The Sunday News Shows today had quite a bit to work with, but all in all, the ones that I watched fell flat. Meet the Press started out with John McCain. We put him on mute. Their roundtable was interesting, but nothing that memorable.

Of all the shows that I watched, the most memorable thing for me is that the republicans have apparently come up with a talking point (I say that because it heard it more than once from republican talking heads today) that says that Obama pushing ahead with health care using “reconciliation” is equivalent to Bush going to war in Iraq. Their explanation for this position is that in each case, the president is going against strong public opinion against what they are doing.

I think that’s a huge stretch. I do think that the dems have to explain why, with most of the polls saying that the public isn’t in favor of these secret, sweetheart deals to get legislation done, and that they don’t want this jammed down the throats of republicans, they feel justified in going ahead with the reconciliation process. I don’t think, in the light of all of their sleazy dealings in getting the bill to the point that it currently is, they have done a particularly good job of explaining to the average person how this health care legislation is going to help them.

Mostly, the people that can’t afford health insurance now think that they are going to be forced to buy relatively expensive health insurance, and that promises from the government that they are going to help pay for the premiums and keep them “affordable” over time are hollow and not to be trusted. That’s a lot of people. Basically, it comes down to a failure to stand up to the pressure and offer a single payer system - i.e. government run - where people’s health care is covered with a reasonable percent of income. Oh sure, all the republican extremists call this socialism, but they are just covering for corporate america. And the reason is because all these republican pundits are making lots of money. They have no idea what it is like to live on a small income.

I honestly don’t know if the senate bill helps people like or not. I do sort of fear it. The blame for that goes to democratic leaders. If they can’t make me understand without a doubt that they are trying to make things better for me, how are they going to convince the average tea partier.

To the Contrary, the women’s issues show with an all female panel, continues to explore relevant issues and provide in depth conversations about subjects that the other shows won’t touch. Kudos to them!

Of course, there was a lot of discussion about the 7 hour Obama health care bipartisan forum. There is no clear winner from that, but a majority of the panelists thought that Obama improved his position, and that the dems, through Obama, were telegraphing that would get this health bill passed with a simple majority using the reconciliation process. I have no idea whether or not that is a good thing. If they had a better bill, I’d feel better.

And that goes to the heart of Obama’s problems. He has seriously alienated his base. He is calculating politically that he can operate better from the center, but I think that he may be wrong. He can only coax a certain percent of the independents who are persuaded by the conservatives that Obama is a radical tax and spend liberal to the point of being socialist. And while, at one point, he could count on his base for a minimum level of support, that support has eroded as Obama has moved toward the center. Obama needs to consider what his base is thinking. He may need to do some adjustment in his public posturing.

Colby King, on Inside Washington, had the best quote of the day. I can’t remember it exactly, but it did reference “crap” in Washington. When I get a chance I’ll go find the transcript. But it was a bold and funny comment.