Fantasy Island

Anyway, it was a partisan crowd at old Tunnicliffe’s. I felt like a Bear fan who wandered into a Packer bar, with Sunday’s game on the tube. And predictably, the assorted Democrats loved the speech. They were cheering the president, jeering the Republicans, and pretty much having a nice time on Fantasy Island.

I hate to be a party-pooper, but the complete poll-tested fabrications that came out of the president’s mouth were mind-boggling. I can understand why Joe Wilson blurted out the “L” word, which of course, is not really acceptable on the House floor, unless, of course, a Democrat does it.

When the president said that his plan won’t add a dime to the deficit now or in the future, I almost spit out my beer. But since I was drinking Blue Moon, the immortal beer of Officer James Crowley, I didn’t let that happen. Perhaps the president is merely parsing words when he says that “his plan” won’t add a dime to the deficit. Perhaps he has a “secret” plan that we haven’t seen yet, like Nixon had a secret plan to get out of Vietnam, but all the Democrat plans that are still hanging out there would add a lot more than a dime to the deficit. About a trillion and a half more to the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The president has said that he would help pay for it by cutting waste, fraud and abuse. Really? Why didn’t I think of that? He is going to cut $500 billion in waste, fraud and abuse, or about the cost of a mid-size war. Give me a break. When has a Democrat ever cut out waste, fraud and abuse?

The president made the poll-tested assertion that his door was open to Republicans. His door may be opened, but Republicans can’t get through the heavily guarded front gate at the White House. In fact, Republican leaders have a letter in to the president, asking him to meet with them to talk about healthcare. Maybe he lost the letter in his golf bag.

The president said he was open to the idea of medical malpractice reform. Sure he is. I guarantee that that throwaway line will not slow the Democrats down for one second when they throw away all Republican attempts to include tort reform in whatever bill comes down the pike.

Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) did a nice job responding to the president. Unlike Mr. Obama, who plays like he is a doctor on television, Boustany actually is a doctor. And like every Republican doctor in the House, he is opposed to the president’s legislation. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want real reform, because quite clearly he does. But he would like reform that actually addresses costs, and not just increases the government role in healthcare delivery.

The president’s speech seemed awfully partisan to me, and not very credible. I think it will further erode his support with independent voters as a result. For Democrats, it was a great speech. For Republicans, it was just one big lie after another. But for independents, my guess is it was too partisan and too slick by half.

Maybe if I had a few more beers and perhaps a few shots of tequila, the speech would have sounded better. But since I was completely sober, it sounded like a bunch of bull to me.