The work to assemble that coalition began years ago, even before Obama was elected. When consumer groups met with their erstwhile opponents — drugmakers and health insurers — they hired outside mediators to guide their discussions. The result was general agreement on the basic underpinnings of a health care overhaul: Everyone would have to be covered, a boon for insurance companies, and insurers would have to cover everyone — regardless of his or her health, a success for consumer groups.
To sum up: the liberals are mad because they are being sold out to corporations, the conservatives are mad because the liberals are selling out to corporations.
Following the precedent set earlier by Ted Kennedy, Sarah Palin’s publishers have chosen to release her 400 page memoir early. However, unlike Kennedy, Palin’s autobiography will surely not be filled with introspection and reflection. Her career on the national stage has been short–definitely shorter than 400 pages worth–and Palin has not proven to be an effective communicator.
She wrote that book as thoroughly as she wrote her speech in Hong Kong. The book was written by a hardcore Christianist; the speech by a hardcore neocon. She remains the hood ornament for a marketing campaign that now passes for the conservative movement.
Bruce Bartlett on the differences between Bush and Reagan:
Reagan’s WH was a model of thoroughness, adherence to proper procedure, and respect for the office of the president. Bush’s WH seems amazingly slipshod, showing total disregard for all of the things that were important to Reagan in terms of how his administration functioned.
