Charles Krauthammer discusses the fall of Obama, and the real purpose of the health care summit -- setting up the use of reconciliation to ram it through.
In addition, Krauthammer has some very complimentary things to say about Wisconsin's Paul Ryan.
Video.
Transcript
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: After seven and a half hours, the president reveals the purpose, practically in the last minute, in which he said we're going to give it a month or so. We're going to see if we can agree. Obviously, they are not going to agree. Obviously, this was all about giving the appearance of reaching out for other ideas, and it was all about setting the premise for a pivot to reconciliation, i.e. meaning the Democrats are now going to try to ram it through on a procedural trick in the Senate and try to cobble the votes required in the House.
Now, I think the Democrats actually helped themselves in the process. They did have a seven and a half-hour show in which it appeared as if they were genuinely open. I think it was quite cynical, but I think it allows at least them to argue to Independents, who want to see a kind of an ecumenical effort, to argue that we tried. We went the last mile, and we failed. So in order to get health care reform, we had to go by this partisan procedure.
However, on the other hand, the Republicans really helped themselves. The argument against them is it's the Party of No. They have no ideas. They're against everything. They're nihilists. In fact, they spent seven hours I think presenting a very strong case. They're knowledgeable. They have ideas. They're interested in reform, but they have differences.
Lamar Alexander was dazzling. Paul Ryan was rapier sharp in rebutting all of the smoke and mirrors that the Democrats had presented. I think it's going to help the Republicans in November on their image, but in the short run, it's going to help the Democrats in trying to ram the thing through.
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I thought it was rather interesting the president risked his prestige in doing this.
Let's remember, look at the optics of this. Two months ago, he's standing in the Congress on the podium in the House of Representatives addressing the Congress. He has literally at his feet the whole Congress, the Supreme Court, the generals, and he's speaking to the nation on television. He gives a speech, this is in December, on health care. And he strikes out. He gets nowhere on it.
So here is now, two months later, and he's literally at the same level as the members of the House and the Senate. He's given up the aura of the presidency, which is half king, half prime minister. And he's now at the level of prime minister, toe-to-toe with members of Congress. So he diminishes his aura, and I think it doesn't help him in the long run. And then he gets, at the same time, he is so imperious and so self-confident that he nonetheless acts as the arbiter of what's legitimate and what's not. I mean, he would be saying, 'Well, that's a talking point, and that's a legitimate point.'
You know, if you win the presidency, you win the White House. You win Air Force One. You get a personal chef. But you do not become the arbiter of legitimacy in American discourse. And that's what he appointed himself as.
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It was a day of theater. I think the president accomplished giving the appearance of reaching across the aisle, but his audience is the Democrats in the House and the Senate. He might marginally have advanced the chance of getting it through.
Krauthammer's analysis of the optics of yesterday's health care meeting is excellent.
I love the way he states his point about Obama acting as if he is the "arbiter of legitimacy in American discourse."
Also, very nice words from Krauthammer about "rapier sharp" Paul Ryan.
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