NYT: “Polls show that Mr. Obama is more popular than his own policies, a worrisome sign for a president with such an ambitious agenda.”
Would it be a better sign if Obama were less popular than his own policies? Or is it worrisome if there’s any discrepancy in either direction?
Josh Marshall hears that Harry Reid’s giving up on a bipartisan health care bill and getting tough on wavering Dems:
When your Leader files cloture, you support him. If you want political cover, vote against final passage.
Roll Call has a similar story.
This is obviously the right thing to do given the Republicans Reid has to work with, but it puts health care reform in a precarious position.
If Reid lines up exactly 60 votes to block a filibuster, every Democrat has a chance to be the guy who saves the private insurance industry. Voters don’t pay attention to cloture votes; you can block a filibuster and still say you voted against the health care bill. But you know who does pay attention? Lobbyists. So what happens if, say, Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) decides that after this term is up it might be nice to spend some time on the golf course while his family enjoys the kind of lifestyle that he just can’t provide on a senator’s salary? Taking a principled stand against your caucus starts to look pretty good at that point.
The powder-blue column to the left of this post is where I’m collecting links that I think are worth your attention. Which allows me to reserve this column for the more <ahem> substantive aspects of the endeavor. Which means I’m not 100 percent sure what. But anyway: for the proper entertainment/reading pleasure, investigate Link Rodeo, to your left.