Has Obama botched the battle over healthcare?

Obama was dealt another setback, this time by members of his own party who rejected his demand for a vote before the August recess and was told,bluntly, by Harry Reid there would be not vote in August at all.

People are watching how Obama is handling this and they are not happy. And with good reason. The problem is Obama.

First he created and demanded an artificial deadline for a vote that had no rhyme or reason. Yes it needs to get done and the sooner the better but if your going to tell 100 senators to get it done by a specific time "or else" you better have an "or else" up your sleeve or your going to look stupid.. Obama didn't have an "or else". And free food and a rock concert is not going to work with the U.S. Senate.

The second problem is Obama is giving no leadership. I don't mean speeches and town halls. I mean to the congress when the TV lights arent shining. No direction, no solutions. He wavers, he says maybe this,maybe that.  He tries to be conciliatory when that isnt what's needed. One senior Democratic congressional source said this about Obama:

"We appreciate the rhetoric and his willingness to ratchet up the pressure but what most Democrats on the Hill are looking for is for the president to weigh in and make decisions on outstanding issues," the senior Democratic congressional source said.

And herein lies the problem. Making speeches, not decisions has always been Obama's long suit. In fact, making decisions is probably the thing he has shown the least aptitude for which is why as an Illinois state senator he set a record for voting "present" over 100 times -- meaning he didn't vote for or against whatever was on the table.

Now, with healthcare reform probably the biggest and most important issue he has to deal with, the one with the longest lasting benefits for the most people, Obama seems to be losing ground because he can't step in and make a decision.

Obama's style has always been to try and be conciliatory and shy away from a fight, not to ruffle feathers or get anyone mad at him. But on healthcare, in order to get the only kind of meaningful reform that will matter -- the public option -- he will have to fight and lay down a marker. He has to draw some lines in the sand and make that clear to everyone including congress and the public option is where the clearest line has to be drawn.

A third problem is there are too many proposals on the table. What Obama needs to do is give one single over riding principle that should guide the entire debate and if he cant do it I will do it for him :   the public option is the only meaningful kind of healthcare reform. Those opposing it are using lies and deception to try and defeat it and that alone tells you its worth doing.  The opposition who are carrying water for the insurance companies have nothing to say worth considering.

Obama has to forget the co-op idea also. That is just a half way measure that has more to do with solving some legislators political problems then  health care problems.

The only issue regarding the public option is how to pay for it and there are many ways to do it and any one way is bound to make some group unhappy so the next point is dont try and please everyone.  There are savings to be had in current health care practices that havent come close to being tapped yet and if there is a short fall and it means raising taxes then do it. There has already been a CNN poll showing 57% would favor higher taxes to pay for the public option so raising taxes is not a calamity.

And if Republicans want to make an issue of raising taxes in this economy ignore it. Remember the Oscar Wilde line about knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Next, if you cant get it done with Republican support than do it without Republican support. As Obama pointed out in his press conference there are the usual collection of Republican consultants who will advise Republicans in congress to be obstructionist simply on political grounds. If the public option is as successful as it should be Republicans will dig themselves a deeper politcal hole for opposing it. If the Democrats screw it up then they and Obama will pay the political price. Fair is fair.

Obama has long passed the point of no return. He cant back down from the public option without history recording he backed down and that will be the hallmark of his presidency.

Polls showing that 44% of the American people are not happy with the way he has been handling healthcare does not mean they don't want the public option. It means they are not happy with Obama's handling of the process, his indecisiveness and probably his lack of real leadership for which speeches are not a substitute.

The way to regain the initiative and win back some of the erosion in his support is to do what that Democratic source said -- he has to weigh in and make the decisions on the outstanding issues, take responsibility for it, and tell the congress to get it done.  Its really not that hard.