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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It?
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From: Kenneth E. Phillipps3/30/2010 8:20:43 PM
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Remember when August's town hall meetings on health-care reform changed everything? Remember when it all hinged on Max Baucus' "Gang of Six"? Remember when Olympia Snowe held the fate of reform in her hands? Remember when Scott Brown's election killed any chance the bill had? At the time, all these things seemed so important that nothing else mattered. But what really mattered was the willingness to look beyond them, to see each as one step in a long journey -- obstacles that could be maneuvered around if necessary. Looking back, none seem as significant as they did then. But it took a particular kind of calm to realize that at the time.

Multiple news reports have related that at that crucial moment after Brown won the election for the vacant Senate seat from Massachusetts, advocates of two paths competed for Obama's heart, all while congressional Democrats were in a full-on panic. The first group, represented most notably by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, counseled a regrouping -- breaking the health-care bill into smaller pieces that might be swallowed more easily. The second group, represented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wanted to charge ahead and proceed as if one special election hadn't changed anything. Perhaps this strategy would require a procedural adjustment in Congress, but not much more. Obama sided with Pelosi, and as it usually does, in hindsight the choice seems obvious. But it required courage, equanimity, and the ability to employ a long vision.

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