November 19, 2009--The Ladies of Forest Trace: Obama's Optics
“Yesterday at breakfast, one of the girls who reads the Times every day was very upset.”
It was my 101 year-old mother calling from Forest Trace, the retirement community in Florida where she lives. “About what, mom? The new breast cancer screening guidelines?”
“Not the guidelines, which are bad enough, but about how they are already being turned into yet another way to criticize Barack Obama.”
“I haven’t heard much about that yet, though it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”
“So let me read you something from your favorite paper.” I could hear her thumbing through the copy she has delivered to her door every morning. “Here it is. Something David Camp, a Republican congressman from Michigan said. ‘Let the rationing begin. This is what happens when bureaucrats make your health care decisions.’ Then he said, the recommendations from the United States Prevention Services Taskforce, a government group, quote, ‘Foreshadows the role government would play in regulating insurance offerings under the health care bill passed by the House this month.’”
“I haven’t seen that yet but . . .”
“But nothing. It’s right here in black and white.”
“I believe you but as I said this is no surprise.”
“And then tomorrow we’ll hear about how this is another example of death panels. Remember them from the summer?”
“Indeed I do. But . . .”
“I told you not to 'but' me. There is no ‘but’ involved. If you read the reports about that force’s recommendations—to stop screening women younger than 50, unless they are in a high risk category—you will see that it is like a death panel.”
“But, mom . . . Sorry, I mean that’s not what they are saying.”
“They are. They acknowledge that early screening will save some lives, but not enough to justify all the misdiagnoses and tests that false readings lead to. And all the unnecessary anxiety these procedures cause. Which means that if doctors stop testing young women some will die whose lives could have been saved. But not enough, they say, to justify all the screening and testing and anxiety.”
“I see what you are . . .”
“Maybe yes or maybe no. So be quiet for a minute and we’ll see if you’re getting my point.” I knew enough to let her continue uninterrupted. “First of all it’s insulting to women that a major reason they’re changing the guidelines is because they want to protect us from anxiety. Women are very used to handling anxiety, thank you. Anyone who raised children while juggling a marriage and a job knows about anxiety and how to handle it.”
“Agreed.”
“And everyone already knows that the people happiest about these new recommendations are the health insurance companies. I can just hear the conversations up in Hartford where they all have their offices about how much money they'll be saving—or should I say how much more money they'll be making—if they stop paying for mammograms for 40 year-olds. And you know they will. Or at least to try to limit them.”
“I don’t doubt it. Just like how the pharmaceutical companies are racing to raise the prices they charge for drugs before any health care bill gets passed. That too was in the paper earlier this week.”
“I saw that too. We have to do something about this.”
“But what?”
“That’s really why I called. About what has to be done.”
“This I am interested in hearing because I'm feeling powerless.”
“To tell you the truth I have not been thinking so much about that, though you should keep writing about these kinds of things, but about Barack Obama. About what he should be doing.”
“Yes.”
“You know I supported him from before the beginning.”
“I do know that, even before I switched from Hillary to him.”
“And that I still have high hopes for his presidency.”
“I know that as well. As do I.”
“But then you also know that the ladies here and I are beginning to feel concerned about him. About how effective he is being. I have been telling you that we are feeling he hasn’t been as forceful as we would like him to be. About many things, including health care, which he says is his number one priority.”
“I have heard you and the women express those concerns and I share many of them.”
“So we have here a perfect example of both the problem and what he might do.”
“Go on.”
“Was it last week when Congress in the House passed their version of the bill?”
“Yes it was.”
“And that to get enough Democrats to vote for it—and didn’t it squeak by by only one or two votes—they had to allow that Stupak person I think he is—you should only know the name we have for him here—they allowed him, one of the Democrats who does not believe in abortions, to pass an amendment saying that no taxpayer money, not one penny of it, can be spent to support any aspect of an abortion?”
“Yes, it seemed Nancy Pelosi had to agree to that to get the votes she needed.”
“So what happened in just ten days—first that amendment and now these breast cancer guidelines. Two terrible things for women. You know that I never burned my bra or anything like that—though two of my sisters were Suffragettes—but this is enough to make me want to get out and protest. If I didn’t have such trouble with my hip.”
“I believe you would and wish you were able to.”
“Well, I can’t. But this is not about me but about President Obama. What has he done about this?”
“He did say something after the Stupak amendment was passed.”
“Yes, from Asia or wherever he was about how this is a health care not an abortion bill. He or his people knew this amendment was going to be debated and voted on. So why didn’t he say anything about it, condemn it in advance rather than after it had been passed?”
“That’s a very good question.”
“Yes it is. So here’s another one for you—what has he said so far about the breast cancer screening recommendations? From a government taskforce?”
“I haven’t heard anything yet. He’s still in China or Korea.”
“My point exactly. All of this is happening and what is he doing?”
“He’s on a long-planned trip to important countries in Asia. Not everything is about domestic policies. It’s very important, after the past eight years, to . . .”
“There were no urgent meetings there. And it doesn’t help that on the same day those guidelines were announced he was pictured strolling along the Great Wall of China. People are losing jobs, Harry Reid is having trouble getting the 60 votes he needs to consider a health care plan, women who were essential to electing him are being attacked, and he is off there halfway around the world. On the other side of the Date Line so when it’s Thursday morning here its midnight Friday over there. Talk about looking like he's out of touch.”
“But you know he’s working the telephones with Congress and is probably not sleeping at all so he can do his business there while keeping on top of things here.”
“Of course I know that. No one would say he isn’t working very hard. But that’s not the point. There are those optics involved.”
“Those what?”
“Optics, as they say on CNN. How in politics, and I am talking now about the politics of getting things done, it is as much about how things seem as what is actually happening. The optics of the situation. I like that expression.”
“I agree with their political importance.”
“Well, I am sad to say, and all the girls here agree with me, that at the moment he is not looking good. From the optics it looks as if he's not in charge.”
“What would you have him do? And, again, I’m not disagreeing with you.”
“First of all he should have stayed home and sent Joe Biden to Asia, saying that things at Fort Hood and in Congress and with the decision to try those 9/11 terrorists in a court in New York and of course with the economy, that so many urgent things are happening at the same time that he needs to stay close to home to be able to work on them directly.”
“I agree with all of that.”
“And we need to hear him condemn the Stupak amendment in no uncertain terms and tell women—and the men and children and other women in their lives—that he disagrees about changing those screening recommendations and that he will reject them so that no more women than is absolutely unaviodable will die from cancer.”
“I wish he would do just what you're saying.”
“Or, and mark my words, unless he does something like this it will be the end of any possibility of reforming health care and will doom his presidency before it's even a year old. The Republicans and conservative Democrats will see to that.”
“I wish he would come to Forest Trace for a day and meet with you and the ladies. I think it would do him a world of good.”
“And we’d be sure he gets something good to eat. He’s much too thin.”
It was my 101 year-old mother calling from Forest Trace, the retirement community in Florida where she lives. “About what, mom? The new breast cancer screening guidelines?”
“Not the guidelines, which are bad enough, but about how they are already being turned into yet another way to criticize Barack Obama.”
“I haven’t heard much about that yet, though it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.”
“So let me read you something from your favorite paper.” I could hear her thumbing through the copy she has delivered to her door every morning. “Here it is. Something David Camp, a Republican congressman from Michigan said. ‘Let the rationing begin. This is what happens when bureaucrats make your health care decisions.’ Then he said, the recommendations from the United States Prevention Services Taskforce, a government group, quote, ‘Foreshadows the role government would play in regulating insurance offerings under the health care bill passed by the House this month.’”
“I haven’t seen that yet but . . .”
“But nothing. It’s right here in black and white.”
“I believe you but as I said this is no surprise.”
“And then tomorrow we’ll hear about how this is another example of death panels. Remember them from the summer?”
“Indeed I do. But . . .”
“I told you not to 'but' me. There is no ‘but’ involved. If you read the reports about that force’s recommendations—to stop screening women younger than 50, unless they are in a high risk category—you will see that it is like a death panel.”
“But, mom . . . Sorry, I mean that’s not what they are saying.”
“They are. They acknowledge that early screening will save some lives, but not enough to justify all the misdiagnoses and tests that false readings lead to. And all the unnecessary anxiety these procedures cause. Which means that if doctors stop testing young women some will die whose lives could have been saved. But not enough, they say, to justify all the screening and testing and anxiety.”
“I see what you are . . .”
“Maybe yes or maybe no. So be quiet for a minute and we’ll see if you’re getting my point.” I knew enough to let her continue uninterrupted. “First of all it’s insulting to women that a major reason they’re changing the guidelines is because they want to protect us from anxiety. Women are very used to handling anxiety, thank you. Anyone who raised children while juggling a marriage and a job knows about anxiety and how to handle it.”
“Agreed.”
“And everyone already knows that the people happiest about these new recommendations are the health insurance companies. I can just hear the conversations up in Hartford where they all have their offices about how much money they'll be saving—or should I say how much more money they'll be making—if they stop paying for mammograms for 40 year-olds. And you know they will. Or at least to try to limit them.”
“I don’t doubt it. Just like how the pharmaceutical companies are racing to raise the prices they charge for drugs before any health care bill gets passed. That too was in the paper earlier this week.”
“I saw that too. We have to do something about this.”
“But what?”
“That’s really why I called. About what has to be done.”
“This I am interested in hearing because I'm feeling powerless.”
“To tell you the truth I have not been thinking so much about that, though you should keep writing about these kinds of things, but about Barack Obama. About what he should be doing.”
“Yes.”
“You know I supported him from before the beginning.”
“I do know that, even before I switched from Hillary to him.”
“And that I still have high hopes for his presidency.”
“I know that as well. As do I.”
“But then you also know that the ladies here and I are beginning to feel concerned about him. About how effective he is being. I have been telling you that we are feeling he hasn’t been as forceful as we would like him to be. About many things, including health care, which he says is his number one priority.”
“I have heard you and the women express those concerns and I share many of them.”
“So we have here a perfect example of both the problem and what he might do.”
“Go on.”
“Was it last week when Congress in the House passed their version of the bill?”
“Yes it was.”
“And that to get enough Democrats to vote for it—and didn’t it squeak by by only one or two votes—they had to allow that Stupak person I think he is—you should only know the name we have for him here—they allowed him, one of the Democrats who does not believe in abortions, to pass an amendment saying that no taxpayer money, not one penny of it, can be spent to support any aspect of an abortion?”
“Yes, it seemed Nancy Pelosi had to agree to that to get the votes she needed.”
“So what happened in just ten days—first that amendment and now these breast cancer guidelines. Two terrible things for women. You know that I never burned my bra or anything like that—though two of my sisters were Suffragettes—but this is enough to make me want to get out and protest. If I didn’t have such trouble with my hip.”
“I believe you would and wish you were able to.”
“Well, I can’t. But this is not about me but about President Obama. What has he done about this?”
“He did say something after the Stupak amendment was passed.”
“Yes, from Asia or wherever he was about how this is a health care not an abortion bill. He or his people knew this amendment was going to be debated and voted on. So why didn’t he say anything about it, condemn it in advance rather than after it had been passed?”
“That’s a very good question.”
“Yes it is. So here’s another one for you—what has he said so far about the breast cancer screening recommendations? From a government taskforce?”
“I haven’t heard anything yet. He’s still in China or Korea.”
“My point exactly. All of this is happening and what is he doing?”
“He’s on a long-planned trip to important countries in Asia. Not everything is about domestic policies. It’s very important, after the past eight years, to . . .”
“There were no urgent meetings there. And it doesn’t help that on the same day those guidelines were announced he was pictured strolling along the Great Wall of China. People are losing jobs, Harry Reid is having trouble getting the 60 votes he needs to consider a health care plan, women who were essential to electing him are being attacked, and he is off there halfway around the world. On the other side of the Date Line so when it’s Thursday morning here its midnight Friday over there. Talk about looking like he's out of touch.”
“But you know he’s working the telephones with Congress and is probably not sleeping at all so he can do his business there while keeping on top of things here.”
“Of course I know that. No one would say he isn’t working very hard. But that’s not the point. There are those optics involved.”
“Those what?”
“Optics, as they say on CNN. How in politics, and I am talking now about the politics of getting things done, it is as much about how things seem as what is actually happening. The optics of the situation. I like that expression.”
“I agree with their political importance.”
“Well, I am sad to say, and all the girls here agree with me, that at the moment he is not looking good. From the optics it looks as if he's not in charge.”
“What would you have him do? And, again, I’m not disagreeing with you.”
“First of all he should have stayed home and sent Joe Biden to Asia, saying that things at Fort Hood and in Congress and with the decision to try those 9/11 terrorists in a court in New York and of course with the economy, that so many urgent things are happening at the same time that he needs to stay close to home to be able to work on them directly.”
“I agree with all of that.”
“And we need to hear him condemn the Stupak amendment in no uncertain terms and tell women—and the men and children and other women in their lives—that he disagrees about changing those screening recommendations and that he will reject them so that no more women than is absolutely unaviodable will die from cancer.”
“I wish he would do just what you're saying.”
“Or, and mark my words, unless he does something like this it will be the end of any possibility of reforming health care and will doom his presidency before it's even a year old. The Republicans and conservative Democrats will see to that.”
“I wish he would come to Forest Trace for a day and meet with you and the ladies. I think it would do him a world of good.”
“And we’d be sure he gets something good to eat. He’s much too thin.”
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:30 AM
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