Taegan: Obama Willing to Stake Presidency on Health Care Reform

I don't think it's ever good to telegraph to the other side that you're desperate to win. Committed to win, sure. Willing to stake your presidency, well, I'm not so sure that's wise. It reminds me of when some White House aide let it be known that Obama wanted 80 votes on the stimulus package. That signaled that he was desperate for GOP support, and it suggested that perhaps the support was more importance than the substance of the bill. That's my concern this time around with health care reform. We all want to see health care reform passed, but I want my leaders to be willing to walk away from a bad deal, rather than feeling that they've staked their entire presidency on getting any deal, and thus any deal might just suffice. Obama has not said that "any" deal will suffice, but I do worry that the White House political folks (read: Rahm) would be willing to put lipstick on any pig so long as he can call it "reform" and use it for re-election.