The health summit called organized by President Obama was an
embarrassing flop for the Democrats whose tin ear for public needs and
opinion was not ever more on display.

Whoever advised the president to call the Democratic and Republican
legislators by their first name when almost every one of them is not only
older than he is, but have much more experience in public office than he has
had, is beyond comprehension.

The Republicans brought their “A” team, and used them well. Mitch McConnell
is the GOP senate leader, and John Boehner the GOP house leader, and are
reasonably articulate, but they were savvy to have Senator Lamar Alexander
open their side of the discussion, and to employ knowledgeable and well-
spoken colleagues, including physician legislators, to make their case. The
Democrats did not bring their “A” team. They brought the unpopular Nancy
Pelosi and Harry Reid, and a number of Democratic legislators who are known
more for their partisanship than their knowledge of healthcare.

Before this “summit” began, the Democrats had lost the war over their bill.
Perhaps they imagined the conference presided over by President Obama
would serve as a “battle of the Bulge” to try to obtain a surprise public relations
victory and salvage the legislation. It did not happen. The president himself
not only made a continual gaffe by calling everyone else by their first name;
more importantly, he seemed ill-informed about the contents of his own party’s
legislation.

The premise of the summit, bipartisanship, seemed only to be of concern to the
Republicans. The president’s underlying attitude, in spite of his rhetoric, seemed
to be “take it or leave it.”

Public opinion is overwhelmingly against the Democratic bill. The reconciliation
strategy (or “nuclear option”) could be attempted, but most observers believe
that Democratic leaders may well not even have 51 votes for it. Even if they
could force it through, as many veteran senators of both parties have noted, it
could wreck the U.S. senate’s special and historic role in our government. More
immediately, it could transform the current public opinion trend against the
president and his party into a rout next November unilke we have seen for a
century or more.

The Democrat’s obsession with their healthcare bill is unfortunately like the
1989 Hollywood movie “Weekend at Bernie’s” in which a cadaver is treated
like a living person.

It’s time for the majority party elected officials in Washington, DC to behave
like grown-ups, and negotiate this legislation with the care and compromise
the seriousness of the health care crisis requires and demands.