The Health Care Issue Is Toast

[Fading Captain]

I wasn't a fan of Obama's health plan, anyhow.

But man, did he derail the health care plan. Wow.

The way he handled that final question last night ... the one about the "racist" cop and his black friend ... His answer forces deep questions about his ability to think on his feet. And my god, if that answer was prepared/planned, in anyway, then my concerns are even deeper.

He was supposed to focus the nation on health care in that conference. (Remember, Obama put an August deadline on the health care plan out of concern for the little girl with leukemia and her family.)

Instead, the news cycle for the next week is "President vs. Policeman."

Well played, Obama.

[Richardo]

1. Might as well pack it up and hand the keys to McCain....

...we're all doooooomed.

[kenny blankenship]

2. I BLAME THE LEFT!1!!!

Might as well get this started.

[skipos]

3. DOOOOMED I tell ya! DOOOOOOOOOOMED! nt

[11 Bravo]

Could you please fade a little faster, Captain?

[WeDidIt]

4. LIAF

[Fading Captain]

11. Top two national stories at CNN

Mayor: Gates' arrest shouldn't have happened
Obama: Police 'acted stupidly' in Harvard arrest

When the President comes down hard on a city policemen, said policeman is going to get a ton of sympathy. Particularly when the policeman has a good reputation.

He should not have said what he said during last night's speech. There is a time and a place for things. And Obama, evidently, isn't blessed with that sense.

[Mrs. Overall]

20. Yah! Go get 'em Captain!

You're just super!

[lurky]

26. OMFG!

Where on Earth did you get that picture?!? :wow:

[Mrs. Overall]

34. He posted it himself in the DU Gallery.

No--I googled "stupid superheroes" and hit "images".

[Uncle Joe]

22. The obvious implication from your own posts are a condemnation of the corporate media and their

dysfunctional, misplaced, corporate centric priorities, not the President nor those of the American People, but I imagine you know that don't you?

[Fading Captain]

29. And the implication is that the President should have the sophistication

to understand how the corporate media works, and to use his pulpit to keep the corporate meda on message, not give them a big, bouncy, shiny "white cop vs black man" controversy to steal the spotlight for the next two weeks.

[Uncle Joe]

55. He did use it properly, they asked a question and he answered; after he spoke at length

regarding the critical issue of health care. If it hadn't of been that "shiny ball" it would have been something else even if the corporate media had to make something up.

I believe the American People would be much better off if they held the corporate media; to account for their obvious betrayal of the Peoples' trust and abandonment of the national interest instead of harping on an individual President for being human.

The corporate media are the primary villains; the dysfunctional institution and taking your focus off that subject only gives them excuse and serves their corporate supremacist agenda.

[Fading Captain]

66. I do not disagree.

But I think that puts you far out of the mainstream. And I think Obama is a mainstream candidate who would disagree with you. He's a very corporate-media-friendly president.

And he should have known better then to get involved in a city dispute. It's unpresidential. It doesn't rise, specifically, in this case, to his office.

If he wanted to make a point on this issue, he should have done so on his terms. And not overshadowed his conference on health care by saying that a) he didn't have all the facts, b) he was a friend of the victim and c) the police acted stupidly.

It plays RIGHT into the corporate media's hands.

And as we speak, he is spending time and energy on this, as a result of his gaffe.

[Uncle Joe]

70. To the contrary we do disagree.

Whether Obama is corporate-media friendly by design or necessity isn't the point, a dysfunctional, carcinogenic institution; that is the corporate media rotting the nation from the inside out with their propaganda while ignoring or distorting the critical issues of the day is the point.

Furthermore the people viewing the corporate media with disdain and disgust are in the main stream, we're the majority.

[Chorophyll]

24. And this situation will doom health care legislation for all time.

Okay. :eyes:

[Fading Captain]

30. All time?

How about, just for the Obama term.
Four years? Maybe eight?
Followed by what?
This health care legislation was already in trouble, just in the Democratic ranks.

Obama had a chance, last night, to make a persuasive argument and force stragglers onside. Do you think he did that?
I don't.

Even before the cop question. And definitely not after.

[Chorophyll]

36. I take it you're from Canada?

Let me tell you something: this is about as close as we've gotten in my lifetime to passing some kind of healthcare legislation. It won't be perfect. It might be nothing. We're used to that here, unfortunately.

We also have our first non-white president, which leads some people to think that race is no longer an issue in this country. Obviously race is still a HUGE issue in this country, and President Obama can not simply brush it aside. His comment wasn't that bad. Cambridge is a liberal place, and most people don't want to see Henry Louis Gates getting arrested for trying to get into his own house.

Get a grip.

[Fading Captain]

67. I am from Canada. And I have lived in the US for 10 years

And the one person who CERTAINLY acted stupidly, in this ordeal, was Obama.

He needs to set the agenda. Not run around, trying to put out fires he needlessly sets.

[Maru Kitteh]

5. I for one welcome our new "concern" overlords.

[kentuck]

6. Yep. Doomed!

If we only had ten more Senators and about 25 more Congressman, we might have a chance. We are just out-manned and over-matched. It's tough being in the minority. Oh wait! We're the majority!??

[bdamomma]

72. I wish we would or the Congress would realize we are the majority

instead of playing up to the repigs. what total crap.

[City Lights]

7. ...

:boring:

[Maru Kitteh]

8. General consensus seems to be that you were not very subtle, Sparky.

[kjackson227]

9. You forgot to use the "sarcasm" sign.

[11 Bravo]

15. You've ruined my day. I actually agree with a Dallas Cowboys fan.

GO SKINS!

[kjackson227]

41. LOL!

[rhett o rick]

18. He may have to look up "sarcasm" in the dictionary. nm

[rhett o rick]

10. Dang. Can't "unrecommend" when there are zero votes. We need to fix that. nm

[redqueen]

12. Hahahahahahaha

[rhett o rick]

13. Mods plez let the Captain stay for a while. I love these posts.

"I wasn't a fan of Obama's health plan, anyhow. " but when he mentioned the stupid cop. WOW

Yes I have to agree when he mentioned that the cops acted stupidly, he derailed his health plan. But what do you care? You didn't like it anyway.

It would have been much better played if President Obama would have answered the question more like this: "That's a stupid question. You know I want to concentrate on health care."

[Mrs. Overall]

14. Yeah, he spent 53 minutes on healthcare and 7 minutes on the Gates incident.

Nice try.

Your side is getting pretty desperate, huh?

[rhett o rick]

17. "I wasn't a fan of Obama's health plan, anyhow. " The Captain. nm

[Fading Captain]

23. My side? Born in Canada, I am for Canadian style health care

And I am left of the mainstream democratic party.
I work in the media.
I understand how it works.
The moment he said the word "stupidly," I knew where the national coverage was headed.

A president simply doesn't interject himself in something like this. The only person who behaved stupidly was President Obama.

On top of a billion fires he has to put out, he just lit another.

[Mrs. Overall]

38. Your original post is merely flamebait then due to your overly simplified wording--

This could have been a thread that intelligently discusses healthcare in terms of your unique Canadian perspective and your critique of Obama's plan. You could also have brought up how the race question at the end derailed the discussion and set up the American media to focus almost exclusively on that.

Your original post sounds like troll/freeper material and that's too bad because from what you say, you aren't a disruptor at all.

[Fading Captain]

48. A disruptor?

See, I don't talk in those terms.

I value opposing opinion. I don't hate Republicans. In fact, my workplace is filled with them. And I beat my head against the wall everyday.

Most right wingers I know don't trust government as an institution. And I understand why. Because the media and the citizens haven't done a good job keeping government honest, government does turn into a rackett.

But, as a left leaner, I understand that government is good is the citizens make it good. And it should be our goal to make it good. Not to get rid of it.

So, I may appear to be a "disruptor" to people who do not appreciate it when I criticize their favorite politician. And maybe I am a disruptor.

Obama blew it last night.

(BTW, as a Canadian, I am telling you that Obama's plan sucks. You're creating a two-tiered health care plan. Government will take care of all the sick and the old. Private insurance will take care of the profittable ones. It's unsustaintable, for the taxpayers).

[Mrs. Overall]

50. You did read that I said you weren't a disruptor, right?

Sorry, your reply sounds as though you think I am calling you one--I am not.

I think you probably have valuable insight into the health care issue. You ought to post a more detailed explanation (in a separate thread) of the Canadian system and the details of Obama's plan that you think will ultimately fail.

[Spazito]

47. Wow, damn good thing you weren't part of the "Canadian style..

healthcare" debate when it occurred or you would have declared that DEAD as well! If you really do work in the media then I am surprised you don't seem to 'get' how government in the US works.

The media does NOT have a vote in Congress, politicians do.
Oh, and right now is VACATION time for many Americans, they are not sitting glued to the television watching the 24/7 cable news stations.

[rhett o rick]

16. You tip your hat Captain by showing disrespect to our President. Is it just too hard for you to call

him "President" Obama. Go on, say it. President Barack Huessein Obama President Barack Huessein Obama President Barack Huessein Obama

[Fading Captain]

31. Save your flame bait

I've always referred to presidents and prime ministers by their last name.

[rhett o rick]

32. The definition of flame bait.

"I wasn't a fan of Obama's health plan, anyhow.

But man, did he derail the health care plan. Wow."

[Fading Captain]

35. How is that flame bait?

Many of us on DU don't support the Obama health plan. It falls short of Single Payer health care, as they have in Canada and Britain. But that's beside the point.

Pointing out the president's gaffe isn't flame bait.
Accusing someone you disagree with of being a troll is flame bait.

[Peacetrain]

37. Thank you for your support... sigh

[rhett o rick]

40. Accusing someone of being a troll is rude, I agree and I apologize.

But it isn't flame bait. Your post clearly is. Your pointing out the "P"resident's gaffe in the manner you did is inflammatory. Just read the responses. The proof is in the pudding.

[rhett o rick]

33. Self Delete.

[Fading Captain]

39. Who cares?

Is it really important to you?

You'd rather talk about the whether people address the President with or without his title? Then whether or not he blundered in his talk last night?

I kid you not, I watched that conference, and heard that question, and I was like, "don't take the bait."
But he did.
And then, when he said, he knew Bates, I was like, "just say you can't comment on it."
But he didn't say that.
Then, I was like, "just say something generic" about race relations. Don't refer to this specific case."


And then, despite admitting that he didn't have all the facts, he said "police acted stupidly."

My jaw hit the floor.
He walked right into a fucking bear trap.

We'll see if I am right. And if I am wrong, I'll admit it.
But I doubt the 25 or so people who've swept in here with their cutesy little drive-by insults will do the same.

[rhett o rick]

45. If you're saying that the nutcases will focus on his statement, you've proven your point. nm

[Critters2]

19. Your concern is noted. nt

[rocktivity]

21. And if he'd said nothing they'd have spent the week talking about his duckin the issue.

Don't worry--most people know that the media doesn't want to public healthcare to succeed because it will cost them ad revenues. They see it for the media setup that it was.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Fading Captain]

28. If he'd have said:

"I don't have all the facts, but Mr. Gates was a friend of mine, and this was an unfortunate incident that highlights many lingering racial problems we have in America"

Or, he could have said,
"I have no comment, as I don't have all the facts, and I am not sure this specific issue rises meets the threshold.

Instead, he used is Presidential Pulpit to take sides in case that has no business getting beyond the Mayor's pulpit.

And tho say the policeman acted stupidly.

You know what people are talking about today. I know what people are talking about today. And health care is taking a back seat.

[rocktivity]

61. If he'd said that, the media would simply have taken the angle

of presenting THEIR version of the facts. They're grabbing ANY excuse to cover the public option because it will cost them advertising revenues.

Randi Rhodes just replayed his answer, and I like it that he didn't duck the issue. He had the facts that counted most--Gates successfully proved that he hadn't committed a crime, and that charges were dropped.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[rocktivity]

63. Correction

They're grabbing ANY excuse NOT to cover the public option because it will cost them advertising revenues. Why do you think they asked the question in the first place?

:blush:
rocktivity

[Fading Captain]

69. For sure

Health care industry advertising is one of the few solid sectors left for commercial media.

The national media, for this reason alone, will NEVER support government insurance.

[malaise]

25. That's your hope? n/t

[timeforpeace]

27. I thought he was great last night.

[rhett o rick]

42. Please explain your statement: "Many of us on DU don't support the Obama health plan".

Are you saying that you are willing to let President Obama's health plan fail?

[fascisthunter]

43. lol.... fade away

[marmar]

44. Don't go away mad......Just go away.

I would love to see the actual number of unrecommends on this post.

[marmar]

46. Selfdelete.....I responded to the wrong post - mine.

n/t

[Jennicut]

49. There is another poster on GD:Prez who said the same thing. Are you two related?

Hmmm, maybe if you ignore the lifeless, dying, losing viewers everyday media then you would have original thoughts again, not media talking points.

[Fading Captain]

53. I don't watch tv or listen to talk radio

But, in my old life, I watched enough in my life to know when the Democrats present the Republicans with two weeks of diversions.

[Jennicut]

60. LOL. Right. If you don't watch it then why do you care what they say?

Or even know what they are saying?

[Fading Captain]

65. LOL Right?

What are you, 12?

Perhaps I should rephrases, I do watch television. I watch speeches. I sometimes watch CSPAN.
I do not watch talking heads. I do not watch network programming.

I watched last night's conference and turned of the television.

[CANDO]

51. How is the cop question related to health care?

eom

[lumberjack_jeff]

52. +1

[Fading Captain]

54. It's not

And that's the point

[TexasObserver]

56. What a steaming pile!!

[RandomKoolzip]

57. You do a disservice to Robert Pollard by making that observation, sir.

Do not like.

[Fading Captain]

68. You are good at knee jerk reactions

Obama fucked up his week with that comment.
As you can see, Democrats are arguing about that Crowley vs Gates incident, right here on DU.

Who knows?
Maybe it was a plant question. Maybe he meant to get embroiled in this incident.

I tend to think otherwise. He made a mistake. And it will cost him TIME, ENERGY and POLITICAL CAPITAL at a CRITICAL time in the health care debate.

[DefenseLawyer]

58. I'll give it a 64. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

On pure entertainment value, your clueless troll through the woods is a hit with me.

[dflprincess]

59. It's never really been about health care - it's about health insurance

and how to protect the private companies.

[Aramchek]

62. thanks for the concern, moran

[scheming daemons]

64. is that a bridge I smell?

there are other sites where your point of view is welcome, you know. One starts with an "f" and rhymes with "peenepublic".

[tomreedtoon]

71. Get your coil of rope at Wal-Mart and wander into the woods.

It's all over. It doesn't even make sense for you to fight, to go out dying while trying to kill the people who screwed you over. Just give up. That's the DU way. See you in Hell.

And since the original poster didn't bother to pay for a Bleeding Sarcasm Icon (c), neither will I. Neither of us are being Sarcastic.