Kill Grandma or Terrorists Win

The latest argument for ObamaCare
SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

Excerpt:
ObamaCare is a "war of choice"--though this analogy goes only so far, since it is a domestic "war" in which the "enemy" consists of fellow Americans. Rubin argues that Americans must surrender to Obama's risky scheme for nationalizing health care in order to create an appearance that he is strong so that he can deal with foreign-policy crises when he gets around to it. This is so perverse in so many different ways, it hurts our brain to think about it.

There isn't even any good reason to think that a domestically weakened Obama would in turn weaken the country's international standing. This did not happen after Bill Clinton's health-care fiasco. He, like Obama, started his presidency with a blasé approach to foreign policy (albeit at a time when the dangers of doing so were less frighteningly clear than they are today). But he eventually got his act together at least somewhat.

What would happen if Obama won a health-care "victory"? Consider this Reuters headline: "Cap-and-Trade Depends on Obama's Health Care Success." This seems right to us: If Congress accepts some variation of ObamaCare, there's little doubt the president will push for Cap'n Trade and other atrocious policies. There is a great deal of doubt that he'll give national security the attention it needs.

On the other hand, it's at least plausible to hope that ObamaCare's decisive defeat would teach the president a lesson about the dangers of overreach and give him an incentive to focus on his real responsibilities. And at the very least, a defeat for ObamaCare would save us from ObamaCare. the rest

Does Obama Lie? - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post