Can you think of a Republican who inspired, inspires, that much affection, has done that much for the common man? No. The Republicans, desperate for their own Kennedy, FDR, try to shoehorn Reagan into the mold. But he, with all his Irish charm and wit, and, for the most part, niceness, left no legacy of concern for the well-being of the average American. No programs of health, education, etc. that improved the lives of countless Americans. The best the GOP can point to is tax cuts for the wealthy. No individual stories of kindness to average Americans, strangers until a powerful man/woman tried to help. Will strangers cry at Mitch McConnell's funeral, or Rick Santorum's, or Newt Gringrich's. No. What did Reagan, Ford, Bush I and II do when they left office? Play and make money. While Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton spend their retirement lives helping the poor, the disenfrancised, the AID's infected, the raped planet. Nothing shows the difference between the parties and their members than a comparison of those lives, retirements, and deaths.

by not pushing full force for the public option, and he is making himself look weak in the process. Kennedy wanted the public option; it is the only way, aside from single-payer, to cover everyone AND push health care costs down, saving medicare, medicaid, the VA and the rest of us with good private insurance through our jobs or our own pocketbook.

Obama does not look bipartisan, conciliatory; he looks weak and hapless, and he will lose Independents and his base. In the end, the Democrats will win only by passing the public option in health care. The public disagreed with Reagan and Bush II on many issues, but still voted for them because they looked strong when they went after what they wanted even when the public did not support them. The country said, in effect, "well, maybe he's right; maybe he knows something I don't know."

More and more, the public is saying about Obama, in effect, "Maybe the critics are right. Maybe there is something wrong with the public option. Look at how fast the Democrats are backing down." And the public thinks, "boy it's sure easy to push Obama and the Democrats around. Maybe they can't be relied on to protect us." Democrats never seem to learn that the public wants strength not reason.

Obama and the Democrats will lose everything if the public perceives they can be pushed around. Obama looks gutless, not reasonable, and frankly he is being neither brave nor smart. He is weak not to demand the public option, and he is not being reasonable because it is not reasonable to keep negotiating with people who keep moving the goal post until you raise the white flag.

Obama's behavior is a betrayal of the people who voted for him and a betrayal of Ted Kennedy, whose support made liberal doubters turn to him. In the end all will be lost if Obama doesn't show courage and intelligence. He will have wasted his chance and our chance, after more than 60 years, to have cost-effective health care for all.

Yes again. Obama's ego tripped him up. He bridged the divide between conservatives and liberals at the Harvard Law Review and from then on seems to have believed his own press: "Yes I can reach out to the GOP and get them to behave reasonably." Well, no, you can't. Their reasonableness is to get you destroyed--politically by the Congressmen and, perhaps, literally by the GOP pundits, the Becks, the Limbaughs, etc. If Obama had truly paid attention to the problems faced by the Clinton's, he would have realized that Republicans will say anything and do anything to get and keep power, including destroying the chance of many to get and keep reasonably priced health insurance.

why did he do this. I can't believe he's stupid, that he didn't know what would happen with that strategy. That means he wanted to be part of the Beltway and Wall Street more than he wanted to get health care for all at an affordable price? I always worried about that possibility.

It was Joe Klein NOT Joe Conason who was criticized by Glenn.

Clinton did not batter his progressive spouse. Unlike Obama, Clinton tried very hard to get progressive things done. Indeed the dean of the MSM, David Broder, criticized Hillary for being TOO committed to universal coverage. The Congress thought they had time and the MSM constantly chastised him for moving too quickly, trying to do too much too soon. When the GOP took over Clinton was forced to triangulate to prevent the Repubes from doing any more damage than they did. Obama is the one giving away the store to the GOP when he doesn't have to.

He has no principles for which he will fight, no people he will fight for. He caves at the slightest breath. I am appalled by him. I doubted him, but hoped he would be more like Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers than his moneymen at Goldman-Sachs. So much for hope.

Neither Ted Kennedy nor Laura Welch Bush ever laughed about the people they accidentally killed. Though, it is likely that Dick Cheney laughed about shooting his friend in the face and then making him apologize. And it is possible that George Bush laughed about going AWOL from the reserve during the Vietnam War, and laughed about not getting caught doing coke, and perhaps he laughed about getting an abortion for a girl friend while requiring other women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

But there is no evidence that either Teddy or Laura were ever that sociopathic, even when they were young and callow. And Teddy's whole life afterward was an a guilt-stricken, continuous act of remorse and redemption. His act of contrition was health care others. Maybe Laura considered her marriage to George her punishment for killing her friend.