Like Dana, I'm an Emanuel apologist. The chief of staff's job is to run a tight White House, and Emanuel's job also seems to be to oversee legislative tactics, and the fact of the matter is that this White House has gotten health-care reform nearer to passage than any White House in history. Meanwhile, Barack Obama's approval rating remains at 51 percent. This is no catastrophe. And it's been very, very close to a historic success -- both for the administration and the American people.
Obama attempted a big health-care reform bill because, well, we have a big health-care problem in this country. What Dana is saying here is that the president made a mistake by trying to solve the problem -- or at least a lot of the problem -- rather than taking an easier route that would not have solved the problem. That seems like an odd definition of the word "mistake." Particularly given how close the bill came to passage, and how close the bill remains to passage.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Erza rips Dana Milbank...
Ezra and I are on waaay better terms this week:
