John McCain says we have never used this procedure on an issue of such magnitude. Obama goes into condescension mode, saying the public doesn’t care. But they do, and overwhelmingly oppose jamming this through. I don’t see how Obama “wins” this issue, and he quickly moves off of it to say tort reform really isn’t THAT important. But he cares about it, honest. So he’s interested in some pilot programs. We already have tort reform in several states, so this is what they call a “dodge.” At this point (maybe that point was at 10:00 a.m.), no one is convincing the other side of much of anything.
The reason I think the Democrats are pretending to minimize the differences is twofold. First, their own plan sounds less extreme if they are “close” to the Republicans. And second, it conceals the gross incompetence in managing this legislation. Well, if they’re close, then they have accomplished something, you see. But if they are really, really far apart, then they’ve wasted a whole year. Think Iran engagement.