Against the wind

“Whatever the reason, our faith in the public sector is frail, and this may well be the underlying problem confronting Democrats as they enter this last, critical phase in the healthcare debate. At bottom, President Obama is asking us to believe once again that government can do big things really well, and in doing so he is running up against both our shared experience and the accepted wisdom of the age,” writes Bai.

Gerstein writes that a $1 trillion price tag and a public plan for healthcare reform were a risky strategy for Democrats to undertake: “It’s clear the party severely overestimated its mandate and underestimated the public’s growing unease with the government’s massive growth over the last year. What would have been a hard sell in any environment has turned into an epic challenge. Yet the Democrats have been charging ahead as if it’s still November 2008, oblivious to the change in the electorate’s mood.”

Bai says there is still time to change course. “Before he can win support of his own ambitious vision, Obama, too, may need to explicitly acknowledge the truths of the last era — that not every program born of compassion ultimately proves ennobling, that just because you don’t want to raze big government doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hold it accountable for its failures. Americans understand all of this already. They’re more likely to turst a president who seems to understand it too.”

Wise words.

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