3/24/2010 HEALTHCARE’S ROPE-A-DOPE © by Nat Christian – – –
FLASH: Obama announces that he wants to reach across the aisle and work together on important issues. First up – overhauling our health care system with massive new legislation. Politicians from both sides enter the ring. Here comes Obama, in good shape after his decisive presidential victory. Both sides acknowledge each other with a respectful look.
ROUND 1: Obama starts to move around with a healthcare plan. He reaches across the aisle and, bam, he’s immediately hit from all sides.
Summer 2009
ROUND 3: Obama dances around, trying to show that he’s still in command of the “reach across the aisle” strategy and asks both sides to work it out. But they come at him, unrelenting.
ROUND 7: Obama is cornered , unattractive deals are being made, concessions are being demanded of him. The left, agitated because the plan doesn’t go far enough, comes at him hard. He takes uppercuts from the right, who are angry because the plan is too liberal. Some from the middle, wanting concessions, do some body damage. He takes it from the left. Pow! He takes it from the right. Bam! Is he going to go down? He leans against the ropes.
ROUND 8: The flurry of attacks keep coming at Obama, who just leans against the ropes. He is being pounded away at from all sides. Why doesn’t he fight!?
Winter 2010
ROUND 10: Obama is taking such a beating that the question now is – When is he going down?
ROUND 12: The rights, the lefts and the middles are tired. Their punches lack a knockout. They’re getting sloppy. Yet Obama is still the recipient of their attacks. Wow! Obama just threw a punch. He is fighting back. He’s off the ropes and throwing rapid punches, with that angry look in his eye, like the one he had during the election when things got out of hand. The other side is tired out and surprised. One, two… bam, bam. Obama’s punching away. The other sides are going down! They are down! Healthcare passes!
Using the rope-a-dope technique, mixing his Harvard education with the instincts of a kid from the streets of Chicago, he emerges a victor – while trying to keep his promise that he would try and work with those across the aisle.