WHO'S SORRY NOW?

Sorry? Not the president---unless you count his most recent statement on his attempt to smooth over his earlier, uh, mis-statement. or less than precise words on whether we could keep our insurance if we liked it.  Mr. Obama seems to have an aversion to meaningful apologizing---and can parse words like Clinton, only better. It was the president's second attempt to do damage control and give an apology without actually giving one. Instead, he said he was "sorry for those who found themselves" without insurance. We are too, Mr. President, we are too.  Because you see, those folks didn't just find themselves in medical jeopardy, you put them there. Worse, back in 2010, when you were selling Obamacare to the public, you assured us that things would remain the same, if we chose to stay with our previously chosen insurance and in control of our own medical decisions. There was no qualifying or equivocating on whether one's insurance policy met your standards. No, that would have given us pause, but it would have said it like it was---which could have eventually caused a revolt.  But that one sentence, which he so boldly and comfortingly uttered, over and over again, was the grand closer, the big kahuna, the final nail that put this life altering piece of legislation over the top without a whimper from most of the American people---we trusted his words. After all, he is the president. But it was, and let us not parse words here--- a con job, and a big fat lie. Because there are now thousands of people who have indeed lost their insurance due to the fact that it did not match up to the standards set by the new Affordable Care Act. There are meetings being held now to find a way to rectify this situation, but that isn't really the point---which is, we were suckered into a deal under false pretenses.

Not only was it a lie, it was deception, even fraud, at the highest level in terms of sneaking a law by the people which was radical, controversial, and counter intuitive enough to our gut instincts, that it was thought it best to not tell the whole truth---sugar coat it, leave out a few details, do whatever it takes, but get it done. If you doubt that, you are the ones Obama and team were and are counting on. It is a documented fact  now, that Obama and his advisors knew very well that the "you can keep your insurance" statement was not totally true, i.e. the sin of omission, and that they discussed the matter thoroughly, knowing that it could come back to bite them.  But it was decided to gamble on the magic allure of Obama, and  go with it anyway---it was the means to an end, which they felt justifiable, even if was obtained by misleading the very people it would most affect. It was breathtaking arrogance, audacity, and a miscalculation of the American public's gullibility---or was it? Can we forgive and forget? Or will the sting of this betrayal lose the extraordinary luster of a once adored president?

 The law is the law now, and we are left to deal not only with the debacle of signing up, which is a comedians' joke treasure trove, but the fact that the whole plan is not working out well at all.  The so called electronic "glitches" are in the hundreds, and experts have been called in to work a registration fix by November 30th, but even if they succeed, the signs of systemic failure are looming larger every day. Young people, the ones who must  buy insurance in huge numbers, in order to float the economic load of paying for all the heretofore, extra uninsured, are not showing up.  Premiums and deductibles are rising. Employers are cutting people and hours. Insurance companies are balking, and  doctors are declining in numbers. The theory of insurance for everyone, paid for by those who do not want or can afford it,  the young and the middle class---appears to be an idea whose time may have come, but whose implementation lacked depth, experience, and pragmatism--- and perhaps most importantly, an idea too foreign and dichotomous to the American mind set to fully grasp, let alone fly.  But the train has left the station--the fix is in, and we must deal with this gargantuan plan, one way or the other, or watch it fall apart in pieces---a train wreck of epic proportions. And the attempted repair or undoing of such a calamity may be worse than the actual cause.

What next?  Look for more presidential speeches to shore up the president's falling popularity, Democrats joining Republicans scrambling to delay and redesign the plan, in order to protect their election chances. And next, though not least, prepare for higher taxes. It has to come. No such thing as free lunches or Utopia. We are there ---change has come, as it was promised. Hope? Not much, unless you were hoping for a more socialistic, European, welfare state, call it what you will---it's ever closer. The Affordable Care Act was one big giant step forward to that end---the bigger one yet to come, and it's called "one payer system.  Say hello to Uncle Sam---he wants you. Not your military service, but you, your labor, your money, and your healthcare choices. Sam's current personification is Barack Obama,  and change is his game.  He believes devoutly in what he's doing, enough to sacrifice his own integrity, perhaps even his  legacy.  But no matter, he will continue to do whatever it takes. His ideology precedes even his honesty. Sorry? Not even close----the goal, is change, and hang the cost.

 Have you heard the quiet lately?  Is it the silence of surrender or the speechlessness of outrage?    Are we sorry now,  and are we watching a president and his signature law go down in flames, taking with it our healthcare and consequently an even more weakened economy? But what about those who are actually being helped by the new law? Well, yes, there are those, a precious few---just not enough of them to foot the bill, and that could be a medical and financial disaster for all of us. Who knows where it all goes next---but the rumors are flying---from an extended delay of the bill, to a complete repeal. It should not be forgotten that other alternative plans were offered by the opposing party, but never considered, much less studied. Will they now get a second chance? When pigs fly. That would be called co-operation, compromise, rising above differences for the public good. Much easier to refer to the Republicans as "the party of no". Sort of like the insurance mis-statement---not really true, but a means to an end.

Gossip has it that those rascally Republicans secretly wish for Obamacare to fail, and that's why it's happening---all those bad vibes are causing the glitches. Really? Excuse me while I laugh out loud , as if the Republicans had that much power. That's about as outrageous as the other theory making the rounds---that President Obama also wants his own law to fail, so that the insurance companies will disappear under the burden of enforced payouts, with not enough incoming new customers, resulting in the final solution. You got it-----a one payer system, with the United States government in total control of our healthcare needs. Incredulous? Excuse me while I shudder to think---

And this just in---Bill Clinton, lead spokesman and top parser of the Democrat party today said that Barack Obama should honor his promise of allowing people to keep their insurance if they like it.  Wow---is that the sound of Dems breaking rank? Maybe pigs do fly. Because other heretofore lip zipped, loyal Democrats are expressing grave concerns over the signs of pending doom for the  new healthcare law.  It is looking more and more like an idea which was conceived with good intentions, but borne out of political expediency---and may very well die a premature death, due to delivery complications, and causing considerable grief and turmoil.

We're all truly sorry---most of us like the idea of better healthcare for more people.  We don't even mind paying a little more for it---we just don't like being coerced into it, without balanced representation, and kept from reading the fine print. Good always catches up with bad.  Here's to our health, and happier, more honest days ahead.