Charlie Cook: Healthcare Is Obama’s Iraq

1. Charlie Cook: Healthcare Is Obama’s Iraq
The Obama administration made “grave miscalculations” in pushing for healthcare reform just as his predecessor George W. Bush erred with the invasion of Iraq, political analyst Charlie Cook observed.

Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report, said in an interview with National Journal that “when unemployment numbers started proving to be much, much tougher and it started becoming more clear that the stimulus package hadn’t worked properly, [Democrats] just kept plowing ahead on healthcare.”

“I think they made some grave miscalculations and as it became more clear that they had screwed up, they just kept doubling down their bet.”

Obama and the Democrats’ miscalculations have been “of proportions comparable to President George W. Bush’s decision to go into Iraq,” Cook declared.

“Bush went, ‘We’re going to go after Afghanistan as a reaction to 9/11,’ and then pretty soon got distracted and obsessed with going into Iraq with varying rationalizations that sort of evolved over time.”

Cook also predicated the tea party movement could have a “huge impact” on the political scene, and said “it’s hard to come up with a scenario where Democrats don’t lose the House” in November.

The Republicans have problems, he acknowledged, but added: “If I had a choice of the Republican Party’s problems right now or the Democratic Party’s problems, I think you could triple the Republican Party’s problems and I’d still rather have their problems than the problems facing Democrats.”