It’s not easy being Barack Obama these days: too many high hopes, too much opposition, too many complaints from the “professional left” (as his press secretary put it), too many problems with the economy, too many problems with healthcare, too many problems with Afghanistan and Wiki-leaks, too many Tea-Party rallies, too much pressure from Corporate America and Wall Street, too many Rush Limbaugh wannabes, too much debt, too many issues with the BP oil spill, too many issues with Israel and Palestine, too many issues with Lebanon and the Russians, too many issues with Iran, people saying he’s too progressive or not progressive enough, Republicans circling him like vultures, just TOO MUCH STUFF! So not surprisingly I’ve heard people say how much they just would not like to be “in Obama’s shoes”, it would just be too much of a hassle, they say. I disagree, for I know exactly what I would have done.Take healthcare reform for instance. If Obama had been truly progressive and truly serious about securing affordable healthcare for all, he would have done the following as soon as he was elected: he would have addressed the American people, pointed his finger squarely at the Republican hacks and “Blue Dog” Democrat stooges and said, “People, you want affordable healthcare and these privileged, wealthy, Mayo-Clinic-visiting elites stand in the way this basic aspiration. I campaigned on change, but I need your help to make it happen. I invite you to come into the streets and show these Senators and Congressmen how you feel – healthcare is your right. If you want it, come out and claim it!” Millions would have turned out, the Senate would have been forced to back down and national single-payer public healthcare would have become a reality in America.
