Morning Must Reads: Health Care Slipping

Confidence in the president’s leadership overall has dropped noticeably in the past month and substantially since April. Obama lost points on being decisive, strong, and in touch with the concerns of regular Americans.

Health care reform continues to rank below taming the deficit as a priority and only about 40 percent of voters think the president is handling the health issue ably.

The misgivings stem from concerns about the plan which respondents thought would cost them money and do nothing to improve their own care – a deadly combination.

Writer Laura Meckler explains that the disillusionment phase of the Obama experiment has set in.
“The poll found that Mr. Obama’s overall ratings have fallen amid worries over the economy, with the decline due almost entirely to dwindling support by Republicans. His score is solid by historical standards but no longer at the high-flying levels of his early weeks.

Overall, Mr. Obama’s ratings fell on a series of measures. His job approval now stands at 53%, down from a high of 61% in April. That is three points higher than President George W. Bush had in June 2001, following a contentious election victory.

The proportion of people who said it was very or fairly likely that Mr. Obama would bring “real change” dropped to 51% from 61% in February. The share of those who said he could be trusted to keep his word fell to 48% this month from 58% in April.”
 
New York Times — House Democrats End Impasse on Health Bill
 
Despite the claims of writers David Herszenhorn and Robert Pear, the only impasse that seems to have been broken on health care in the House is the one over whether there was any chance for a vote anytime soon.

For a lucid take, read Examiner colleague Susan Ferrechio’s piece. But what the Times’ access without insight does show is how seriously that Democrats are taking a marginal victory that could actually spell the undoing of any hopes on health care.

By making some changes to the House bill that still might not pass the House and certainly wouldn’t pass the Senate, Democrats got an agreement from Blue Dog members not to block the bill in committee. In exchange, the Blue Dogs got a stay in execution so they could go home for a month and talk to their constituents about their feelings about the plan. Based on recent polling, how do you suppose residents of conservative-leaning districts in the South and Midwest are feeling about Obamacare these days?

Democrats rightly feared an August lull in the health debate but didn’t foresee how strong the opinion running against a government plan would be by this point. But having been grinding out the details of the doomed House bill for so long, even a marginal and pyrrhic victory that also inflamed the Left was reason to celebrate.

“The agreement, brokered by aides to President Obama, overcame a 10-day impasse and would allow a pivotal House committee to resume work on the bill, with an expectation that the panel could approve it later this week.

Under the deal, the Democratic leaders promised to defer a vote by the full House until September, so lawmakers could test public sentiment on the measure, which could fundamentally restructure one-sixth of the nation’s economy.

Elements of the agreement reflect priorities shared by centrist members of both parties who have been trying for months to forge a compromise in the Senate Finance Committee.”
 
New York Times — Texas Hospital Flexing Muscle in Health Fight

 As Obamacare hits the skids the search for the guilty is in full swing. And writers Kevin Sack and David Herszenhorn find someone to blame at a Texas hospital owned by physicians that has been a wellspring of Democratic contributions.

The hospital, which is in a rough part of South Texas, has provided millions in Democratic dollars and has so far been insulated from any plans to limit doctor ownership of hospitals in order to curb unnecessary spending on procedures.

That’s of some limited interest. That Rep. Pete Stark the Californian who chairs the health subcommittee on House Ways and Means is ready to start selling out fellow Democrats. As Democratic leaders try to craft a watered-down national health plan, members like Stark may opt to blow the whole thing up.

“Representative Pete Stark, a California Democrat who wants to clamp down on physician-owned hospitals, said their formidable lobbying had helped eliminate his proposal to limit physician ownership to 40 percent at any hospital.

‘Particularly led by these guys in Texas, these guys who have been raising tons of money for contributions,’ Mr. Stark said in an interview. ‘I am sure that some of my colleagues have been willing to hear them out.’”
 
Washington Post — Domestic Diplomacy at a Picnic Table

Polls also show that Americans have been paying attention to the kafuffle over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates and Obama’s commentary on the issue.

Gates gets more blame for the incident, but the president is hoping to teach Americans a lesson today about the shared blame for unhappy outcomes when black and white people interact.

Writers Michael Fletcher and Krissah Thompson look at Obama’s self-appointed role as cultural lecturer and his effort to turn a gaffe of his own into a way to help Americans be better people.

“Obama invited the two men to the White House on Friday, the same day he publicly expressed regret for saying July 22 at a nationally televised news conference that Cambridge police had “acted stupidly” by arresting Gates at his home. The remark ignited a backlash from conservative commentators and law enforcement officials, who accused Obama of speaking rashly and being anti-police.

That controversy caught the White House by surprise, and initially the president, a friend of Gates’s, stuck by his words. But as objections continued to build, Obama discussed it briefly with friends while at his Chicago home on Thursday, a White House official said. Later, he also discussed the issue with his wife — who was said to be as outraged by the arrest as he was — before deciding to step back from his original stand. Obama told reporters that both Crowley and Gates, who reportedly berated the officer, overreacted.”
 
Wall Street Journal — U.S. Plans to Free an Afghan Detainee
 
Since the Obama administration will not use any information obtained from harsh interrogation techniques a man who severely injured two U.S. troops in a grenade attack in Afghanistan may be freed and returned home.

Writers Evan Perez and Jess Bravin say that the U.S. is weighing it’s options but with a federal judge ordering Mohammed Jawad to be released from Guantanamo, slim chances of success in civilian courts because of the self-imposed ban on coerced information, and an inability to find another country to take him a release may be the only option. Lawyers will appear today to explain their plan.
And as more judges order inmates released – as happened again Wednesday – the situation will only be repeated.

“The Obama administration is pushing ahead with plans to close the Guantanamo prison by January. Officials are trying to resettle some detainees, while planning military and criminal trials for others. The plan has run into opposition from members of Congress who have tried to erect obstacles to closing the prison based on national-security concerns.”
 
 

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