As the Jewish High Holidays came to a close earlier this week, one prayer chanted by millions of worshippers on Rosh Hashanah struck me as sage advice for President Obama in the healthcare debate: “On New Year’s Day our destiny is written, on the Day of Atonement it is sealed…but repentance, prayer and charity can reduce the severity of the decree.”
Our sins and their consequences can never be blotted out entirely, but by the right actions we might avoid their most dire effects—an excellent impetus for us to change direction when going down the wrong course. By bunkering down and continuing his push for his unpopular healthcare reform plan, it’s clear that Obama hasn’t taken notice of these words of wisdom.
The hot summer month of August—filled with town hall protesters and heavy politicking by both sides—put ObamaCare on life support. The harder the Democrats hit back at opponents, the harder support for Obama fell in the polls. Rather than take heed of the signs warning of disaster, September brought a renewed pitch in a last gasp breath to revive public enthusiasm for his reforms in spite of growing opposition.
Even after a major address to Congress on the issue and an Obama media blitz, public support for the Democrat’s healthcare plan just hit another new low. Yet, without the voters’ backing or even the necessary votes in Congress, the tin-eared White House and congressional leadership continue to push the public option and other controversial elements of the Democrats’ plan.
In normal parlance, this is what we might call “shooting one’s self in the foot.” The Democrats’ behavior has put the GOP back on top of the generic congressional ballot poll and ahead in voters’ trust on most issues. Even on healthcare—a solid Democrat issue—Republicans have essentially tied their political foes.
Is it time for the Democrats to prepare for a repeat of the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress?
Maybe, but there are two major hurdles for Republicans to overcome: numbers and time. Even solid gains in 2010 might leave Republicans short of a majority in the House, although it would leave them in a stronger position to stop Obama’s agenda there and in the Senate.
But because the GOP’s needed 40-seat swing isn’t impossible, Obama’s greatest asset is time. There is more than a year between now and midterm elections, giving him the opportunity to take the lesson of Rosh Hashanah to heart.
Some manner of Republican success in 2010 may already be assured, since Obama cannot undo his past mistakes or recover all the public trust lost by his mismanagement of the healthcare fight. But that doesn’t make him powerless to affect the size of that victory by “repenting” politically and changing gears early to position himself with the American people.
Unfortunately for him, the persistence of the Democrats’ liberal wing suggests his party isn’t willing to give up their losing fight for ObamaCare before their destiny is finally sealed on Election Day.
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