September has been an unprecedented month of less from the Obama Administration for which Health care may very well be Battle of Bull Run if not Waterloo for his administration.The Republicans sensing the chance of inflicting a Pyrrhic victory if not an outright rout on the Obama administration, are being debilitatingly “non-partisan” and not just on health care but all the major issues. The only thing the GOP is united on is a war of attrition. It also is becoming painfully obvious that President Obama and his team are becoming one Superhero players. Executive staff appear to be using Obama’s eloquence, precision and popularity over his own Cabinet and administrators in presenting and presumably forging policy on many fronts. And look at the reversals in form if not also substance on some of those policy decisions:
1)China’s leader Hu Jintao clearly outshines President Obama at the UN General Assembly – China, unlike the US, announces specific Global Warming targets including reforestation the size of Norway and curbs on emissions;
2)The Administration reverses US demands for no new settlements on the West Bank – so Israel will get to grow its Israeli settlement population on Palestinian West Bank territory from the current 1/2 million by 3000 new homes this year.
3)The administration reverses itself on Financial Reforms and in many key areas – the problem is that key Democratic players like Senator Chris Dodd and Chuck Shumer among others are beholden to Wall Street supporters.
4)Heath Care Reform gets watered down even in the face of overwhelming numbers for it – again the nature of Democratic support is the key question;
5)Even in bid for 2016 Olympics in Chicago Obama cuts back – instead of going himself, Obama does not send VP or Secretary of State or Secretary of Health and Welfare Sibelius; but his wife Michelle alone to IOC meeting in Denmark.
Once again, the US has a dramatic example of how it can ill afford a)the paralyzing partisan Washington politics, b)to ignore lobbying reforme, and c)afford to rely on singular, superhuman efforts to bring about major reforms and Yes We Can Change in Federal politics.