Tipsheet

When It's All About HIM

President Obama isn't urging his caucus to sign onto his health "reform" legislation because it's good -- apparently, he's promising to rework it later.

He certainly isn't telling them to do it because that's what the American people want.

He's telling them to do it because he wants it and it will help revive his agenda.

It will be interesting to see how many moderate Democrats think that's a sufficient reason for them to surrender their seats come November.

The point that even the President can't finesse is that the bill is a stinker.  So don't be distracted by the procedural antics surrounding reconciliation.  That's just a symptom (and one the President wishes Republicans would focus on -- like "green eyeshade" talk about budgets, it quickly loses the interest of listeners).  The underlying disease, of course, is that the health care bill itself is remarkably bad -- so bad that even Democrats don't want to vote for it.