Monday, March 26, 2012

"That's not enough for me."

One can imagine Jimmy Dimora being advised to take a plea deal a year ago and responding "That's not enough for me." He wanted it all and so he bet that when the roulette wheel stopped spinning, the ball would land in a hole marked "innocent". Too bad he lost.

In the conclusion to this great article by Robert Samuelson, "Obama's Ego Trip" we see another ego trip at work, and perhaps Obama's ego is even fatter than Dimora himself.

Considering the ACA's glaring -- and predictable -- economic and political shortcomings, why did Obama make it his first-term centerpiece? The answer seems to be his obsession with securing his legacy as the president who achieved the liberal grail of universal coverage. In his book "The Escape Artists: How Obama's Team Fumbled the Recovery," Noam Scheiber recounts a telling incident. Obama's advisers tell him he can be known for preventing a second Great Depression. "That's not enough for me," Obama replies.

The ACA is Obama's ego trip, but as a path to presidential greatness, it may disappoint no matter how the court decides. Lyndon's Johnson's creation of Medicare and Medicaid was larger, and he isn't deemed great. And then, unlike now, government seemed capable of paying for bigger programs.

What can we do now? Maybe say a Rosary for Justice Anthony Kennedy. That's what I'm going to do.

Then, I will pray to Mr. Kennedy this little prayer I adapted:

Tony, Tony, come around!
Save us from this Obama clown!


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