Delaying Bad Health Care Proposals Helps in Other Ways

According to the Wall Street Journal, the contentious, time-consuming debate on health care is having one major positive effect. It is keeping economy-wrecking climate legislation on the "back burner."

if the health care debate drags on, the energy bill could get stalled by the 2010 congressional midterm elections

Right now the best-case scenario is exactly that. Health care reform and climate legislation both get stalled, Republicans pick up seats in 2010,  a more reasonable health care package gets passed with some useful reforms, and the climate bill is scrapped entirely.

Naturally climate bill supporters, just as with health care, are claiming the president needs to be more involved personally. They haven't noticed that his popularity has dropped like a rock, and that many people just aren't buying what he's selling any more.

observers say that Mr. Obama has so far failed to engage on the issue in basic ways, giving opponents an opportunity to define a climate bill as a large tax on consumers

Maybe because it will be a large tax on consumers. Obama's lying ability isn't good enough to cover up all the negative aspects of his proposals.  

Republican strategy right now should be block if possible, otherwise delay. Get to 2010, pick up seats, and then reassess what can be done.