The current high-octane speeches by President Obama are aimed at only one target audience, reluctant members of Congress.
By rallying public opinion, President Obama is trying to create a bandwagon effect. He is attempting to make passage of national healthcare seem inevitable and indirectly twisting the arms of House members.
While President Lyndon Johnson used more “personal” forms of persuasion, in this media age, President Obama does not need to resort to individual confrontation. By rallying his base, President Obama is playing his ace in the hole in the current healthcare debate.
You can just picture the Blue Dog Democrats listening to him and cringing. The way he is framing the issue is one of leadership and governance. The politics may not be right, but why did Democrats fight for power in the first place? To phrase his words more closely, “If not now, when?”
As always, President Obama is most effective when his back is against the wall. Just like the Reverend Wright situation. Just like the prolonged primary against Hillary.
God bless you, President Obama, for what you are doing for 30 million Americans. They will not forget you in 2012, or hopefully, the Democrats this year. National healthcare is the right thing to do, and only the Democrats can be trusted to do it.
