First off, my takeaways about the policy in the speech…

You can’t be dropped because of pre-existing conditions. No surprise there, but to me this is the most important reform. Also, no more yearly or lifetime caps. For catastrophic illness, this is a must.

Stressing that nobody will be forced to change doctors or insurance providers, he’s [...]

Just in case you haven’t seen it…

Would love to hear your thoughts, but please be civil.

And [our predecessors] knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil [...]

Just got this and thought I’d share. As advertised, the President’s plan focused on insurance reform first and foremost and then has a quasi-public option that leaves a lot open for interpretation about how we’ll get there.
But don’t take my word for it…

That’s supposedly the takeaway from the prime time address to Congress, and I think it’s the right message to send. The public option has been the sticking point for nearly everybody. On the right it was tantamount to socialism. On the left, any modification of the plan was considered weak and worthy of scorn. So [...]

As I said before, I’m completely and absolutely bewildered at how this even turned into a story.
And, by the way, shame on all of you who needlessly fueled this fire. If you really want to set a good example for your children, how about teaching them to not jump to conclusions. Think that might be [...]

This was one of those inexplicable policy hold overs from the Bush administration that many Obama supporters shook their heads at.
But now, well, looks like they’ve found their way out of the woods.
From USA Today:
The new policy would begin in mid-September. Electronic visitor logs maintained by the Secret Service would be released three to four [...]

As many of you already know, Obama is set to give a speech next week that will either save or scuttle health care. I think we can all agree on that much.
The question is: what will he propose?
Well, at least one unlikely Republican health care reform advocate is already floating his trial balloon and it [...]

Numerous reports are surfacing in the mainstream media that Obama is giving a speech to America’s students that will somehow brainwash/indoctrinate/cast magical spells over them.
Why? Because the lesson plan asks the kids to think about what the President means by his speech. Basically, the White House is posing completely open ended questions designed to make [...]

With the news that they’ve lost serious ground with independent voters, the damage control at the Obama White House is in full swing. And that could mean a distinct shift on health care.
Here’s more from Politico:
Obama is considering detailing his health-care demands in a major speech as soon as next week, when Congress returns from [...]

George Will writes today that we should pull out of Afghanistan and instead focus on Pakistan.
Even though I still think we should stay (and I’ll get into why), at this point he has my ear…
U.S. forces are being increased by 21,000, to 68,000, bringing the coalition total to 110,000. About 9,000 are from Britain, where [...]

Equal parts touching, sad and inspiring.
Definitely worth a watch.

And here’s the text…
Mrs. Kennedy, Kara, Edward, Patrick, Curran, Caroline, members of the Kennedy family, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a [...]

Per Politico, the White House claims that “more than half of the projected deficits over the next 10 years are directly attributable to the previous Administration’s failure to follow the pay-as-you-go principle.”
But even if that’s true, which is likely given the Medicare drug benefit, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the expansion of the [...]

But they promise that detainees won’t be abused. More on why I think that’s nonsense later on in the post.
But first, more from NY Times:
The announcement, by President Obama’s Interrogation and Transfer Policy Task Force, seemed intended in part to offset the impact of the release on Monday of a long-withheld report by the C.I.A. [...]

f there is one lesson that any close political adviser to a sitting president should have learned by now, it is this: It is not necessarily actual conflict of interest or impropriety that bites you in the ass. It is the appearance of conflict of interest and impropriety that is political poison. Axelrod is a very smart guy. He knows how to cover his tracks. He knows how to walk the line. That is why it is so surprising that he still chooses to walk so very very close to the ethical edge.

I’m not a huge fan of Congressman Frank. However, I will say that in this video he is exhibiting the best retort to a nutter that I’ve seen. Anyone who compares the President of the United States (any POTUS) to Adolf effing Hitler deserves to be verbally abused in this manner. Period.
If you [...]

What do George Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have in common?
Cindy Sheehan.
The anti-war protester who used to stake herself at George Bush’s ranch in Texas will now follow the Obamas’ to their vacation at Martha’s Vineyard. Her cause is to protest the continuing wars in the Middle East.
She also ran against Nancy Pelosi last [...]

Not that this is any surprise, but the speed in which they’re signaling they won’t accept any reform package is startling.
Just check out what Senator Jon Kyl is saying today…
President Barack Obama has vowed to veto any bill that would increase the deficit over the long term, but Kyl said that a revenue-neutral bill probably [...]

Looks like the left is realizing that the bait and switch was in from the start and now the White House is trying to do a little damage control. But let’s not kid ourselves…it wasn’t just Sebelius who said it. Obama said it too. In fact, her response was after she was asked a question [...]