Current Political Trends in the USA - Obama, Healthcare, the economy and the current status of the U

Obama has put a lot into healthcare reform; it seems to have been the number-one topic of conversation for at least six months, and he has achieved his goal. Or what goal? Certainly this bill, especially after the House and Senate reworked it after the signing, is not exactly what Obama wanted. It was a compromise. And no one I discuss this with can say whether or not it was a good one. With the Republican win in the special Massachusetts election, the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority, so some wheeling and dealing, perhaps wining and dining, had to be done for the bill to be passed. Therefore, it cannot be exactly what Obama, let alone the Democratic Party, was hoping for. And was it what the American people in general were hoping for. Healthcare did indeed need reform, but was it?
Of the 219 members of the House who voted in favor of the bill, there were no Republicans that voted in favor, at all. All 178 Republicans, along with 34 Democrats, voted against the bill. Look back in time, one year ago. Remember how popular Barack Obama was? Remember how he was going to be the one who could untangle the partisanship of Washington with his dashing personality and beams of hope and change? Help dig us out of a sagging now depressed economy? For all of the accomplishments that this bill may have we are going to have wait for a number of years to see what the fall out, positive results or failings are, perhaps the most important outcome is that the bill has completely polarized the country. We did not even know that it was coming. Although it was an important part of Obama's platform during the last election, there was little to suggest that it would be the single focal point of the first year plus in office when the economy should have. Addressing excessive government spending issues. The growing number of jobless individuals. The struggling middle class and small business sector. I could go on, but these particular items are all tied together. Healthcare is important. Just not as important as many other items that remain undone and teetering on a very fragile balance point.
Health care was and is a major issue in this country. We spend far too great a percentage of our GDP on health care without great results in improved lifespan or quality of life. Which is just one aspect. The fact is that the insurance companies (and greedy executives) make money this way: "The number of claims they deny" In some cases it's the number of people they kill. Now, this country has a lot of other problems. Immigration is a mess. A 12-year-old makes every item in Wal-Mart overseas, china or in some sweat shop and lucky if he or she makes a dollar a day all the while American factories and workers are dormant. Notwithstanding, corporate greed again at fault and now look at the economic fall out. Pretty dismal situation. Global warming has not yet been reversed. American children are not receiving an education to put them on equal footing with the rest of the world. America is fighting two wars and millions of people around the world hate us. One of the things I was looking to see happen and no doubt the President and others we're of the same mind, improving our foreign relation
Yes, there are quite a few things that should be left on the president's checklist, but I fear that many of these things will now not be accomplished as a result of the health care bill. The 2008 election seemed like a perfect storm for Democrats. They had the ability to contrast a failed Republican president with a new candidate who, with his election, was given the mandate to bring major changes to America and fix some of the problems listed above. Obama may have started by picking the wrong problem to fix and simply spending too much time trying to fix it and not well at all. I hope that these fears are unfounded, but I think that President Obama may have unwisely spent too much of his political clout on this issue, leaving him in a poor position to continue to create meaningful change in America, U.S. Economy and our Global relations. With the midterm elections of 2010 approaching, it seems unlikely that the Democrats will be the ones to gain a boost in Congress from the recent bill. It has rallied previously downtrodden conservatives to such a degree that now the Republicans have hope for 2012 and that is not exactly what this country needs either.
It is perhaps surprising that health care reform brought with it the controversy and polarity that it did, but perhaps when it was realized months ago that it would be this difficult, it may have been wise to put it on the back burner and move on to something else. Maybe by this time there could have been comprehensive immigration reform, a law to bring manufacturing jobs back to America and real measures to improve the environment. President Obama has perhaps written himself a page in the history textbooks of the future, but at what cost? Will the books also mention that had he reordered his to-do list that he could have done even more to affect positive change in America that could have reached further around the world? The president has at least three more years in office, and it would be a real shame if the next few years were marked by polarity and stagnancy, rather than the change that America was promised.

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