>It's like salt in an open wound....
>
>As I said, I hope the American public sticks it to the Democrats with a red hot poker this November....I am beyond furious with the events of the last few days.....

I have no doubt the midterm elections will be ugly for the Democrats. They always are for the ruling party and this year will be worse than usual. Lots of angry people out there, not just you. This has become a pretty ugly country at the moment.

As I keep saying to you, let's see how things look five years from now. I believe we will not only survive but will be better off.

I understand that it's probably a bitter pill to have health care reform rammed through on party lines. We could have gotten an even better bill if either side had been more willing to work together. But no. In this climate a win-win situation means "I win twice."

The guy who deserves the most credit is Obama. He had to compromise, he had to hold his nose at times, he had to keep the more liberal elements of his own party on board. (Sometimes I wish LBJ could come back for a while to give him a tutorial on ass kicking and making the renegades a little afraid). But he got it done. I don't care whether you agree with his politics or not, you have to respect that. The unlikely analogy I would make is Ronald Reagan. Lord knows I hated his politics but I had to respect him for having an impact. He left footprints. That's not an easy thing to do in a polarized country. What was Bush's legacy? What was Clinton's? Not much. (OK, adding "El Presidente" to the lexicon in Bill's case <g>). Reagan made a difference. I think Obama will as well.