From the Frontlines

According to the Associated Press, "End in sight, health care battle tilts Obama's way":

One by one, House Democratic fence-sitters began choosing sides Friday, and the long, turbulent struggle over landmark health care legislation tilted unmistakably in President Barack Obama's direction.

In full campaign mode, his voice rising, the president all but claimed victory, declaring to a cheering audience in Virginia, "We are going to fix health care in America."

No, it's not a done deal, not until the House votes on Sunday. It seems that there's still some anti-choice Democrats left to persuade and Pelosi trying to straddle the impossible with pro-choice women visiting her office today. But as is becoming clear (once again), President Barack Obama is not doing what is easy, nor is he doing it some shortcutty easy way, per Marc Ambinder:

You ought to be mighty frustrated by Obama's courage, blind as you believe it might be. But don't ever, ever call the guy a wimp.

As closing arguments are made (per Paul Krugman), we're hearing one story after another about health insurers trying to kick those who get sick off their rolls on technicalities or worse, about rates jacking up due to the recession causing more people to drop coverage and pools shrinking, i.e. the best argument possible for making this reform during a recession rather than waiting for it to be over, whenever. And Obama is known for the strong close.

Meanwhile the GOP have gone from lying about the bill (it is not a government takeover of healthcare, although it is a government regulation of it, as we accept for meat, water, roads, child labor, etc.) to producing fake memos they claim were written by Democrats. Yes, shades of Karl Rove, although he was better at making them stick. Check out Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) taking apart a GOP Congresstooge for bringing the hoax memo to the Floor:




There are even signs that the wiser voices in the GOP regret their rejectionist strategy, which I don't expect the lower intelligence types to realize (Boehner, Cantor, McConnell...well, the list goes on) but which I hope will lead to a change of sorts, like Obama promised to bring to Washington.

You see, if (and no premature victory dances, please) the President is successful in passing reform, even in this state that Progressives wish was better, he'll have proven all the Waterloo naysayers and vicious Fox pundits wrong. Sure, they'll wail about process and somehow claim that majority rule is "unconstitutional," as if they knew what the Constitution was during the Cheney Administration, but any GOoPer in the House or Senate who is serious about The Peoples' Business, and there are, I suppose, a few, will want to start getting wins under their belt. And the only way to do that will be to work with the President rather than vilifying him.

Charles Blow may be a little over-the-top here. But the key is that we're still in the first half of the first term Obama Administration. A win now will reverberate for another 2 1/2 to 6 1/2 years. As I've said many times before the one thing Americans love more than money is a winner. And winners grow bandwagons.

It's time for Obama Time again.