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The Note: The War President

July 20, 2009 8:34 AM

=20 By JONATHAN KARL

We=E2=80=99ll get to health care in a moment, but first a reminder = that for all the=20 bold domestic initiatives, President Barack Obama is a war = president. =20 Unwelcome and uncontrollable developments on the war front have a way of = overshadowing everything else. Just ask Lyndon Johnson.

We are not there yet, but consider today=E2=80=99s headlines:

=E2=80=A2 U.S. soldier taken hostage. The Taliban released = a 28-minute=20 video of Pfc Bowe Bergdahl. It=E2=80=99s a typical propaganda = video, featuring=20 Private Bergdahl, clearly under duress, speaking about his family and = against=20 the war. The vigil in his tiny Idaho hometown dominated the = network=20 morning shows and will likely continue to do so.

=E2=80=A2 Another coalition soldier was killed late yesterday, = bringing the=20 death toll so-far this month (52) to the highest since the war started = in=20 September 2001.

=E2=80=A2 The death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan is on the verge = of=20 5,000. A reminder of that toll will come later this week when, the = LA=20 Times reports, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is scheduled to visit = Arlington Cemetery.

=E2=80=A2 A civilian helicopter working with NATO crashed, = killing 16 aid=20 workers. British and American fighter jets also crashed over = the=20 weekend.

=E2=80=A2 The Drug Enforcement Administration, belatedly = perhaps, is surging its=20 own agents into Afghanistan in an effort to target. The LA Times calls this =E2=80=9Ca new kind of = =E2=80=98surge,=E2=80=99=20 targeting trafficking networks that officials say are increasingly = fueling the=20 Taliban insurgency and corrupting the Afghan government.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=A2 The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House = is going=20 to miss a Congressionally mandated deadline to submit its plan for = closing=20 Gitmo. Does anybody outside of the administration think the gitmo = prison=20 will be closed by January?

=E2=80=A2 The NYT reports the even bigger detainee = problem: the=20 15,000 held in nightmarish prisons inside Afghanistan. Under=20 consideration: a new, U.S.-built Afghan prison =E2=80=9Cfor the = hard-core=20 extremists who are now using the poorly run Afghan corrections system as = a camp=20 to train petty thieves and other common criminals to be deadly = militants.=E2=80=9D =20 Could this Gitmo with a different address?

For now, President Obama seems to have the confidence of the public, = most=20 Congressional leaders and even Republicans for his Afghan policy. = In=20 today=E2=80=99s ABC News/Washington Post poll, 62 percent give him high = marks on=20 Afghanistan.

But President Obama=E2=80=99s political and national security teams = know support may=20 be fleeting. Privately, senior White House officials will tell you = they=20 have at most a year to start turning things around before losing = Congressional=20 Democrats who, if a Republican were in the White House, would already be = demanding tangible progress, firm benchmarks, and a timetable for=20 withdrawal.

The War at Home: = Obama=20 approval slides, especially on health care

Support = for the=20 domestic agenda, however, is beginning to crumble. The latest ABC = News/=20 Washington Post poll has lots of troubling numbers for the White House, = but none=20 more than this: For the first time, less than 50 percent approve = of his=20 handling of health care.

In just the last month =E2=80=93 a time when the White House has put = health reform=20 plans front-and-center in Congress =E2=80=93 the president=E2=80=99s = approval rating on the=20 issue has slid from 57 percent to 49, with disapproval rising from 29 to = 44.

The sliver lining for the White House: the = public=20 trusts Republicans even less. But, that may not matter much, the = Republicans=20 aren=E2=80=99t trying to pass the biggest, most expensive piece of = health care reform in=20 the history of the Republic.

The erosion of support = has been=20 most pronounced among independents, more of whom now disapprove of = Obama=E2=80=99s=20 handling of health care (49 percent) than approve (44 = percent).

The=20 poll also shows declining support for the president=E2=80=99s handling = of the deficit,=20 unemployment and of the economy overall. As usual, the president = is more=20 popular than his positions on the issues, but his personally approval = rating (59=20 percent) has dropped below 60 percent for the first time in the ABC=20 News/Washington Post poll.

=E2=80=9CUntil the economy heads = up, his=20 popularity is likely to continue down,=E2=80=9D writes ABC News=E2=80=99 polling guru Gary = Langer.

More Troubles

The New York Times finds some really bad news for the Obama = Administration at=20 the National Governor=E2=80=99s Association meeting in Biloxi, = Mississippi.

The White House wants help from the governors to sell its health = plan,=20 instead it is finding they are terrified the states will be stuck paying = for=20 it.

=E2=80=9CThe sentiment among those who were could not have been more = consistent,=20 regardless of political party,=E2=80=9D report Kevin Sack and Robert Pear. = =E2=80=9CThe governors said=20 in interviews and public sessions that the bills being drafted in = Congress would=20 not do enough to curb the growth in health spending. And they said they = were=20 convinced that a major expansion of Medicaid would leave them with heavy = costs.=E2=80=9D

More: =E2=80=9CAlthough many governors said significant = change in how the=20 nation handles health care was needed, they said their deep-seated = fiscal=20 troubles made it a terrible time to shift costs to the=20 states.

=E2=80=9CEach of several health care bills coursing = through=20 Congress relies on a large increase in eligibility for Medicaid, the = state and=20 federal insurance program for the poor, as one means of moving toward = universal=20 coverage.

=E2=80=9CBecause the states and the federal government share the = cost, any increase=20 in eligibility levels, benefits or payments to doctors would impose new = burdens=20 on the states unless Washington absorbs them. In at least one of several = bills=20 circulating in Congress, the states would eventually pick up a share of = the new=20 costs, and the governors fear they cannot count on provisions in other = bills=20 that they will not bear costs.=E2=80=9D

Does this make it = any easier? =20 The health bill may include taxpayer money for=20 abortions.

Here=E2=80=99s a = man-bites-dog story in the=20 bailout era:

The CIT Group, which was denied another federal bailout last week, is = on=20 the verge of securing private funding to keep it afloat.

=E2=80=9CThe development appeared to vindicate U.S. regulators, who = balked at appeals=20 to help CIT. And it suggested that, unlike in recent months, = private=20 capital is available to plaster over cracks in the financial = system.=E2=80=9D

Tapper has been all over = this=20 one

The fired Inspector General of the Corporation for National and = Community=20 Service is suing to get his job=20 back.



The = Kicker:

=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s not=20 health care reform to dump more money into Medicaid.=E2=80=9D = - Gov. Phil Bredesen=20 (D-TN)

=E2=80=9CAs a governor, my concern is that if we try = to cost-shift=20 to the states we=E2=80=99re not going to be in a position to pick up the = tab,=E2=80=9D=20 - Gov. Christine Gregoire (D-WA)

=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m = personally very=20 concerned about the cost issue, particularly the $1 trillion figures = being=20 batted around,=E2=80=9D  - Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM)

July 20, 2009 in Afghanistan, = Health Care, = Iraq, Obama = Agenda, The Note | Permalink=20 | Share | User=20 Comments (13)

User = Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the = comment=20 feed for this post.

=20

Healthcare Reform?? No where close to the problem! Government = intervention,=20 insurance companies and attorneys with their expensive lawsuits have = made the=20 system what it is today-----reduce government and = taxes.

=20

Posted by: C. Roberts | Jul = 20, 2009=20 9:38:34 AM

=20

To see universal health care just look at universal education. Lets = reform=20 the educational systems and health care will take on a new=20 light.

=20

Posted by: toneyal | Jul 20, = 2009=20 9:39:00 AM

=20

At the moment?? we can go to the Doctor and Hospital with no problem. = If=20 government becomes involved healthcare will be rationed and often denied = as too=20 expensive. The elderly will take the fall---not---the illegal aliens = &=20 entitlement (poor). Go to school, get a job and pay taxes so it can be = taken=20 from you and given to the lazy and inept. Socialism has (historically) = never=20 worked!! In 1966 when The Great Society was born I said, "It's downhill = from now=20 on"----it has been just that.

=20

Posted by: C. Roberts | Jul = 20, 2009=20 9:43:27 AM

=20

And war president should not be subject to ceaseless criticism. Lay=20 off...

=20

Posted by: matt | Jul 20, = 2009 9:49:05=20 AM

=20

Maybe if Mr.Obama would just apologize to the Taliban, they will give = the=20 soldier back.

=20

Posted by: Terry | Jul 20, = 2009 10:07:41=20 AM

=20

WORLD IN TRANSITION
and in this world
Transition =3D=20 evolution

=20

Posted by: RobertCecil | Jul = 20, 2009=20 10:20:52 AM

=20

"The War President" ? Hey, he earned the title, he told us all that = he=20 "thought about joining the military" when he was in high school. I guess = if we=20 can survive this Presidency, we can survive anything.

=20

Posted by: Ron | Jul 20, = 2009 10:57:48=20 AM

=20

I'm also in the "lay off" the president camp. Ask yourself, "What = have I done=20 to make a positive contribution?" And health care will go nowhere = because we all=20 will not cooperatively help pay the bill. Until we all begin to think = and act in=20 a manner that promotes the common good our country will continue its' = slide into=20 oblivion.
Jimmy Mac

=20

Posted by: jmczzz | Jul 20, = 2009=20 12:17:09 PM

=20

Yeah... yeah... yeah Mr. Karl (ABC Reporter).... whatever...

He's still one thousand times better than that last guy we=20 had.

=20

Posted by: George W. Bash | = Jul 20, 2009=20 1:16:38 PM

=20

You realize the large majority of the uninsured are young = professionals who=20 don't need it until much later, or illegal immigrants that are already = exploited=20 as wage slaves. If we just eliminated illegal immigration exploitation, = we'd=20 solve two major financial problems in one fail swoop.

Let alone if we subjected all representatives in government to an = AUDIT so=20 they would have to PAY their "fair share" of taxes, before they take = more of OUR=20 income through threat of asset seizure or forced incarceration or=20 BOTH!!!

=20

Posted by: hmn | Jul 20, = 2009 1:29:57=20 PM

=20

Does the country need to be divided into 2-3=20 governments..Republican-Democrat- Independent/Misc? And give each party = it's=20 geographic domaine...aand let the competition begin...isn't that how = business=20 operates/ It seems that our current form of government for years now is = so=20 inefficient and divided by discourse and absolutely no compromise = expertise or=20 quality statesmanship is appearent in either political party.=20 A.Point

=20

Posted by: Rayg | Jul 20, = 2009 1:53:41=20 PM

=20

Under Obamacare, an 18 y.o. gangbanger
will get a hospital bed = ahead of=20 a
70 y.o. college professor. Sounds
great to the Obama = crowd......not=20 so
great to the older in our generation.
Let's hope the = pre-codgers=20 and
current codgers come out of their
Medicare-induced comas. = Medicare=20 will
be gone, too. Did Obama tell them that?

=20

Posted by: Trajan | Jul 20, = 2009 2:40:30=20 PM

=20

Ron | Jul 20, 2009 10:57:48 AM

You uttered; ... "I guess if we can survive this Presidency, we can = survive=20 anything."
___________________

Your utterance is LATE, by one (1) occupant of the Whitehouse.

=20

Posted by: bobj72 | Jul 20, = 2009 5:13:27=20 PM

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