I'm pretty disappointed that Obama is campaigning over this rather than reworking the 2011 deal. When I was talking to voters before the election, I told them that Obama wanted to work with Congress to reach a balanced agreement after the election. On Saturday, OFA called me saying they want me to knock on doors to campaign against the fiscal cliff! I told them I had something else to do, which I did, but in all seriousness, I think voters want them to govern the country, rather than bother them with canvassing.
The problem with trying to roll over the GOP is that you still need them to govern. If this so called "Doomsday" scenario comes to pass, it'll be Obama's version of the predictable 2nd term overreach.
Health care costs are going to be a broader problem going forward, it's not just about entitlements. For one thing, the 'penalties' in the mandate are way too low, and it's not clear at all how many people will sign up for health insurance. If not enough people do, the whole thing falls apart. Several states went through this in the '90s.
Then there's this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/business/a-hospital-war-reflects-a-tightening-bind-for-doctors-nationwide.html?pagewanted=allHere's my view of politicians: a politician is a professional position. Just as doctors are paid to cure patients, programmers are paid to write code, bartenders are paid to serve drinks, so are politicians paid to perform a function-- their function is to build up political power. The ends are unimportant. In other words, a politician should not be aimlessly "spending" political capital, as if it's a Christmas gift they buy for themselves. They should be "spending" political capital as an investment to get more political capital. Just as, businesspeople spend money to invest in projects that will generate future profits. For Obama, those things are things that are bipartisan solutions with Republicans, & reforms to health care that will make it work well in the future. It's not trying to beat the Republicans with a hammer down with this "I won" bullsh-t.
