seems to understand is that neither has a 'mandate' to represent the country. Neither party has over 50% of the registered voters. Increasingly the Independent voter sways the election. So if a President can't appeal to the middle and only plays to his party's hard core (whichever party he/she belongs to) he will quickly find his 'mandate' has evaporated. And the lip service paid to bipartisan 'negotiations' is depressing. Each thinks that bipartisan means you have to agree with me! In war that's called unconditional surrender......
It is foolishness to speak of "overplaying his hand". Pres Obama stepped into one of the worst messes of any President in my lifetime, and I am 72 years old. He has accomplished amazing things and it is the crazy christian right who has been belittling him from the start who have played on people's fears. (I am a born again Christian who is very ashamed of the christian crazies).
His only mistake is perhaps not realizing that average people cannot handle much change and easily become fearful. But change he HAD to do or we'd be in much deeper trouble today.
Absolutely not the president has not over run his hand. We elected him to reform health care, education and environmental issues. For those who thought this would be easy, a microwave job of sorts, they need to grow up. This type of change takes time and great effort to change the tide. God bless our nation, its citizens and our president on this very diffcult journey of change.
Jack, did anyone pay attention to his agenda during the campaign? The President talked about all that he wanted to do in the way of "change". The amount of projects he had could fill up three terms instead of a measly one. The fact that he is now on a tear to actually get things done, as compared to the previous administration, and getting resistance he is now considered to be overplaying his hand???? No, instead he thinks he can get multiple things done at once i.e. healthcare, economy, energy. Shame on him for thinking that the country could handle that .
There is only two possible results....status quo, no change and people hate you, or change in minds......and people love you. There is no downside since folks dont like him too much right now
No! Obama has underplayed his hand. He should be using both hands to throttle the neck of the Wall Street bigwigs and push healthcare reform through.
Adam PHX
You have everyone's comment on your show that has something
negative to say but, very rarely do I see positive comments. If those
person have such great Ideas why not get together with the President
and congress put something together where everyone will benefit.
Jack NO...President Obama did not over play his hand as Bush did right out of the DOOR... after all he took us to a war that we are in today because the previous leadership in Iran offended his DAD...Get a grip America.
No. He has not overplayed his hand, in fact he has several aces in the hole. Namely a 60 seat Congress.
Good, bad or ugly, Obama will get his bill. He will ram it down everyone's throat with the same funnel and ramrod that Bush used to sell his Iraq bill of goods.
President Obama has not overplayed his hand. He did, however, underestimate the Republican's ability to energize their lunatic fringe base. These people apparently throw common sense, intelligence, good manners, logic and civility to the winds when deciding to rabidly go after a president whose looks they don't like. Let's just be real about what this debate is all about.
Our President is on track. I run a small business and it is fast reaching the point where I will be unable to provide health care to my three employees. Finally we have a president who is on the side of the people and the right can't stand the fact that he can communicate. Go Obama.
President Obama has not OVERPLAYED his hand. He came to office after the neglect of four years by "W" had left the country aimless, in international disrepute, burdened by an ill-advised and costly [blood and treasure] war in Iraq and awash in corporate greed due to an deliberate lack of regulatory balance in fiscal practice.
Charles Krauthammer is well known for his extreme positions from the right and not a voice to influence the left, the middle or the middle/right.
Charleston, WV
after hearing how much lobbying has been going on I would have to say he underplayed his hand.
Overplayed his hand? How is that possibile with the right wing attacking his every act? First, he did receive a mandate in a landslide win. Second, we are a left-of-center nation, as proven through countless studies. Bush and Conservative policies are the reason we're in our current mess. The nation wanted major changes- let our President deliver.
I voted for Obama. I worked for him as a volunteer. I now expect him to go about the business of fulfilling his campaign promises and not let the crackpots distract him. Overstepping? C'mon. If he didn't do as he promises the American people, the Republicans would give him Hell on THAT point. They're just waiting with baited breath on their hunches for 2012 to roll around. They plan well in advance, Moriarty. Never doubt it.
This is not a center right country. The Republicans made that up like they do everything else. It is center left, and Obama does have a mandate. He is the voice of a generation...
Jack - Charles Krauthammer's opinion on President Obama's position and prospects is not the product of analysis but of wishful thinking.
Before you use the words overplayed his hand, perhaps you should be more balanced and give a nod to the hand that was dealt to Obama from GWBush administration.
Give President Obama some credit for all he's had to deal with instead of
being snidely pleased that he is maybe a mere "mortal"...in so doing, you might make yourself more credible.
Stefi Hastings MAINE
I don't think any of the American people thought that he was anything but a human being. The only thing he has , that most politicians don't have, is guts and a backbone. He is not afraid to stir the pot and address the issues we have ignored for a very long time.
No, I don't think Obama has overplayed his hand. Smart players will trump. I do think Obama may not have expected the opposition to use fear and smear swiftboating as much as they do. It seems the opposition prefers to take an intelligent futuristic president down and keep an outdated crippling heath care system (for some to get rich with) over having healthy protected citzens and a president who wants to improve the quality of life in his country. The world is watching, Jack.
Obama has worked harder in the past 8 months than the previous administration did for 8 years. He is doing a great job. The problem is the Republicans who want him to fail. They are not interested in listening to ideas or working with the President. Just a bunch of sore losers and crybabies. Like their hero Sarah Palin. Their unwillingness to work or support bipartisanship speaks volumes about them. I will never vote for a Republican again until they learn to play fair.
NO, NO, NO! President Obama is showing that he can face the fire! He is showing he means business about healthcare even if he has to fight the flames to get it done. The republicans on the other hand are just showing how divisive they are willing to be on EVERY issue for the simple sake of disagreeing with the president, ALL the time.
NO! He is going to be a great president.... GIVE HIM TIME 😉
Yes Jack , the President has overplayed his hand.. He has fallen in to the trap of believing his own press, without understanding where he had the the mandate and where he does not.. As it relates to healthcare what people want is something better than they curently have, not something that no one can understand and is not even supported by many Democrats. Tim R. Stockton, NJ
I don't think the President has played his full hand yet. He now has the inputs, counter points and opinions to lay out his real hand on health care and that is what I think we'll see tomorrow. I wouldn't underestimate his ability to mold the reaction and inputs – from all sides – into a position that will garner the support of those who voted him him in. He may not have a full house, but three of a kind will be enough to win this round!
NO He has not overplayed his hand. Trying to accomplish something in that swamp of corruption should be applauded.
Jack,
Let's get to the heart of the matter here... where are the Lobbyists in this healthcare equation? I remember President Obama in his campaign saying that the lobbyists would have no place in his White House. You can't convince me for one second that Lobbyists aren't having too much to do with the outcome of a new healthcare bill.
Get rid of the bums and let the Congress listen to their constituents that aren't already biased by the drug companies. How do you tell the difference? Those town hall meetings were a joke.
No! The President has not over played his hand. The problem is that you have haters that are so full of it that they are using every negative available to stop his progress. Here is a president who has done more in 8 months than Bush did in 8 years and now critics are just finding something wrong with the way the government is working. There is so much hate that it borders on racism. And, you know that it's crazy when people don't want their children to respect the President's message that encourages them to stay in school and prosper.
Looks like it.........But how else can he keep the momentum.
No, Obama has NOT overplayed his "Job". Let us be clear about the fact that Obama IS our President and he has a job to do. He is being pro-active, getting things accomplished and moving most of us forward. The ones that aren't choosing to move forward are looking behind and are clearly not remembering things the way they were objectively. Despite the constant comparison between Obama and Bush, Obama is getting up every day and working for us. "Give a busy person something to accomplish and they will get it done; give an idle person something to accomplish and it will most likely NOT get done." Continue playing those hands and get things accomplished!
No he has not overplayed his hand, infact he's playing his cards just right.
Yes. President Obama is forgetting that we live in the United States of America not the Soviet Union. Don't get me wrong – he's a nice guy, a great motivational speaker and all, but as a politician, his hidden agendas in the darkness continue to have light shed on them (aka his czars immune to the US CONSTITUTION like Van Jones).
No, he hasn't overplayed his hand. He is on the right track. However, the man on the street appears not to have taken the trouble to discover that we spend much more money for much less health care than most other western nations, while they insure all of their citizens. The health care reform would be a shoo-in, if the American public would simply do their homework. However, given that many Americans would rather believe the right-wing nuts who are acting as shills for the insurance industry........who knows what will happen.
Krauthammer hopes he has played hand. I'm thinking Krauthammer and others who share his "antisocial" views have worn out there welcome!
No – He has not. He has simply tried to do what he promised – to walk across the aisle and try to get the Republicans to actually look at issues in regard to what is good for the country. Unfortunately he is learning that for the most part, all they want to do is look at future elections – trying to make it look like he can't get it done. But let's wait and see – I have a feeling that the Republicans are going to miss an opportunity to work together with Democrats for the people of this country. And in so doing – they are showing the public that they are more interested in themselves than the people.
Where was conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer when George Bush and Dick Cheney were spending billions of dollars on a war that most intelligent Americans felt was wrong from the start. President Obama needs to take charge, pass healthcare reform, and bring our troops home. I suggest that Mr. Krauthammer start digging into the millions of dollars being donated to Republican and Democrat Members of the House and Senate by Pharmaceutical Companies. Why are these companies willing to spend millions, perhaps billions, to prevent a national healthcare program? The last time I checked, bribery of a public official is against the law!
No. He’s trying to accomplish what the voters who elected him expected. The congressmen and senators have underplayed theirs. They prefer to mingle with and get paid by the lobbyists than do their jobs. These issues have been festering for years, and they prefer to bury their heads in the sand every time. Does anyone really expect anything different this time? The voters threaten to kick them out every time, then vote them back in because their own reps "bring in the pork" for their constituents. Perpetual motion at its best.
Ron
Oklahoma
No he had NOT overplayed his hand. It's amazing how the media and insurance companies, Republicans, etc. can twist what Obama is basically trying to do to help millions of uninsured or those facing pre-existing conditions, expensive medications, etc. I think he will press on and get us what will help us in the long run in spite of all the rhetoric against him.
I think that no matter what our President does it will always be viewed as not enough, too much, too left, too right, too center. He can't do anything right as it was thought he would fail. Now people realize he has some sense about him so every step he takes is done with his feet hanging over his flip flops! I am grateful I am not paying $700 in CORBA payments, now it's $126, my kids who were first denied health benefits, now receive it, unemployment is lasting longer, I can go back to school with government help, but I be damned if I let this man tell my kids to stay in school! Really?
This whole debate is appalling. Lies on the right, wimps on the left. This is clearly a "people" versus "big uncaring corporate profits" issue, and we saw in the last eight years what happens when big companies get their way.
The right needs to come tell us what they're for, instead of what they're against. Got a better idea? Let's hear it. Otherwise, shut up.
No, it means that he is doing his job as president. I believe that he is letting the republicans digging their own holes to burry themselves up. After all I have respect for someone that wants the welfare not taking the country to war for their own agenda...the republicans seem to forget that being the underdog that what BO likes the most, remember november 2008. I am laughing loudly now
Simply put, he has played his hand far shorter than what G. W. ever did. Two wars later and people are wondering how we slipped so quickly into this recession, ignorantly blaming President Obama when he has been given the daunting task of fixing this mess.
No Jack, the president has been in office for what 6 months and we have faith in him. We have not forgot who caused this mess even if the media has. The media looks for any little thing it can get to go on and on for news. So many media and the republicans are racist. I turn even you off when you state a question that is stupid and against Obama. Even Mrs. Bush said he is doing a good job. What more can you dingbats want?
IMHO He could have accomplished nearly everthing he set out to by remaining patient. Any talk of increasing spending by even one dollar when the country is in financial crisis is just poor timing. Had he waited until the economy turned, he likely would have had the political capital to get it done. Now we have so much bad information coming out of both sides that no one can accurately describe what the real problem is never mind find a solution.
The only hand that has been overplayed is the far right thinking it is either conservative or relevant.
You have no idea how sick I am of hearing Republicans and conservatives stating that I am not getting what I voted for. Yes I am. I wish we had decent schools for every single child in America and my money wasn't being redistributed to CEOs, and I wish we had national health care. Perhaps the Conservatives have overplayed their hand, getting parents to cry because their children might see President Obama's terrifying school speech.
It ain't over til it's over.
Of course he has, Im a poker player, I knew he was bluffing from the start. Tom, Murphy N C
Mr. Krauthammer and others of his ilk went out with the last election and it's time they realize that they are a spent force and quite crying over spilt milk. His comments are not reflective of the mood of the nation. Rather what they indicate is that the Republican apologist have no lower threshold when it comes to shamelessness. If you can't contribute, butt out!
Obama didn't play his hand at all. As I watched this whole mess unfold, I kept asking myself, "where's Obama?". I expected him to get out and fight for this healthcare program, I expected him to explain why our country desperately needs HC reform, I expected him to point out the advantages of public care. But..... nothing. I'm still waiting for him to get into the game!!
No, Mr. Obama simply tried to create a forum with genuine debate over health care reform. The so-called conservatives are still upset about losing the election, bent on disrupting progressive improvement on this matter. Remember, it was Ronald Reagan that rid our government of subsidies for the development of alternative energy sources. We lost THIRTY years worth of technical developement towards energy independence on especially the fanatical Middle East.
Waterford, MI
Jack, contrary to what conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer and other critics are espousing, my support of President Obama has been because he is “mortal;” he is a mere human. I don’t think Obama misread anything, including the election results that made him president. I served honorably in the U.S. Navy where we were told something very simple, but very true: You support the uniform. The ilk that Krauthammer belongs to – I would not call them “conservatives” because that’s what I am – a constitutional conservative, are simply disrespectful and it’s your job as a journalist Jack, to expose their idiocy.
I stand in amazement that my fellow Americans are buying the crap that our President and Congress are dishing to them. President Obama told us what he stood for and we elected a radical leftist. It is the poor upbringing of so many Americans who cannot think for themselves as to why we are in such a mess with these socialists who think a "middle man" (i.e., government) can run education, health care or anything better.
Overplayed his hand? This assumption is absurd. Considering the amount of natinal and international issues our country faces, I believe he's showing a rare form of accute leadership. It is important to know that preception is 90% of any leader's success. With that said the only advice I have for Pres. Obama is to be more succinct in his approach to our problems and carefully focus on fewer issues at a time.
I believe a lot of people expected the President to be a miracle worker. He was elected to be our President not a magician. He inherited so many problems and being a pragmatist wanted to try to solve as many of them as he could as quickly as he could. I still believe that he is doing a good job and I am hopeful that things will work out for the best . There are too many people who want him to fail but I believe they will be disappointed because this presidency is bigger than what the "haters" will ever understand.
yes, NObama has definitely overplayed his hand. Unfortunately the media glorifies him. He is clearly a socialist and slowly but surely the american people are discovering this. He has pushed our deficit to an all time high. Sure Bush started this downward trend, but Obama is rapidly taking it to a new level. Be scared America, because unless there is change, we will be just like a European country.
Overstepped? Congress has played right into his hands. The american people were allowed to see the miss steps of the republicans in congress when the lobbyists who own them are confronted w/legislation that emptyies their pockets. It's a GRAND day for our democratic society & can only get better Kudos to this brilliant thinking president !
NO Jack. He has not over played his hand but he has left it out there to long and Republicans have chewed it off.