Passover in August, Christmas in September...

Posted By David Rothkopf Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 4:31 PM Share

So, I don't know about you but I am clearing my schedule for the end of September. If the Obama administration is to be believed it will be a turning point in modern history.

First, at the time of the G8-plus-1-plus-5-plus-3-carry-the-1-times-everyone-minus-the-ones-we-don't-like meetings in Italy, it was announced that the U.S. was going to give Iran until the next gathering of the G-whiz kids to make a move in the general direction of progress on their little problem with all those centrifuges and all that enriched uranium. The next such meeting is in that renowned center of global statecraft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 24 and 25. (Last known outbreak of diplomacy: when charitable Steelers fans chose not to actually drink blood out of the skull of the most recent Cleveland fan to accidentally wander up to the wrong tailgate party in the parking lot of Heinz Field.)

That's a busy time of year for diplomacy as it is what with the UN General Assembly meeting scheduled for the last week of September not to mention the first annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative since Clinton also became the name of America's Secretary of State which is scheduled for the 22nd through the 25th. Both of these events are to take place in New York City.

Now, yet another event to which to look forward: during a press briefing following yesterday's meeting between Barack Obama and Egyptian Pharaoh...er...president -- whatever they are calling their autocratic rulers these days -- Hosni Mubarak, Robert Gibbs responded to reports the U.S. will be presenting a more detailed plan for an Israeli-Palestinian peace process by saying he felt the time of the UN General Assembly meeting would be "an important opportunity to continue to make progress on comprehensive Middle Peace." (I'm sorry for the shot at President Mubarak. I can't help it. Yesterday at the Four Seasons I was having breakfast, minding my own business among the scores of giant, armed thugs with squiggly wires in their ears and when I got up to leave I was told we were in "lock down" and that we would not be allowed out of the restaurant until Mubarak and his entourage decamped and gave us the word we were free again. Imagine my surprise. I thought Passover had taken care of this problem.)

Could it really be that things are going so badly with regard to the health care debate that the White House feels compelled solve all the major intractable problems faced by the world at once just to provide a distraction? And on top of that the premiere (and quite possibly the last episode) of ABC's new show "Cougar Town" starring Courtney Cox is slated for September 23d.

Peace. Disarmament. Another member of the "Friends" cast being wrestled to the ground by middle age. It's why I love back-to-school time more than any other season of the year.

Michael Smith/Getty Images

EXPLORE:NORTH AMERICA, CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, ISRAEL/PALESTINE, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, UNITED NATIONS

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BRETT

9:52 PM ET

August 19, 2009

So, I don't know about you

So, I don't know about you but I am clearing my schedule for the end of September. If the Obama administration is to be believed it will be a turning point in modern history.

It will, in some ways. If Obama lets his bill die a quiet death, or a less quiet one in the vote, it will test how important health care reform is. If it fails, he needs to immediately get up and propose another health care reform bill, and keep his Congressional Democrats from wandering off into their own projects.

Now, yet another event to which to look forward: during a press briefing following yesterday's meeting between Barack Obama and Egyptian Pharaoh...er...president -- whatever they are calling their autocratic rulers these days --

"Strongman" pretty much covers it. I'd use "Caudillo", but he's not a military dictator - he was Sadat's Vice President, and has never left since.

(I'm sorry for the shot at President Mubarak. I can't help it. Yesterday at the Four Seasons I was having breakfast, minding my own business among the scores of giant, armed thugs with squiggly wires in their ears and when I got up to leave I was told we were in "lock down" and that we would not be allowed out of the restaurant until Mubarak and his entourage decamped and gave us the word we were free again. Imagine my surprise. I thought Passover had taken care of this problem.)

Mubarak was staying at the Four Seasons? I know Egypt isn't a rich country, but I figured they'd probably have some apartments reserved somewhere when he makes his visit.

Could it really be that things are going so badly with regard to the health care debate that the White House feels compelled solve all the major intractable problems faced by the world at once just to provide a distraction?

Well, he did promise change.

NICHOLAS TREADGOLD

5:26 AM ET

August 20, 2009

But there is no snow in september...

We cant let christmas happen now, Obama is merely focusing the attention of the media and public away from his insidious plan to make people healthy, and drowning out our cries that he will kill grandma's through his death panels which he has done so effectively they don't even appear in the bill so we cant stop him!

Cynicism aside, the Iranian dispute will be the determinant of Obama's success as President, not health care. I am honestly confused by the reaction of the American public to health care. The fundamental aspect is that it helps people, regardless of their standing in society, but i guess you cant expect the public to use rationality in evaluation of policy.

Iran and nuclear proliferation should be the focus of his presidency. Regardless of one's view of Israel existence the answer cannot be wiping them of the planet with a nuclear bomb by a radical state. The Israeli conflict with, well every nation surrounding them, will force Obama's hand to deploy diplomacy not witnessed for a long time. One this is for certain, the completion of the Iranian air defense network by Russia and the creation of an Iranian nuclear warhead will occur in the Presidents first term.

But hey being able to pay for health care obviously isn't the sine qua non to being healthy. So why would global security matter for its people.

BLUE13326

6:45 AM ET

August 20, 2009

This is silliness. If I

This is silliness. If I choose not to have health insurance, say because I can't afford to pay the 12% mandated in one of the House bills and don't qualify for a subsidy, I'm going to have to pay a penalty. In other words, I'm going to get taxed simply for existing, rather than earning or spending money, and I still won't have health insurance. Where else do we tax people simply for drawing breath? How does this help me? How does this make me healthy? This may be a big government, tax and spenders' wet dream, but it certainly doesn't solve the health care crisis.

By contrast, under the Republican/McCain plan, instead of the government taxing me if I can't afford to pay their mandated premiums, I would be eligible for a direct individual tax credit that would allow me to purchase my insurance for pretty close to free.

Which do you think would be more helpful? Giving another $K or two to the government and not having health insurance or getting my health insurance for nearly free? Am I irrational or un-American or the 2nd coming of the Nazis because I might want a better system? I guess so. Boo!

And in the one state that has adopted a system closest to what the Dem bills are proposing, costs have skyrocketed so out of control that the Massachusetts system is not considered sustainable. This is according to the Boston Globe, certainly no friend of conservatives.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/03/02/mass_healthcare_reform_is_failing_us/

Now you can say relax, there's no set plan out there, yet, as if this is supposed to resolve the issue, but I'm telling you, this kind of snotty attitude toward people, with the left acting as if we should all shut up and let them handle things because they're so much smarter than the rest of us, yet they never want to discuss the details (much less debate them), it's making a lot of people very angry. Obama may not recover from it, and 2010 is going to be a Dem bloodbath.

BRETT

8:42 AM ET

August 20, 2009

This is silliness. If I

This is silliness. If I choose not to have health insurance, say because I can't afford to pay the 12% mandated in one of the House bills and don't qualify for a subsidy, I'm going to have to pay a penalty. In other words, I'm going to get taxed simply for existing, rather than earning or spending money, and I still won't have health insurance.

Are you complaining about having to buy insurance period, or simply about the possibility of being stuck forced to buy it without any help?

By contrast, under the Republican/McCain plan, instead of the government taxing me if I can't afford to pay their mandated premiums, I would be eligible for a direct individual tax credit that would allow me to purchase my insurance for pretty close to free.

You mean that $3,000 annual tax credit that isn't adjusted to inflation? Have fun trying to buy a decent policy for yourself - and forget trying to get a good family policy on that.

The McCain plan would have basically taken all the worst aspects of possible reforms and brought them together, with one exception (it would have killed off the antiquated model of employer-dependent health insurance). A tax credit that doesn't equal the cost of a decent policy, being tossed into the individual market (which is much less stable, and more costly to the individual, than getting a policy via a group that can negotiate down individual rates), and so forth.

Which do you think would be more helpful? Giving another $K or two to the government and not having health insurance or getting my health insurance for nearly free? Am I irrational or un-American or the 2nd coming of the Nazis because I might want a better system? I guess so. Boo!

The best system would be to have a "default" plan that people can fall back on, so that the uninsured aren't floating around, and so that we don't have to spend money building an enforcement mechanism to go after the impoverished and procrastinators.

And in the one state that has adopted a system closest to what the Dem bills are proposing, costs have skyrocketed so out of control that the Massachusetts system is not considered sustainable. This is according to the Boston Globe, certainly no friend of conservatives.

Actually, the system is working rather well for how it was designed. The same Boston Globe also published another editorial pointing out that the system is still pretty strong.