Healthcare Reform Crumbling

Well, the genius of our founding fathers shows itself yet again.

According to news outlets of all kinds, Obama's Health Care Reform plan is breaking down. There's a lot of gibberish being spewed back and fourth about public options and co-ops, but essentially, we've all seen this before.

Remember Clinton's big health care reform plan? It ended up getting shot full of holes and turned into a big lump of compromise, weakening Clinton and pumping up the Republicans. Essentially, I see the same thing happening here. People were expecting immediate positive change when Obama took office.

As with Clinton, I think we'll see some changes to health care, but not the grand sweeps that lots of Obama supporters were envisioning. This, combined with the lingering state of the economy and high unemployment rate will probably garner the president some criticism.

This is the unavoidable fate of any politician who thinks they can push any big changes through our government with any sort of speed. Why? Two reasons.

1. Our Founding Fathers designed it that way. We've got three branches of government, made up of the slickest folks available, who all specialize in getting their way, employed by a multitude that can't make up its own mind. With so many forces pushing and pulling in all directions, our government moves at the speed of continental drift. The only time that changes is when Americans are truly all of one mind; a rare occurrence.

2. This reason goes hand-in-hand with the first. The American People are exceedingly hard to please. We come from a long line of mal-contents. Everyone, save the Native Americans, either came here because they didn't like what they were brought against their will, and weren't too keen the situation once they arrived (slavery). Either way, we've never been a people who could stomach being happy with authority. Obama can plan and execute a million small changes, he's still going to piss off 30% of the people.

Seriously, we're a tough crowd. Obama, or any president, could cure cancer. He'd still upset some fundamental right wing people because cancer is the will of God, as well as the hard core left, who would petition the ACLU to campaign for Cancer Rights. Throw in the pharmaceutical companies who would sue the government for eliminating X-amount of their base income and funeral homes with the same issue and you'll eventually end up with 30% of the people unhappy.

That's the plan, and I, for one, am grateful.