The Obama administration is currently taking stock of the situation. Bad news has left the President and his staff scrambling for options. So much so that sentiments like “let the dust settle”, “take a couple of days to cool off” and “Let us calm down and think this through” are the slogans of the day.
All this is because Democrat Martha Coakley lost to Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race. Normally, this would have been only a minor setback, but when you throw the healthcare bill into the mix, the picture becomes clearer. Already talks of a scaled down bill or even smaller mini-bills are being considered, but the Democrats seem to be staring at failure. “We have to know what our possibilities are and that means in both houses and with the White House,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Now, everyone is awaiting President Obama’s direction on how to proceed. So far, he has not said much apart from giving signs that a smaller bill could be the alternative. The expectancy is that the President could use the State of the Union address to re-confirm his commitment to finding a way to push the bill.
The Democrats are desperate to push the bill forward as it would show the public that the economy and unemployment are not the only things they are working on. Unfortunately for them, public opinion is very firmly in the corner of “We do not really care about healthcare reform”, making it a “lose-lose” situation.