Three cheers for sensible and reasoned arguments

Quote of the Day:

"I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge. And we're going to get this passed."
- President Barack Obama on his proposed 1000+ page health care reform bill. Yahoo News August 10, 2009

CounterQuote of the Day:

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what is will be tomorrow."
-James Madison Federalist no. 62 February 27, 1788. Italics added

President Obama has gotten me a little dazed and confused. I was in total agreement with this quote until the last sentence. I was hoping he meant that negotiation & compromise would prevail in a bipartisan effort to really trim this whale of legislation down to the size of a tuna, a walleye or even a trout. But no, my hopes are dashed. My interpretation of "and we will get this passed" means his wants the whole 1000+ pages. This quote was made in response of some of the more vocal citizens at the Town Hall meetings. Some were against Obamacare, some for it. It's definitely a political hot potato.

Take a lesson from recent history, Mr. President. Hillarycare was 1300 pages and it never made it to a single vote. Here's another quote from today's WashingtonPost.com to help illustrate this. This is from Susan Wells speaking to Perry Chang, a volunteer canvassing door to door urging people to call their representatives on behalf of Obamacare:

It's like one of those things where you'd like to try it before you buy it," Wells said. "But once we do it, there's no going back."

I'm not sure where she stands on this. She told Mr. Chang she was concerned about friends and relatives without insurance. She likes her insurance but is concerned that her employer, the Red Cross, is cutting benefits. She attributed her angst about Obamacare to "fear of the unknown". This made me realize what bothers me about Obamacare. It is close to fear of the unknown, it is fear of the unknowable, unfathomable and incomprehensible. I am reminded of an old Chinese saying, "We are living in interesting times." This fall will be very interesting inside the DC beltway.

P. S. Is it just me or is there a pattern developing. Whenever we elect lawyers as Presidents, Clinton then Obama, we end up with proposed legislation that no one in their right mind would want enacted.