Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Politico reports on the timeline for healthcare reform:

Democrats have blown so many deadlines for getting health reform done this year that insiders are increasingly skeptical they can finish by year’s end — and some even suggest the effort might slip to a new deadline, before the State of the Union address.

….In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is still wrangling with his moderate members to corral 60 votes just to get the debate started. And on Monday, Reid sent a letter to Republicans acknowledging that he is waiting on the Congressional Budget Office’s cost estimates and analysis to finish drafting a bill….Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad said he spoke with CBO Director Doug Elmendorf last week and that it sounded like “it would be quite a while” before the estimates were ready. The news makes a Christmas completion “a challenge,” Conrad said.

Regular reader RPH emails in response:

Was talking to some of the local Democratic Party organizers in Lancaster County, Virginia, aka my parents, and the feedback they hear is that Obama is quickly coming to be viewed as a ditherer, unable to timely make decisions or close the deal.  That he doesn’t seem strong enough to push key programs through, etc.  This is the backdrop for why so many Ds in Va this year seem apathetic about voting.  Lancaster is also fairly conservative so I think many Ds are just parroting what their R friends keep spouting, I’m sure, with increasing volume, with the reality being the economy which is devastating that area of Virginia.  For what it’s worth, everyone is extremely frustrated by the Ds poor showing in Va this year.

But still.

O needs to get some big things under his belt and soon.  If he can get Afghanistan off his plate, that might buy him some time on Health Care without running the risk of a dangerous loss of momentum.  But right now, every thing seems stuck in an endless loop.  Part of this is the media cycle of course, but that’s unfortunately the reality of governing now — where the steady perception of action, decisiveness and competence are key.

Is RPH right?  Is this soon to become the new conventional wisdom?  I certainly don’t blame Obama for healthcare, where his leverage to kick the Senate into action is limited, but even I’m getting a little antsy about Afghanistan.  Yeah, I want him to get it right, but there’s a limit to how long this stuff can stay simmering on the cooktop.

Anyway, I’m only passing this along, not really endorsing any of it.  Just some raw data to chew over.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate