tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post7542181588168604134..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Politics of Health Care, 2010 and 2012Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-68226148215992382942009-11-21T10:15:34.624-06:002009-11-21T10:15:34.624-06:00Good post.
Built on is for me the big issue ( I&#...Good post.<br /><br />Built on is for me the big issue ( I'm a believer in the Paul Begala Social Security argument) and I am quite pleased with the bill on that front & not just for the largely ceremonial public option.<br /><br />I suppose you are right on the politics here, certainly so for 2010. I guess I am still having trouble seeing HCR as a major issue for 2012 for 2 reasons.<br /><br />1) I remember the major heat on Iraq in 2005 and how the next election was going to be dominated by the war but by the time we got to 2008, it wasn't nearly so central to the election as any of us thought. The public had moved on to other concerns. Health care is at the top of the nation's agenda right now cause the Democrats put it there. Would we be having this debate if Obama hadn't made this issue the center piece of his first year? I don't think so. Once we pass a bill, I think the public will move on to more immediate concerns or the next item on the Obama agenda.<br /><br />2) I don't take the Republican base's health care concerns all that seriously. My feeling is that the GOP base will be apoplectic over just about anything Obama does and that they will have moved on to another half dozen end-of-republic issues by then that Republican candidates will have to address.CTHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10928983745917493342noreply@blogger.com