Media Overplays Olympic Loss

Many people--probably most people--weren't even minding the Olympic hullabaloo. But moreover, I don't think people would make the leap from Olympic loss to Obama in the doghouse. It's certainly not going to affect health care. That's kind of overreaching. Silly, really. Nice try though.
From MSNBC:

OK, so it is only the Olympics. But President Barack Obama's high-profile failure to win the games for Chicago could feed negative narratives already nipping at his heels — that he is a better talker than deal closer, more celebrity than statesman.

And this could hamper his efforts on weightier issues like health care, climate change, war.

Chicago Trib:

The reasons behind Chicago's first-round knockout in the vote for the 2016 Olympic Games will be debated for some time, but one thing is clear -- the swift defeat was a political blow for President Barack Obama and Mayor Richard Daley.

The two Democratic powerhouses staked personal as well as political capital on their hometown bid, only to see Chicago lose on the first ballot against Tokyo, Madrid and eventual winner Rio de Janeiro.

So quick was the rejection that Daley was not at the meeting center for the first round of voting. He was en route to the Bella Center, where the IOC meeting was held, when he heard Chicago had been bumped. They mayor had the driver turn the car around and went instead to a supporters party at a Copenhagen nightclub.

USA Today:

He came, he spoke — and he finished last.
President Obama's 20-hour jaunt to Copenhagen won't win a gold medal for diplomacy, though aides said his Olympic effort on behalf of Chicago was worth the time and he would do it again if necessary.

"Had he not gone, he would have been criticized for not going," said senior adviser David Axelrod, a Chicagoan who expressed disappointment as the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 summer games to Rio de Janeiro.

Rio's exciting pitch. This looks kind of awesome to me:

Republicans Doctor Obama Photo for Propaganda Purposes

I have always thought the photo in the video below of Obama smoking, which has been used on anti-Obama sites since the campaign, was a real photo. It's an unflattering photo but it never bothered me--until now.

Now that I've learned it is a doctored photo, I hope the republicans go down in flames on healthcare.

A Financial Times columnist Niall Ferguson writes:

President Barack Obama reminds me of Felix the Cat. One of the best-loved cartoon characters of the 1920s, Felix was not only black. He was also very, very lucky. And that pretty much sums up the 44th president of the US as he takes a well-earned summer break after just over six months in the world’s biggest and toughest job. FT

What is wrong with these people? The stream of hate rhetoric is constant. Republicans seem to only represent the fringe. I'm not seeing any mainstream republican voices coming through. I know there are decent republicans in the mix but I can't hear them.

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Rahm says the evidence is in--republicans don't seem to want to work on reform:

Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.

Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said the heated opposition was evidence that Republicans had made a political calculation to draw a line against any health care changes, the latest in a string of major administration proposals that Republicans have opposed.

“The Republican leadership,” Mr. Emanuel said, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.” NYT

An Interesting Conversation on the Deficit and Healthcare

How did a republican congress and republic president build up such a large deficit? That refreshing acknowledgment was heard on Morning Joe:

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Blue Dog Willing to Give up Recess for Health Care

Blue dog democrat Ron Kind of Wisconsin says he's willing to give up the August recess to get healthcare done. He also says he's behind Obama on health care. James Clyburn also says he'll skip vacation. Can we have more of this kind of support please? Obama has been a one-man show and he needs some backup. I'm with Ed. No vacation for Congress. Get this done and then take a recess.

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What Obama is up against: republicans who are only looking to get back in power and could care less about health care reform and a slew of stories such as this one by Howard Fineman on why Obama might fail on health care. If Obama fails, we all lose. No Obama. No health care.

Obama Goes After Republicans

Go Obama Go! Republicans deserve their status as sidelined. Republicans are only in it to gain politically. They don't care if health care is reformed. I think they've made that pretty clear.

Here's his entire speech:

Obama Now in For Poll Pounding

First the media pounds and now Obama's poll numbers slip, but I hope no one in the administration is minding them.
I hope they continue full speed ahead.
Americans sure are a fickle bunch. What more do they want? Geez. I have to think that most Americans are polling this way because they just aren't paying all that much attention or they expect Obama to get them their jobs back. I can't imagine it has anything to do with the republicans. They're just a sorry lot.
Unfortunately, I think the bar was set really high in that many people thought Obama could walk on water.
No one ever polls me but I am grateful that Obama is running the country and not McCain.
Hallelujah!
I also think Obama and his administration are doing a terrific job.
Today, Obama will make a statement on health care at 1:05 eastern.

As President Barack Obama's campaign-styled push for healthcare reform continues, a new poll today shows that, for the first time, public support for his handling of the issue has slipped below 50 percent.

The president's overall job-approval remains well above 50 percent in the Washington Post/ABC News survey. However, that measure as well -- 59 percent -- has slipped below 60 percent for the first time in Post/ABC polling.

Other polls, notably the Gallup Poll, also have found the president's approval slipping into the high 50s. Swamp

Healthcare Will Cost $8,000 Per Person in 2009

Read about Obama's healthcare plan here.

RCM: Health care costs will top $8,000 per person this year, consuming an ever-bigger slice of a shrinking economic pie, says the report by the Department of Health and Human Services, due out Tuesday.

As the recession cuts into tax receipts, Medicare's giant hospital trust fund is running out of cash more rapidly, and could become insolvent as early as 2016, the report said. That's three years sooner than previously forecast.

At the same time, the government's already large share of the nation's health care bill will keep growing.

Programs such as Medicaid are expanding to take up some of the slack as more people lose job-based coverage. And baby boomers will soon start reaching 65 and signing up for Medicare. Those trends together mean that taxpayers will be responsible for more than half of the nation's health care bill by 2016 — just seven years from now.