Today’s installment of utterly preposterous things:
– Charlie Cook says:
I sort of reject the notion that there is a communications problem with President Obama. I think it’s just fundamental, total miscalculations from the very, very beginning. Of proportions comparable to President George W. Bush’s decision to go into Iraq.
I just don’t even know where to start. Tell me, Charlie, how many people have died because Obama decided to pursue health care? Also, remind me again how Obama tricked the public by pushing this radical idea of ‘health care reform’ which did not feature in any of his campaign promises. Or how he lied about WMD in order to rally votes up for health care.
Beyond that, it’s worth pointing out that Iraq was a blunder because it was bad policy – even though it was popular at the time of the invasion it ended up being a massive drag. On the other hand, health care is unpopular right now because it’s a mess trying to get anything done in the institutional structure of the US government. However, when they finally get their act together and just pass the damn bill it will end up being a perfectly popular thing that will help a lot of people.
And even if you set aside those objections, there’s the broader problem where we seem to find it totally reasonable for journalists to focus exclusively on the game element of politics. In Cook’s world, the only thing worth talking about is how a guy or a party is messaging, how their strategic decisions seem designed to cater to interests.
Never mind that health care is a massive, real problem that deserves attention. Never mind that Obama’s first priority was a 700 billion dollar stimulus bill (remember that) which very much DID focus on the economy. Never mind that no one really seems to know precisely what ‘focusing on the economy’ would even mean or accomplish.
Look, unemployment is at 10%. I know our political culture has the collective memory of two goldfish circling around a little plastic castle but c’mon. How in the world is it surprising to anyone that incumbents don’t get a lot of good will in the midst of the worst economic crisis in generations?
Unless you’ve got a POLICY argument about what Obama could have done (given the institutional constraints he faced) to significantly change the economic situation right now, what are you even talking about?
"Health is wealth" is known to all and everyone wants good health. That means no one wants to leave this wealth. So, Let us build a food habit discipline, keep pace with work, rest and or exercise to Achieve good health, The ultimate wealth.
The Health Dude