Legal Commentary

Why The Big Dog Has No Role To Play In The Health Care Debate

By Big Tent Democrat

Rick Hertzberg wants Obama to put the Big Dog to work on health care reform:

Over at her Daily Beast, our former editor Tina Brown has a very good suggestion for President Obama: unleash Bill Clinton to sweet-talk and arm-wrestle the Blue Dogs into dropping their obstruction of health-care reform. Now that Tina mentions it, why hasn’t Obama done this already? . . . Given the horrific structural hurdles health care has to surmount . . ., this President needs all the help he can get. And it’s hard to think of anyone whose help would help more—especially since, as Tina notes, nobody has thought more about how to avoid the mistakes that were made last time than Mr. Clinton. Except maybe Mrs. Clinton.

I have the greatest respect for the former President but he can't help President Obama here. The Big Dog does not have political bite anymore. Former Presidents generally do not. Clinton has an extraordinary intellect, grasp of the issues and political acumen, but he does not have the political muscle. President Obama has to handle this one.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 30, 2009 (boomark / email).