Formal Drift

The Idea Man
“I am sure that I will have even better ideas after a couple days of sleep and sun.” (President Obama, 12/20/2013)

"Oh God help us." (RedStateVT, 12/20/2013)


Undone Deal
However incoherent these fixes may seem, they send two messages, loud and clear. The first is that although liberal pundits may think that the law is a done deal, impossible to repeal, the administration does not believe that. The willingness to take large risks with the program’s stability indicates that the administration thinks it has a huge amount to lose -- that the White House is in a battle for the program’s very existence, not a few marginal House and Senate seats. (Megan McArdle, Bloomberg.com, 12/20/2013)

Good reminder that the "Obamacare is the law of the land" defense from Dems is, well, not exactly accurate. 

It is also important to note how each "delay" or "fix" of Obamacare creates embarrassment for Dems and their media supporters who five minutes earlier were earnestly defending the very things that Obama had to postpone or unwind.


Doubtful
In a year-end press conference, Obama was asked to identify the worst error of his administration this year. “There’s no doubt that when it came to healthcare roll-out, even though I was meeting every other week or every three weeks with folks … the fact is, it didn’t happen in the first month, the first six weeks, in a way that was at all acceptable,” he replied. (Newyorkpost.com, 12/20/2013)

So Obama was meeting every two or three weeks with the team responsible for what he himself calls his most important initiative? 

Is he kidding? In the business world, such meetings would be at least once a week. Not that Obama has a clue about how the business world works....

We take some solace that Obama is finally being asked the type of question that the Legitimate Media peppered George W with repeatedly. 


With Conviction
Gov. Deval Patrick’s convicted drug dealer cousin was among eight people whose hefty sentences were commuted yesterday by President Obama, who cited a disparity in penalties for crack cocaine. (Bostonherald.com, 12/20/2013)

So THAT'S why Patrick and his wife had that dinner with the Obamas right after the election.


Cliff Dive
Ginger Chapman and her husband, Doug, are sitting on the health care cliff.

The cheapest insurance plan they can find through the new federal marketplace in New Hampshire will cost their family of four about $1,000 a month, 12 percent of their annual income of around $100,000 and more than they have ever paid before.

Even more striking, for the Chapmans, is this fact: If they made just a few thousand dollars less a year — below $94,200 — their costs would be cut in half, because a family like theirs could qualify for federal subsidies. (New York Times, 12/20/2013)

One of the heretofore untold consequences of the mess that is Obamacare. But, it is actually worse. Assuming a deductible of (conservatively) $5000, the Chapmans could end up paying more like 17% of their pre-tax income for health care. 

Thank you Liberals. Hard-working middle class people get screwed so that you can provide federally subsidized insurance to others.