President Obama appears to have misstepped on a major initiative and defining issue. He has misjudged the nation’s mood … His news conference the other night was bad. He was filibustery and spinny and gave long and largely unfollowable answers that seemed aimed at limiting the number of questions asked and running out the clock. You don’t do that when you’re fully confident. Far more seriously, he didn’t seem to be telling the truth. We need to create a new national health-care program in order to cut down on government spending? Who would believe that? Would anybody? [bold mine–R]

I’m not defending or promoting the status quo, which is bleeding people dry and heavily favors those with more over those with less. I think the free market has to be reined in sometimes, especially when we’re talking billion-dollar insurance companies and drugmakers who can exert undue influence on “our representatives” (see previous post). But what’s being bandied about is unlikely to fix much and will probably add all sorts of new problems.

I suspect voters, the past few weeks, have been giving themselves an internal Q-and-A that goes something like this: Will whatever health care bill is produced by Congress increase the deficit? “Of course.” Will it mean tax increases? “Of course.” Will it mean new fees of fines? “Probably.” Can I afford it right now? “No, I’m already getting clobbered.” Will it make the marketplace freer and better? “Probably not.” Is our health care system in crisis? “Yeah, it has been for years.” Is it the most pressing crisis right now? “No, the economy is.” Will a health-care bill improve the economy? “I doubt it.” …

The final bill, with all its complexities, will probably be huge, a thousand pages or so. Americans don’t fear the devil’s in the details, they fear hell is. Do they want the same people running health care who gave us the Department of Motor Vehicles, the post office and the invasion of Iraq? [bold mine–R]

Again, she nails it. And then there’s this:

[S]ome of the bills being worked on in Congress will allow for or mandate taxpayer funding of abortion. Speaking only and narrowly in political terms, this is so ignorant as to be astounding … telling those who believe abortion is evil that they not only have to accept its legality but now have to pay for it in a brand new plan, for which they’ll be more highly taxed. …

Americans in the most personal, daily ways feel they are less free than they used to be. And they are right, they are less free. Who wants more of that?

I think I’ll pass. Oh, wait — that’s not quite how it works, is it?