Post-Summit Stuff

Ronald Reagan would have been proud of congressional Republicans yesterday.  The healthcare summit was a draw according to MSNBC, which means the Republicans won, and won big.

Some thoughts, in no particular order:

• The President was petulant, condescending and tense.  His idea of "bi-partisanship" appears to be to tell any given Republican who was speaking "those are all good points", and then to immediately dismiss them and move on.  He diminished his office by playing emcee to the room, and made himself look a little silly by singlehandedly talking longer than all the Democrats combined, and all the Republicans combined.
• The comparisons of President Obama to Ronald Reagan as a "Great Communicator" need to end, and end now.  Obama is very literate, and speaks well.  Reagan was a little less smooth as a speaker, but he was convincing whenever he spoke, and able to persuade others to his point of view.  Obama has zero ability to convince others, which is why he fails whenever he tries.  From last year's trips to Copenhagen to try to win the 2016 Olympics for Chicago, to try to get a deal on global warming, to his campaigning for Democrat candidates in races in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts, Obama is on a losing streak of epic proportions in terms of personal persuasion.  He may be a great talker, but he is far from being a great communicator.
• Harry Reid looked as if he was chewing on a lemon and had a grassburr in the seat of his pants all day.  But then, that's pretty much how he always looks.  Nancy Pelosi is a worthless, lying sack of horse dung, and I literally celebrate every time her party is stupid enough to put her in front of television cameras.
• The Republicans, much to my surprise, showed up well-prepared with factual information and real ideas for real reforms that would actually improve healthcare delivery in the U.S. while lowering costs.  Naturally, each and every one of those ideas were rejected out of hand by the President and the other Democrats in the room, given that their goal here is to create a new, massive dependent class of Americans, not to in any way improve the system.
• Paul Ryan was especially impressive, easily the most serious and best-prepared person in the room.  His critique of the budgetary shenanigans contained in the Democrat plan were utterly understandable to the average person and thus devastating to the Democrat cause.
• It didn't hurt anything at all that the Rs were also able to bring real medical doctors to the table in the form of Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.  These two guys debating nitwits like Turban Durbin and San Fran Nan just is not a fair fight.
• The sad thing about all of this is that there really is a need for real, good faith reforms in the U.S. system of healthcare delivery.  Unfortunately, such reforms cannot happen at the federal level so long as radical leftist ideologues occupy the White House and the majority in congress.  And so we are left with the current stalemate.  Any real reforms must continue to happen at the state level on a piecemeal basis.  Obamacare is dead - Democrats will not be able to force the monstrosity through on a "reconciliation" strategy.

It is dead.  RIP.

Have a great Friday.