Of course, the biggest subjects on the news shows today were health care and the Prof. Gates arrest and Obama's comments at the press conference. There is no doubt, as I, and every other pundit has said, that the mainstream media jumped on Obama's comments at his press conference earlier in the week, and elevated the racial profiling issue to the front of the news cycle and pushed back the health care debate. Obviously this isn't what Obama wanted.

But I am starting to think that there is an organized effort by the republicans to try and damage Obama and protect the insurance companies by repeating the mantra that "the more the public knows about health care reform the more they are turning against it." I think that is a bunch of BS. I'd like to know what makes them think that.

The public is desperate for relief on the health care front. Everything from the difficulty of getting coverage, the cost of premiums, the red tape, and the deductibles and out of pocket expenses makes the system hard to access and navigate, especially if one has a chronic illness.

I believe that an overwhelming majority of people are on the edge of their seats hoping against hope that meaningful health insurance reform happens that either makes it possible for them to get coverage or makes their current coverage easier and more affordable and stable. If the republicans think they can base a political strategy against Obama based on trying to block health insurance, I believe that is a strategy that will fail, and fail badly.

As far as the racial profiling incident goes, I believe that the police have been allowed to have too much power in our country for so long now that they oftentimes have a difficult time knowing when they have gone too far. I'm not saying that's an excuse, and sometimes that power is exercised vindictively or as the result of bias or prejudice, which shouldn't be tolerated, but they are just so used to being the ones calling the shots in any kind of situation that their sense of judgment is clouded when they feel threatened, either physically or emotionally. A physical threat is one thing, but an emotional one is not grounds for mistreating a person in their own home.

My opinion is that the policeman went too far and should have backed off when he learned that it was Gates and he was in his own home. I watched the cop being interviewed on TV, and I thought he came off as shaky. The fact that his fellow policemen supported him is as predictable as the sun coming up. Nevertheless, Obama did put the police on the defensive by saying they acted "stupidly." They did, but there were more diplomatic ways to say it, especially if you are president.

There was interesting, albeit short discussion on Chris Matthews about a Time Magazine expose about the rift that formed between Bush and Cheney in the latter days of the administration over Bush's refusal to give Scooter Libby a full pardon. Time says that Bush did his own independent investigation and determined that Libby had lied, and didn't want his legacy tied to that and thus, didn't pardon him. Cheney was very upset. Michelle Norris, from NPR, commented astutely that it was too bad that Bush hadn't done that kind of independent investigation of the Iraq situation before launching the invasion in March, 2003.

It's sad that I'm no longer able to get Stephanopolous or Face the Nation, thanks to the digital divide. Something needs to be done about that.