Obamacare? Not in the least

 

 Washington, DC

On or around 17 October, the United States will stop paying its bills. The US Treasury will reach the limit of the debt it can legally issue — the ‘debt ceiling’ — and unless Barack Obama and Republicans in the House of Representatives come to an agreement, the US will stand on the brink of default. How did Obama get us into this mess? More importantly, can he get us out before the country (if not the world) plummets into crisis? The answer to the first question might surprise you: Obama is not an adroit politician. Good at winning votes, yes — not only better than the Republicans he faced in 2008 and last year, but better than Bill Clinton and either of the Bushes. Obama is the first President since Ronald Reagan to win outright popular majorities at two elections. Actually governing, on the other hand, is another matter. He had not the slightest experience with that before becoming President, and after five years’ on-the-job training, he’s still no good at it. His biggest mistake was spending every penny of his political capital on his healthcare reform — officially the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but known everywhere as Obamacare. Obama took office amid the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, but soon decided that his priority was not recovery at all costs, but overhauling the private insurance system by which Americans receive healthcare, with new mandates and regulations to ensure coverage for everyone — no matter the cost in dollars or jobs. Fearing the electoral consequences, Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress set the law to take effect in stages, with much of it going into operation on 1 October this year — a safe distance from last year’s presidential election and next year’s congressional -contests. Instead of easing the political pain, however, this schedule has drawn it out.