Obama's Doctor Speaks: "His Pragmatism Is What Is Overwhelming Him"

[democracy1st]

Obama's Doctor: President's Vision For Health Care Bound To Fail



The man Barack Obama consulted on medical matters for over two decades said on Tuesday that the president's vision for health care reform is bound for failure.

Dr. David Scheiner, a 70-year Chicago-based physician who treated Obama for more than 20 years, said he was disheartened by the health care legislation his former patient is championing, calling it piecemeal and ineffectual.

"I look at his program and I can't see how it's going to work," Scheiner told the Huffington Post. "He has no cost control. There would be no effective cost control in his program. The said it's going be incredibly expensive ... and the thing that I really am worried about is, if it is the failure that I think it would be, then health reform will be set back a long, long time."

Scheiner, who prefers a more progressive approach to reform

"His pragmatism is what is overwhelming him." Scheiner added: "I think he's afraid that he can't get anything through if he doesn't go through this incredibly compromised program."

Admitting that he was not a political practitioner, Scheiner said he felt compelled to speak out because of his unique relationship with the president and this critical moment in the health care debate. A champion of a single-payer health care system, Scheiner noted repeatedly that he came to the debate from the perspective of having dealt with the hassles and pitfalls of the current system. His speaking out is part of a larger effort, launched by Physicians for a National Health Program, to push Congress to consider single-payer as an alternative to current reform proposals.

As Scheiner sees it, all alternatives simply fall short. Keeping private insurers in the market, he warns, would simply maintain burdensome administrative costs. He argued further that the pharmaceutical industry is not being asked to make "any kind of significant sacrifices" in the current round of reform negotiations. As for a public health care option, Scheiner insists that the proposal remains vague and inadequate.

"First of all, they haven't really gone into great detail about the public option," he said. "How much is it going to cost, are they going to really undercut private health insurance by a considerable amount? Will there be any restriction that you can get for public option?"

Despite his policy critiques, Scheiner's affection for his long-time patient is quite obvious. He recalled the president as being "gracious" and "never pulling rank" when he came to his office. "Part of my shtick, is I sing songs and I love humor," Scheiner said. "I remember last time I saw him I told him a joke, he said, 'Doc, you told me that joke before.' I was so impressed he can remember my bad jokes -- this guy has to be really bright."

All of which makes his current criticism of Obama's health care policies all the more difficult. While Scheiner raved about the president's intellectual curiosity, he was at loss for words as to why Obama had consulted with private industry executives more than primary care physicians. And while he spoke glowingly about the president's oratorical talents, he expressed disappointment that Obama had not done more to explain the benefits of single-payer coverage to the American public.

The White House has said that the president moved away from a single-payer approach both because of philosophical objections (consumers should be allowed to keep their coverage) as well as political realities (limited support for the proposal in Congress). The administration's position increasingly resembles the maxim, Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

"It's a good question," Scheiner said, when asked if having watered-down reform become law was better than getting a single-payer system stalled in Congress. "Is something better than nothing? That is a hard one for me. That is a difficult one, because, in the end, I think program is going to fail."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/29/obamas-doctor-presidents_n_246870.html

[mnhtnbb]

1. Good for him for speaking out.

[Sebass1271]

2. This is why you can't be in the "middle" or "independent" or

"pragmatic" becaue you lose your values and core principles. You are either a liberal-progressive-Democrat or you are a conservative-right wing neo. You can't be in the middle you compromise things that shouldn't be compromised in the first place. That is why i never believe in people when they say they are in the "middle" when it comes to politics and/or policies.

President Obama is risking becoming the best president this country ever had because of his damn pragmatism.

[Thrill]

3. I agree with that somewhat. But part of it is he knows he can't get a single payer system passed

Look how damn hard it is to just to get this done?

You can't get Single Payer done, unless you have Strong Campaign Finance Reform passed. Thats the reality

[HopeOverFear]

5. thank you

fools acting like repubs blue dogs and the health insurance lobby would just roll out the carpet for single payer

[Fire1]

23. Pretty much and nobody can see that. n/t

[SIMPLYB1980]

4. So you are either with us or against us and there can never be

any middle ground? Sounds very Bushian is all I'm saying.

[Deja Q]

13. Seconded.

[kenfrequed]

15. No

It means if you want a plausible strong public option to be the result you don't hamstring yoruself before you even leave the gate.

The public option is supposed to be the compromise with the right, by not starting at single-payer universal we have moved halfway towards them as it is so that now a fully funded single payer is our starting point and nothing is the republicans starting point.

Of course the Blue dogs are making this even worse by moving the starting point to preclude, weaken, mangle, twist, or corrupt even starting with a viable public option.

Compromise and pragmatism are all well and good if you start from what you REALLY want and then move to the minimum of what you are willing to settle for.

Rather than put out phoney BS platitudes that compare those of us on the left to Bush why not put out something resembling fact. I personally find it is ironic that after we on the left were correct in just about every way that Bush did wrong (war, stupid tax cuts, anti-science agenda) that the DLC'er meme has been to paint us as intractable zealots.

Total Hogwash.

[truedelphi]

8. He had more political capital than anyone else coming into Office

The banksters had screwed things up so royally that he could have arrived at a working solution for the economy that would have Bailed Out Main Street, and it would not have required anything more than using legislation created to handle the S & L crisis. Instead he has let Geithenr and Bernanke destroy the middle incomed with yet another "Jobless" recovery.

While Wall Street and only Wall Street recovers.

And his backstabbing the middle incomed on this Health Care Deal makes me ill.

[TheKentuckian]

10. Is that you Rush?

Any level of time spent in reality would tell you that the above statement is nonsense. Maybe a 'should' in front of "You are either a liberal-progressive-Democrat or you are a conservative-right wing neo." would be more rational but barely. Many have strong beliefs that span an imaginary political spectrum.

[On the Road]

12. Why is it Again That You Can't be Pragmatic?

Because I missed it the first time.

What is to prevent someone from having principles other than a left-wing or right version of society?

Or for that matter of pursing in the best practical long-term outcome for the greatest number of people (which is what pragatism is) rather than pursuing your preferred solution even if it won't become a reality?

[democracy1st]

14. If you call compromising with a party that would rather destroy you pragmatic

then to hell with pragmatism

[On the Road]

16. I Want a Strong Public Option Too

But pragmatism is not synonymous with acquiescence. Nor is centrism. Howard Dean, for example, is a pragmatist and by all accounts a centrist but is anything but an appeaser.

[democracy1st]

17. Wouldn't it be nice to hear the Pres say well there's no way I can trust working

with the republicans right now,they've made it clear that they would rather destroy my admin over helping Americans

seems like he tried to go there when he made the jab at Fox news

[Hutzpa]

6. My hope is that the President sees this

he does have a point about the President being pragmatic.

[truedelphi]

7. Yep, this good doctor speaks the truth. The president is afraid...

Afraid he won't get re-elected, afraid that his poll numbers will slip, afraid that his new buddies inside the top segment of the upper elite might not like him, afraid afraid afraid.

Where is an FDR or a Truman when we need them? FDR understood that the banking class, insurance provider class were the true parasites, and he wanted to make no deals in their favor. He must be rolling over in his resting place at Hyde Park.

[4lbs]

29. You might want to read up on the compromises and the several things that FDR *DIDN'T* do

because some members in Congress threatened to not pass any of what he wanted.

[tinrobot]

9. His words are going to be seriously twisted by the right

He's actually arguing for single payer, which is great. But the right will ignore that and start repeating something like: "Obama's own doctor says that he can't see how Obama's plan is going to work."

I wish he had said it differently.

[Amos Moses]

11. Everyone's words are twisted by the right.

Should we let that make us afraid of speaking our minds?

[mwooldri]

27. but then the right wing is twisted. eom.

[PatSeg]

18. He summed it up very well

There won't be any second chances to get this right and too much compromise could result in a program that could be a disaster. Of course I don't think single payer could ever pass, but a strong public option is vital to the success of any health care reform.

[democracy1st]

20. Just saw the Dr on CNN and I think some of his issues will be addressed

[PatSeg]

25. He is very persuasive and knowledgable

[pyoom]

19. I agree. Sooner or later Obama has to come to terms with the fact

that he's going to have to twist arms- hard- to get this done.

He knows what's right and he knows what needs to be done. And I think he's almost got it, he's just got to be a little bit pushier.

[ProSense]

21. "A champion of a single-payer health care system, Scheiner noted..."

"when asked if having watered-down reform become law was better than getting a single-payer system stalled in Congress. 'Is something better than nothing?'"

Well, there you have it. He's making the same tired case single-payer advocates have been making. Nothing is not an option. Obama is being pragmatic, and he will succeed.

[paulk]

24. it's a legitimate question

let's hope Obama sticks to his guns and vetoes any bill that doesn't have a strong and viable public option.

[kath]

22. "the thing that I really am worried about is, if it is the failure that I think it would be, then

health reform will be set back a long, long time."

My thoughts exactly.

[bullwinkle428]

26. CNN's crawler seemed to suggest that the doctor was totally opposed

to any kind of health care reform - I'm glad I found out that wasn't the case.

[democracy1st]

28. interview w Dr. Scheiner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQYiEM8Rz4s

[depakid]

30. That's about as succinct and honest as any analysis I've seen yet

[democracy1st]

31. if you get a chance checkout his video interview

[Becky72]

32. This man should run for President

I like what I've heard about him so far.