President Obama made another push for health care last night, but is he making a mistake by focusing too much on that and not enough on the economy and financial regulation? Some opinions in today’s morning reading:
Reactions to Obama’s speech on health care (PBS NewsHour)
It’s still the economy, stupid (Daniel Henninger/Wall Street Journal):
To save himself and his party from enduring another health-care debacle, Barack Obama should put his agenda on the back burner, bend his efforts to raising the economy, and rebuild his political capital by taking credit for the inevitable rebound. That just might minimize the impending loss of House seats and allow him to revisit his wish list in 2011. The alternative is promising big, accomplishing little and getting credit for nothing. This could be America’s greatest failed presidency.
Tactical error: Health Care vs Financial Regulation (Big Picture):
What we got instead, was the usual lobbying efforts by the finance industry. They own Congress, lock stock and barrel, and they throttled Financial Reform. It did not help that the Obama economic team is filled with defenders of the Status Quo — primarily Summers, but it appears Geithner also — the dynamic duo that fiddled while the economy burned.
Such dithering can be fatal to an administration.
Built on Belief: One year after the fall of Lehman Brothers (Marketplace)
A permanent job has become a fleeting idea (Forbes)
Understanding the inflation in the pipeline (Investor’s Business Daily)
Don’t believe that Goldman Sach’s CEO feels your pain (Fortune)
Why the express lane isn’t faster (Dan Meyer)
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