Reply #6: It Truly Is A Game... [View All]

A very byzantine one. And sadly, one few outside the archane halls of the beltway really understand.

I'm not as cynical as you...but not far behind. Yes, I see a lot of the posturing right now in both parties as trying to grab not only lobbyist money but from other donors as well. President Obama decission to let the legislative write the bill rather than give them one to ramrod through had also led to a lot of games as it's made "stars" of a lot of bit players.

I, too, have been watching the game a long time and still hold out hope there is going to be a bill with a public option once it's all said and done. The problem is the procedure and this Administration's attempt to appear both "bipartisan" and allowing a co-equal branch of government go through its motions. It opens the door for lots of grandstanding and self-interest. And there's more ahead. Be assured that there's gonna be horsetrading galore behind closed doors to make all these bills into one that gets signed.

I'm also convinced that this is only a first step in several needed to fix this problem. First, the accessibility and accountability of the system has to be fixed...public option and subsidies will go a long way in solving that problem...but others will remain. There's still a need to deal with big pharma, tort reform and then see how well these changes go. The bottom line is to start the change...it wasn't going to be easy and it sure isn't.

Cheers...