Ny Times article: What Obama learned from Clintons healthplan defeat

Good well balanced article IMHO.

<snip>

Lesson 5: Co-opt the opposition.

In a lesson that holds some irony for Mr. Obama given his campaign against special interests, he has mostly rejected the Clintons’ industry-bashing populism. That has helped keep powerful groups at the table, to prevent their allying against him as they did against Mr. Clinton.

The president privately reached early deals with the for-profit hospital group represented by Mr. Kahn, who led the “Harry and Louise” campaign, and with the drug manufacturers lobby. The industries agreed to accept roughly $230 billion in reduced Medicare and Medicaid payments over 10 years to help offset the cost of a health care bill, and the White House committed to support the deals through the legislative process despite liberals’ demands for bigger concessions.

For older Americans, the administration agreed with the advocacy group AARP that any bill would eliminate the gap in Medicare coverage of prescription drugs.

“People have underestimated the strategic value of some of these alliances in terms of being able to keep this thing going,” said a former Clinton aide, who asked not to be identified because he now lobbies for several industries.



Lesson 6: Take what you can get.

What optimism remains among Democrats stems from their belief that Mr. Obama, unlike the Clintons, will take half a loaf and declare victory, and that most Democrats, mindful of 1994’s election debacle, will go along.

In his 1994 State of the Union address, Mr. Clinton famously waved a pen and threatened to veto any bill that did not “guarantee every American” private health insurance. Even an aide who recommended that uncompromising signal, Paul Begala, now says it was a mistake. Others have said the White House forfeited a chance to compromise with Mr. Dole and other Senate Republicans.

The question for Mr. Obama is whether he will have any Republicans with whom to compromise. More likely, he will have to mediate between the liberals and conservatives in his own party.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/health/policy/06lessons.html?pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

the article says about the Clinton aide, and thus the failure/capitulation of the Democratic party to bring meaningful change -- on just about anything -- is perfectly encapsulated....