CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, September 7, 2009

ObamaCare: Find cure for Fuss-im-Mund disease

Asking to speak before a joint session of Congress (after less than eight months in office) suggests the Obama White House (OWH) is in a projectile-sweat panic over the public’s “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it reaction” to putting the U.S. government in charge of your health care.

Mr. Obama’s problems are these: His left wing-nut base is pushing for socialized medicine. But almost 90-percent of Americans already have health-care coverage. Polling data show that over 83-percent are okay with the coverage they have. Moreover, modeling the ObamaCare proposals after the health-care systems that have failed so notably in Great Britain and Canada has gone over like a lead-laden Zeppelin.

Without his TelePrompTer, Mr. Obama’s ability to, ah… step in his own mess kit is increasingly apparent. Moreover, he is not being helped by some of the personnel he picked to be part of his Administration. The recently forced resignation of Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones, is a case in point.

Mr. Jones is a conspiracy theorist who believes that 9/11 was the work of the U.S. government and someone who, the day following 9/11, was rallying Muslims against U.S. imperialism. Under pressure from conservatives, the OWH just decided that Mr. Jones, who has described himself as both a communist and a “rowdy black nationalist,” is not helpful to its agenda.

Because the OWH has dismissed those who question where Mr. Obama was born as “conspiracy theorists,” the OWH really had no choice but to throw someone who thinks 9/11 was the work of the U.S. government under the bus.

That said, the Obama Administration still has a troubling tendency to do things that allow it to be compared to the National Socialist movement in Nazi Germany. The preparations for Mr. Obama’s speech to school children are illustrative.

Actually, it is probably a good thing for U.S. Presidents to speak to America’s school children about the importance of staying in school and learning to be productive members of society. In fact, President George H.W. Bush did so. But to ask school children to write letters as to how they would help Mr. Obama with his political agenda smacks of Herr Dr. Goebbels.

So, that part of the teacher’s support package for Mr. Obama’s speech to school children was scrapped. While researching for this column, I came upon a bit of satire written by Mike Richardson-Bryan in 2007. It is about a little girl who writes to Hitler. Her letter went like this:

“Dear Mr. Hitler:

I like those hats with the big, pointy, spiky things. If I had a hat like that, I’d wear it everywhere, except to Mr. Goldstein’s class. He’s no fun.”

For conservatives, Mr. Obama’s predicament is fun. So, here goes: A teenage girl writes:

Dear Mr. President:

I wrote to you right after you were elected. I’m sorry that I told you that Grandma did not vote for you. Could you please send Grandma back?

Now, I am writing to you about Grandpa who, in addition to missing Grandma, needs hip surgery. Someone in Washington says Grandpa’s hip surgery would not be cost-effective because the money is needed in San Francisco for young people with drug and alcohol addictions.

If you will allow Grandpa to have hip surgery, and will send Grandma back, I will tell you the names of a lot of people in my neighborhood who think you are a terrible President.

Flamingly liberal,

Carrie White

When he speaks before the Reichstag (oops) Congress, Mr. Obama must rally those who support socialized medicine, while placating those who oppose it. That will not be an easy task.

William Hamilton, a syndicated columnist and a featured commentator for USA Today, studied at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. He is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute (German). Dr. Hamilton is a former assistant professor of political science and history at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

©2009. William Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com