Obama gave a pretty good speech tonight--hit the GOP and conservative Dem Senators harder than I'd expected for (respectively) their obstructionism and self-interest, as well as calling out the Court for its insane decisionof last week, and stopping just short of calling the rest of the Congressional Dems wusses ("solve problems, not run for the hills"). Pleasantly surprised on the pledge to end "don't-ask-don't-tell," but disappointed with the spending freeze. Didn't anybody read (or hear their "Greatest Generation" parents talk) about what happened to the New Deal when FDR gave in to the deficit hawks? Yup--the Great Depression relapsed big-time and only WWII got us out of it. (Scary thought--we have NO idea about how to end an economic depression without going to war). Where are all those new jobs gonna come from? You can't put a gun to business' heads and force them to use profits and tax savings to create jobs (unless you follow through and punish them if they don't, and nobody's figured out how to do that prudently and lawfully). Joe Wilson saved his rants (and this time they were less froth-at-the-mouth) for Facebook this time; but Mr. Justice Alito: WTF??? (In response to Obama's diss of the SCOTUS decision, Alito actually shook his head and silently mouthed "Not true." Nice judicial demeanor, sir.....NOT)!
By the end of the evening, most Republicans sheepishly realized that if they didn't rise and applaud supporting the troops, creating jobs, keeping middle-class and small-business taxes from rising, and at least the CONCEPT of the need for health care reform, all of America would see them for the stubborn, vindictive obstructionists they've been all along. (Earlier in the evening, some Republicans did periodically applaud and even stand up--maybe Snowe or Collins might want to avoid having their constituents think of them as the Grinch Who Killed Grandma; when there were 60 Democrats to vote cloture, the two could afford to symbolically stand with their party, but now that Brown has knocked that down to 59 they might well want to be on the right side of history and their constituents).
Let's see how long it takes for the glow to wear off and the curmudgeons to take over again. This time, he may have something up his sleeve---if he promises the liberal base in the House to push for reconciliation next year to come up with Medicare expansion or even a public option and switch the tax on "Cadillac plans" to one on million-dollar income households, he just might get them to pass the Senate version of healthcare reform right now as a first step. He can even afford to lose Stupak on that one. (At least that'd be my strategy--after tonight, he and the Dems in Congress have gotten the message that barring Snowe's or Collins' change of heart, he's going to have to do this to accomplish something meaningful without a single Republican Senate vote).
And quite frankly, any voters who then pitch a hissy about "big government" and vote in Nov. for teabag candidates deserve the selfish and stupid leaders they hope to get.