I find the "blame republicans" approach to be rather desperate. They hold all the cards at the moment and they had all the votes they needed to get the job done back before the August break. They didn't pass the bill, not because republicans were in their way, but because the American people were screaming "SLOW DOWN - LETS DO THIS RIGHT".
People have and will continue to argue all day about what is and isn't in the bill because on any given day there are 4 to 6 of them being discussed...but none of them are actually a true "Obamacare" proposal from Obama. As a result you can claim something about bill A and someone else can say "hey that's not in the bill!" (while talking about Bill C).
What has been needed for a long time on this issue is leadership, Obama needed to step in and lay out his plan and fight for it. But he has avoided it precisely because he is afraid to put something concrete on paper that he would/could be held directly accountable for down the road. Something they can lay out and rally around, modify as needed, and push for as a cohesive group rather than being scattered trying to defend 5 bills.
So if anyone is to blame, it is Obama and his complete lack of leadership on the issue. I don't know if you can really even argue with that either. I can't think of anything he has done in the way of leadership on healthcare, and certainly nothing that has been effective.
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| To Each Man, Responsibility |
